World's first saliva pregnancy test launched in UK thanks to Doncaster firm

Abingdon Health, which was also contracted to manufacture Covid-19 lateral flow tests for the Department for Health and Social Care during the coronavirus pandemic, told investors on Monday it is now the exclusive distributor of Salistick across the countries.

Salistick, which is developed by Israel's Salignostics, offers 'an improved user experience, with high accuracy for early pregnancy' as an alternative to traditional urine tests, Abingdon said.

The group added: 'Salistick offers the ability to test anywhere, anytime, and for the testing experience to be shared with a partner and other loved ones.'

Abingdon has partnered with high street pharmacy giant Superdrug for the launch, with the health and beauty retailer initially rolling out Salistick from 400 of its 900 UK and Ireland stores.

The test will also be available from Abingdon Simply Test, the group's direct-to-consumer e-commerce offering.

It is estimated that 12.5 million pregnancy tests were performed in the UK in 2022, with the global pregnancy test kits market valued at £1.7billion in 2022.

Chris Yates, CEO of Abingdon Health, said: 'This novel technology provides women with an enhanced user-experience; offering the ability to test anywhere, anytime, and for the experience to be shared with a partner and other loved ones.

'We are pleased to have supported our partner Salignostics Ltd through the development process into manufacturing and now commercial launch, and we look forward to deepening our collaboration as we move forward.'