First-ever saliva pregnancy test coming to Britain and Ireland

York-based Abingdon Health has launched the first-ever saliva pregnancy test in the UK and Ireland.

The AIM-listed firm, which was contracted to manufacture Covid-19 lateral flow tests for the Department for Health and Social Care, 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 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.

As well as providing distribution support, Abingdon provides Salignostics with contract development services in scaling-up the Salistick product for manufacture and will continue to provide Salignostics with contract manufacturing services going forward.

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 and expected to reach £2.28billion by 2028, according to Arizton forecasts. 

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.’

Abingdon Health shares surged almost 18 per cent at the open to 17.25p. Their value has risen by more than 50 per cent over the last 12 months. 

The group was a beneficiary of the pandemic, distributing at-home Covid-19 antibody tests from its manufacturing units in Doncaster and York.

Salistick is co-branded Abingdon Simply Test, a range that now includes over 15 self-tests.