PHOENIX, Oct. 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Istios Health, a healthcare technology and clinical research company, today announced a partnership with Pittsburgh Gastroenterology Associates, expanding its clinical research capabilities into gastroenterology and advancing its focus on the convergence of obesity, metabolic, cardiovascular, kidney and liver disease research. The partnership brings together gastroenterology, nephrology and infectious disease expertise, with research embedded in the community practices where patients already receive care.
Pittsburgh Gastroenterology Associates becomes Istios Health’s fourth clinical research site in Greater Pittsburgh. David Limauro, M.D., FACG, a board-certified gastroenterologist, will serve as principal investigator and help lead the expansion of GI research in the region. The addition strengthens Istios’s growing cardiometabolic research platform in the Pittsburgh market.
Drug development is evolving beyond traditional specialty boundaries. Diseases historically studied and managed within separate clinical and research silos increasingly share therapies, patient populations and disease pathways. Cardiometabolic research now spans obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular, kidney and metabolic liver disease, while immunology is similarly converging across multiple specialties. This creates a need for research networks that coordinate expertise and generate longitudinal evidence throughout the product lifecycle.
Gastroenterology is increasingly central to many of the most active areas of drug development. Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), including its progressive inflammatory form, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), frequently overlaps with obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular and kidney risk. New therapies and development programs increasingly span these conditions, creating a need for research networks that can identify relevant patient phenotypes and coordinate the specialty expertise required to study them. Gastroenterology also brings expertise in immune-mediated diseases such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, as well as infectious conditions that overlap with Istios’s established infectious disease network.
“Our goal is to help accelerate the development of new therapies by connecting specialty expertise, research infrastructure and longitudinal clinical data,” said Nikos Nikolopoulos, Chief Executive Officer of Istios Health. “Through our regional centers of excellence and Navigator platform, we are creating a more effective way to conduct research, generate evidence and bring innovative therapies to patients.”
“Many of the most important research opportunities today involve patients who cross traditional specialty boundaries,” said David Limauro, M.D., FACG. “For example we know that many of our patients with MASLD are also seen by our colleagues in nephrology, cardiology, endocrinology and infectious disease. By partnering with Istios and leveraging its Pittsburgh Center of Excellence, we can support complex clinical research and expand access to innovative therapies for patients throughout the region.”
“Pittsburgh Gastroenterology Associates is an important addition to our Pittsburgh center-of-excellence strategy,” said Nick Carlucci, Chief Operating Officer of Istios Health. “Our goal is not simply to add research sites. We are building integrated regional networks that bring together complementary specialties around shared patient populations and research infrastructure. Pittsburgh is one of the first examples of that model, and we are actively replicating it across other Istios geographies.”
Through the partnership, Istios will combine the practice’s clinical expertise and patient relationships with its Navigator platform to support patient identification, trial planning and real-world evidence initiatives. The result is a stronger foundation for protocol feasibility, site selection, faster activation, sustained enrollment and long-term evidence generation. For patients, the model brings research opportunities closer to the physicians and community practices already managing their care.
About Istios Health
Istios Health is a healthcare technology and clinical research company building regional centers of excellence focused on cardiometabolic, immunology and rare disease research. Through partnerships with independent specialty practices, Istios combines coordinated research operations, longitudinal clinical data and its Navigator platform to support clinical development, post-market studies and real-world evidence generation across the product lifecycle.
Since launching in June 2025, Istios has grown to approximately 16 research sites across Arizona, Georgia, Massachusetts, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia and expects to reach approximately 20 sites by year-end. As part of its center-of-excellence model, Istios intends to continue expanding across key U.S. markets and adding complementary specialty practices to support the full continuum of cardiometabolic and immunology research. Learn more at istioshealth.com.
About Pittsburgh Gastroenterology Associates
Pittsburgh Gastroenterology Associates provides comprehensive digestive health and nutrition care throughout Greater Pittsburgh. Its board-certified gastroenterologists diagnose and treat conditions of the digestive tract, liver, gallbladder and pancreas through community offices and affiliations with regional hospitals and endoscopy centers. The practice combines clinical expertise with a coordinated team approach to deliver personalized, high-quality care. For more information, visit pghgastro.com.
For more information please contact:
growth@istioshealth.com
