A DIY Pap Smear

For Vanessa Bennett, senior international business leader at Roche, the COVID-19 pandemic had a silver lining: It made people comfortable with self-healthcare. With 4,000 U.S. women dying each year from preventable cervical cancer, which can arise from HPV, screening is crucial but underutilized by those wishing to avoid uncomfortable Pap smears. Roche’s HPV self-collection solution includes a swab or brush for users to collect their own specimen privately, in a healthcare setting; a lab then analyzes the collected cells for 14 different types of high-risk HPV genotypes. A medical consult follows, with intervention help if high-risk HPV is detected. Through Roche’s partnership with Peru’s Ministry of Health, more than 300,000 women have been screened since 2021, and the product was FDA approved for use in the U.S. in May. “Women are saying, ‘I never have to see a speculum again. I love this,’” Bennett says.

Correction, Oct. 31
The original version of this story misstated where the self-test can be administered. It is to be used in a healthcare setting, not at home.