Clearblue

Clearblue
Owner SPD Swiss Precision Diagnostics GmbH
Introduced 1985
Markets World
Previous owners Unilever
Website www.clearblue.com

Clearblue is the flagship brand of SPD Swiss Precision Diagnostics GmbH and offers consumer home diagnostic products such as pregnancy tests, ovulation tests and fertility monitors.[1][2][3] The Clearblue brand is distributed in 47 countries and was first launched in United Kingdom in 1985.[4][5]

Product history

Clearblue home pregnancy test system 1985

Clearblue was introduced in 1985 with the launch of the first Clearblue Home Pregnancy Test system, which at the time was owned by Unilever.[4] It was the world’s first “rapid home test” that gave pregnancy test results in 30 minutes and allowed a woman to take a test before going to the doctor.[4] The test was a three-step process using a dipstick and small tray.[4]

In 1988, Clearblue launched the first one-step pregnancy test with the invention of lateral flow technology.[3][6] This one-step test gave a result in 3 minutes, subsequently reduced to a 1 minute result when Clearblue introduced the world’s first one minute home pregnancy test in 1996.[7] In 2003, Clearblue released the first digital pregnancy test to show the result in words ‘Pregnant’ or ‘Not Pregnant’ on a digital screen.[8][9]

Clearblue Advanced Digital Pregnancy Test with Weeks Estimator

In 2008, Clearblue released the Clearblue Digital Pregnancy Test with Conception Indicator.[2][10] It was the first and only pregnancy test which showed the time since ovulation occurred (1-2, 2-3 or over 3 weeks) alongside a pregnant result.[10] It was released in Europe in 2008 and in the U.S in August 2013 under the name “Clearblue Advanced Digital Pregnancy Test with Weeks Estimator.”[1][11]

Clearblue has also launched ovulation and fertility home diagnostic products to help women identify their fertile days and to maximize their chances of conception.[12]

In 1989, Clearblue released the first one-step home ovulation test, enabling women to measure their surge in Luteinising Hormone (LH) to determine their most fertile days.[9][12] In 1999, the brand launched the world’s first dual-hormone fertility monitor, which allowed women to measure estrone3-glucuronide (estrogen) in combination with LH.[13] The company created the first digital ovulation test in 2004.[14] In 2013, the company also began offering an ovulation test with a dual hormone read detecting both estrogen and LH.[15]

Clearblue Digital Ovulation Test with Dual Hormone Indicator

Clearblue won the 2012 Red Dot Design Award in the product design category for its Clearblue Plus Pregnancy Test.[16] The Clearblue Digital Ovulation test was the 2011 Platinum winner in the Prima Baby Reader Awards.[17]

Clearblue is a donor to Flight for Every Mother Ltd, a humanitarian project led by Dr. Sophia Webster which aims to improve maternal health in Africa.[18]

SPD Swiss Precision Diagnostics GmbH

Unilever’s diagnostics subsidiary, Unipath, was sold to Inverness Medical Innovations Group in 2001, later renamed ALERE.[4] Since 2007, Clearblue has been produced and distributed by SPD Swiss Precision Diagnostics GmbH, a 50/50 joint venture between Procter & Gamble and ALERE.[19][20][21][22][23] The company is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.[24] In addition to Clearblue, the company also manufactures and distributes other consumer diagnostic products including Accu-Clear, Fact Plus Pregnancy Test, Clearplan and the PERSONA monitor.[19][21][25]

Clearblue Research Center

Clearblue Research Center

The Clearblue research and development facility is based in Bedford, United Kingdom and employs over 130 people. The Research Center has conducted over 100 clinical studies involving over 500,000 clinical trial participants over the last 25 years.[26][27]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Alexandra Sifferlin (2013-08-28). "Finally, The First Home Pregnancy Test That Tells You How Pregnant You Are". TIME Magazine. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 {{cite web there are two windows a result line and a control line, if control like doesn't show up that doesn't always mean it is inaquarate. About 98% of the time they are right. You should still get a pregnancy test the following morning or go to your local doctor. |url=http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/health/2013/09/08/new-home-pregnancy-test-reveals-how-pregnant-you-are/UpQFvWgbq8Mhza8VKxmnSL/story.html |author=Deborah Kotz |date=2013-09-08 |accessdate=2013-10-07 |title=New home pregnancy test reveals how pregnant you are |publisher=Boston.com}}
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Pagan Kennedy (2012-07-27). "Who Made That Home Pregnancy Test?". New York Times. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Geoffrey Jones and Alison Kraft (2010-06-04). "Corporate venturing: the origins of Unilever’s pregnancy test". Business History 46 (1). doi:10.1080/00076790412331270139. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  5. ↑ "Les pharmacien défendent leur monopole sur les tests de grossesse". Le Figaro. 2013-11-09. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  6. ↑ Sarah Tiplady (2013). "7.3: Lateral Flow and Consumer Diagnostics". The Immunoassay Handbook. pp. 533–536.
  7. ↑ A.J. Jacobs (1997-07-18). "David Lynch Takes a Pregnancy Pause". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  8. ↑ "A Timeline of Pregnancy Testing". The Office of NIH History. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Sarah Tiplady. "Chapter 7.4: Consumer Diagnostics—Clearblue Pregnancy and Fertility Testing". The Immunoassay Handbook. pp. 537–540.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Michael Johnsen (2013-08-28). "Swiss Precision launches pregnancy test that also provides an estimate of time since ovulation". Drug Store News. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  11. ↑ Carey Goldberg (2013-09-06). "Can New Pregnancy Test Be Used To Watch For Early Miscarriage?". NPR News Station. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Whitelaw, Dr. W. A., ed. (2004). "History of Medicine Days". The University of Calgary. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  13. ↑ "New Pregnancy Test May Also Show Miscarriage Risk". NPR News Station. 2013-07-11. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  14. ↑ "Clearblue Digital Ovulation Test". Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  15. ↑ "New Clearblue Ovulation Kit: Get pregnant quicker – the natural way". soFeminine.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  16. ↑ "ClearBlue Plus". Red Dot 21. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  17. ↑ "Platinum winner - ovulation test". Babyexpert.com. Retrieved 2013-10-23.
  18. ↑ "Sponsors". Flight For Every Mother. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Michael Johnsen (2011-02-14). "NAD recommends modification of Clearblue Easy Digital ad claims". Drug Store News. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  20. ↑ "Clearblue". Procter & Gamble. 10 Oct 2012. Retrieved 17 Oct 2013.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 "SPD Swiss Precision Diagnostics GmbH". InsideView. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  22. ↑ "Inverness Medical and Procter & Gamble form consumer diagnostics joint venture – SPD Swiss Precision Diagnostics GmbH". Thomson Reuters. 17 May 2007. Retrieved 17 Oct 2013.
  23. ↑ "Inverness Medical Innovation (IMA) Forms Joint Venture with Procter & Gamble (PG)". StreetInsider.com. 27 Dec 2006. Retrieved 17 Oct 2013.
  24. ↑ "SPD Swiss Precision Diagnostics GmbH". Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  25. ↑ "7.4 Consumer Diagnostics—Clearblue Pregnancy and Fertility Testing". Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  26. ↑ Sarah R. Johnson, Fernando Miro, Sophie Barrett and Jayne E. Ellis (2009). "Levels of urinary human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) following conception and variability of menstrual cycle length in a cohort of women attempting to conceive". Current Medical Research and Opinions 25 (3).
  27. ↑ Janet Grannells (2013-09-06). "Abstracts of the 27th Annual Meeting of ESHRE, Stockholm, Sweden, 3 July—6 July 2011". Human Production.

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