The world's first-ever saliva test kit to help tell women if they are pregnant may soon arrive in the UK. The SaliStick test kit was developed by Israeli start-up Salignostics and promises to give definitive results in 10 minutes - and is similar to a lateral flow test for coronavirus.
While they have been available in certain parts of the world - such as South Africa and the UAE - it will soon land in the UK as well after Abingdon Health secured a deal.
However, it is not yet clear how much the handy little test kit will cost, the Mirror reports. The technology in the Salistick works by detecting the pregnancy hormone β-hCG in the saliva.
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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. 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.”
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."
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