Unipath
Unipath Ltd was a
, specialising mainly in medical diagnostic kits related to women's reproductive health. It subsequently diversified its product range to include more specialised test kits, primarily for the clinical market, in areas other than women's reproductive healthcare.Based in Bedford, United Kingdom, the company had between 500 and 600 employees globally. Unipath's main assets were folded into Swiss Precision Diagnostics.
History
Unipath was formed in 1984 by the Unilever group. In 1985 they released and started to manufacture the first in their line of home pregnancy test kits marketed under the Clearblue brand.[1] The name is related to the fact that the test produced a blue marker line as a positive (pregnant) result and that it is 'clear' and simple to use. The product was a success, in part due to intensive advertising and held a majority market share in the UK by the end of the year.
Unipath released their clearplan home ovulation kit in 1987. The kit was designed for use in identifying the period of peak fertility in a prospective mother's
Unipath continued to make improvements to its fertility-related products over the years, improving their convenience and reliability of use. Refinements included a urine collector strip on their Clearblue pregnancy test that turns pink to indicate proper urine absorption, thus reducing the chance of a false-negative test by improper use. A later refinement also replacing the simple blue line indicator with an LCD display that clearly indicates the result, reducing the chance of the test line being misinterpreted by people unaccustomed to using medical test kits.
In 2001 Unilever sold the company to the
In 2007, Clearblue and other brands were folded into Swiss Precision Diagnostics (SPD) as a 50/50 joint venture between Alere and Procter & Gamble. The Unipath subsidiary was subsequently phased out by Alere. The Bedford main office of the former Unipath operates as a part of SPD under the name Clearblue Innovation Centre.
See also
References
- ^ Jones, Geoffrey; Kraft, Alison (2004). "Corporate venturing: the origins of Unilever's pregnancy test" (PDF). Business History: 100–122 – via Harvard Business School.