A lateral flow test to determine if a woman is pregnant could soon hit the shelves in the UK. The world's first saliva test is expected to go on sale after a company bagged distribution rights.
The SaliStick test kit was developed by Israeli start-up Salignostics. It promises to deliver results in 10 minutes, similar to the coronavirus lateral flow tests.
The Mirror reports the kits have already been available in South Afira, the United Arab Emirates and Israel. It will now be sold in the UK after Abingdon Health secured a deal.
The cost of the test has now yet been revealed. Salistick, which will be co-branded Abingdon Simply Test, uses technology to detect the pregnancy hormone β-hCG in saliva.
Professor Aaron Palmon, the co-founder of Salignostics, said: "Saliva is the key to rapid diagnostics for a variety of medical reasons. It is the only non-invasive, easy, and hygienic means to detect hormones, viruses, and even diseases.
"With SaliStick, we leverage the powerful diagnostics abilities we have been able to create from analysing saliva. This product completely removes the need for blood and urine samples when testing for pregnancy."
Dr Guy Krief, fellow Salignostics co-founder, added: “We are excited to join with Abingdon Health to bring our Salistick saliva-based pregnancy test to consumers in the UK and Ireland. We believe that Abingdon Health is the right partner to bring this revolutionary product to pharmacy shelves throughout the region, allowing for easy and accessible pregnancy tests for women.”
Subscribe here for the latest news where you live
Abingdon Health's CEO Chris Yates said: “We are delighted to be distributing Salistick in the UK and Ireland, the first saliva pregnancy test to be launched worldwide. This exciting innovation offers women the opportunity to test for pregnancy in a cleaner, more straightforward, and easier way, and is a long overdue development in the pregnancy testing market.
"We are excited to be partnering with Salignostics and we look forward to continuing to work with them to bring innovative self-test products to market."
