A Hong Kong biotechnology company behind a controversial human papillomavirus (HPV) screening method involving sanitary pads has said it will present its research to the government, after authorities warned against using products that lacked scientific evidence.
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Dr Choi Pui-wah, the founder of WomenX Biotech, also said on Tuesday that the government’s dismissal would not dampen her view of Hong Kong as a destination for technological innovation.
WomenX, the firm known for its sanitary pad brand La Rosee, had developed a product that it said was capable of testing for HPV by collecting menstrual blood.
On Sunday, the Department of Health urged residents to avoid using such products, citing “insufficient scientific evidence” both locally and internationally. Authorities did not name the firm.
The World Health Organization said the virus was responsible for 95 per cent of cervical cancer cases. Latest statistics from the Hong Kong Cancer Registry showed that cervical cancer was the seventh most common type among local women in 2023, seeing 576 new cases that year.
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Choi, a biomedical scientist and founder of the company, said the department had reached out to them last week, but her team did not have enough time to brief authorities on their findings as she was busy with an entrepreneurship contest in Singapore.