SGS has partnered with Berlin-based health tech startup theblood to develop menstrual diagnostics for women’s health using menstrual blood.
The tie-up aims to build the scientific and regulatory case for using menstrual fluid as a non-invasive source of health data.
Menstrual blood contains biomarkers, biological indicators that can signal disease, and could help detect conditions such as endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which can affect fertility.
Despite the potential, menstrual blood is still largely unexplored as a diagnostic tool, and any clinical use will need extensive scientific validation.
SGS will act as an independent quality and validation partner and says it will apply its bioanalytical expertise to help ensure approaches meet regulatory standards from the outset.
Sheida Höhnlinger, director of business development at SGS in Austria, said: “Innovative diagnostics only gain relevance when they are supported by scientific credibility and quality.
“Through this partnership, we are accompanying the responsible development of a new matrix and its path towards trusted applications.”
theblood is working on the systematic exploration of menstrual blood as a clinically relevant biological matrix.
The company says the work is intended to address long-standing data gaps in women’s health and support earlier detection and improved understanding of female-specific conditions.
Isabelle Guenou, founder and chief executive of theblood, said: “With SGS accompanying this journey, we are ensuring that the exploration of menstrual blood is guided by scientific rigour, quality and long-term trust.”
For new diagnostic tools to gain clinical adoption, regulators and clinicians require evidence that results are accurate, reproducible and generated through quality-assured processes.
Robust validation is seen as key to building trust among healthcare professionals and patients who rely on the data for health decisions.
