WhelWomen's Health Evidence Lab
WHEL-C-059 · Emerging evidence · 3.8/10

EPELSIBAN for adenomyosis

EPELSIBAN is an oxytocin receptor antagonist that is a Phase 2 clinical candidate for adenomyosis per Open Targets.

Origin · ApprovedPathway · 505(b)(2) · existing active ingredient, new indicationEvidence arm · Pathway insightsEvidence supports
How to read thisThe summary above and the proposed mechanism are generated by the model from the sources it ingested, and are written as the model’s reasoning rather than established fact. Any figure quoted from MATRIX is a model-derived association score, not a clinical measurement. How far the published record backs this pair is carried by the score’s own rigor dimension and traced to verbatim sources at the foot of the page.

Hypothesized mechanism

By antagonizing the oxytocin receptor, EPELSIBAN may reduce uterine contractility and oxytocin-driven signaling implicated in adenomyosis.

This is the model’s proposed mechanism from the sources on file, not a demonstrated causal pathway. How well the published record supports it is reflected in the rigor and plausibility dimensions of the score, and traced to the verbatim sources at the foot of the page.

How the score was reached, for this pair

The composite score is the sum of five dimensions, each scored 0 to 2 by the model from the evidence on file. Below is the sub-score this specific pair received on each, with what that dimension measures. It scored 3.8 of 10 overall, a emerging reading, from a pathway rated emerging in strength.

The model’s overall reasoning for this pair is the summary at the top of the page, and the mechanism it proposed is in the section above.

Pathway arm · anchors the headline3.8 / 10 · Emerging

Scored for women. Female representation not stated — applicability to women uncertain (flagged for full text). (band F4, ×0.75).

Corroboration

Only a single line of evidence is provided: an Open Targets entry stating EPELSIBAN is an oxytocin receptor antagonist clinical candidate for adenomyosis. No independent mechanistic studies or converging data are cited.

0 / 2

Rigor

The claim references a clinical-stage candidate (PHASE_2) per Open Targets, implying human-relevant development context, but no actual study data, models, or experimental results are presented to assess rigor.

1 / 2

Specificity

The mechanism of action is explicitly stated as oxytocin receptor antagonist acting on the oxytocin receptor target, indicating a specific, well-defined drug-target action.

2 / 2

Plausibility

Oxytocin receptor antagonism is mechanistically plausible for adenomyosis given the role of oxytocin in uterine contractility, and the drug is listed as a Phase 2 candidate for this exact condition. However, no phenotypic or efficacy data are provided to confirm the target-phenotype fit.

1 / 2

Consistency

With only a single mechanistic statement, there are no multiple signals to compare; the one claim is internally consistent (antagonist on oxytocin receptor for adenomyosis) but cannot demonstrate convergence.

1 / 2
How the scoring rubric works, in general

Layers not covered for this pair

Sex-specific pharmacokineticsNone on file

Not covered for this pair. This layer holds documented sex-specific pharmacokinetics for a limited set of drugs, and this compound is not among them yet. A blank here means the drug is not covered by the layer, not that no sex difference exists.

More on the sex-specific pharmacokinetics layer and its sources
Cycle-phase dependenceNone on file

Not covered for this pair. The cycle-phase layer is seeded for the strongest-evidence cases so far (PMDD), and this pair is not among them yet. A blank here means the pair is not covered by the layer, not that the effect was found to be phase-independent.

More on the cycle-phase layer and its sources

Source evidence · what the pipeline ingested

These are the sources the pipeline ingested to detect and score this signal, the published literature the model actually read, each tagged by study type. Where the model combined findings the claim is marked as a synthesis (S), and where the literature disagrees the contradiction is shown (!).

Every source below belongs to this signal’s evidence arm, Pathway insights. Whel reads each drug-condition pair through four such arms, each held to its own inclusion bar; a signal is surfaced through one of them.

  • 1Per Open Targets (retrieved 2026-06-16), EPELSIBAN (a Small molecule) is a clinical candidate for adenomyosis (maximum clinical stage PHASE_2); its mechanism of action is Oxytocin receptor antagonist on target oxytocin receptor. Open Targets · mechanistic

These are the verbatim sources the pipeline surfaced and read; they may not be the full published record for a pair, and the score reflects the strength and agreement of the evidence rather than its volume. The strength of these source types is what the rigor dimension of the score reads off. MATRIX, sex-specific pharmacokinetics, and cycle phase are separate layers the pipeline does not ingest, external cross-references reported beside the score, and they link to their own sources in their sections above.

The primary sources and pipelines this evidence is drawn from