A dual-use platform transforming menstrual fluid into accessible cervical cancer screening and a renewable source of stem cells for personalized therapeutics.
Improving female quality of life through accessible diagnostics and personalized stem cell therapeutics.
A single non-invasive sample delivers immediate diagnostic value while building long-term therapeutic potential
At-home self-collection and stabilization system integrated with optimized downstream processing workflow.
Non-invasive cervical cancer risk screening through HPV and host-response biomarker detection.
Personalized stem cell therapeutics using menstrual fluid-derived stem and progenitor cells.
An information-rich, routinely available biofluid that remains almost entirely untapped
Eliminates need for clinical infrastructure, trained personnel, and invasive pelvic examinations.
Unlike cord blood or adipose tissue, enables repeated collection throughout reproductive years.
Multipotent stem cells without surgical harvesting or embryonic sources.
At-home collection expands access to underserved and rural populations.
Contains cervical cells, immune markers, and viable stem cells for comprehensive analysis.
Enables repeated sampling for disease risk stratification over time.
Cervical cancer is the greatest oncological threat to South African women aged 15–44, yet it's almost entirely preventable with early screening
According to the WHO, 90% of cervical cancer deaths globally occur due to poor access to screening. Current methods—Pap smears and clinician-collected HPV tests—require clinical infrastructure, trained personnel, and patient willingness to undergo invasive examination.
These barriers suppress uptake dramatically. In South Africa, only 19% of eligible women are screened against WHO targets of 70%. Women in rural areas, those with limited clinic access, and those deterred by cultural or personal discomfort remain systematically underserved.
Meanwhile, menstrual fluid—an information-rich biofluid produced monthly by billions of women—remains almost entirely untapped due to the lack of standardized collection and processing tools.
SANGAEA provides non-invasive screening solutions that meet women where they are, while building the infrastructure to integrate menstrual fluid into mainstream diagnostic and research workflows.
Global cervical cancer screening market
Women eligible for screening worldwide
Women aged 15-49 in South Africa
SANGAEA's platform enables standardized collection, stabilization, and analysis of menstrual fluid as a high-value biological sample.
From a single sample, our LUAE kit generates molecular fractions for HPV and biomarker detection, plus viable menstrual-derived stem and progenitor cells for research and therapeutic development.
Cervical Cancer Screening: Overcomes barriers of invasiveness, cost, and clinical infrastructure that drive 90% of deaths in low-resource settings.
Stem Cell Source: Provides renewable, ethically uncontroversial multipotent stem cells without surgical harvesting—unlike cord blood (one-time) or adipose tissue (surgical).
Data Advantage: Longitudinal sampling builds proprietary datasets linking menstrual biomarkers to health outcomes.
Proprietary self-collection and stabilization system integrated with optimized downstream processing workflow.
High-risk HPV and host-response biomarker readouts for cervical cancer risk screening.
Viable menstrual-derived stem and progenitor cells for research and therapeutic development.
Our journey from concept to market
SANGAEA founded in Stellenbosch, South Africa
Platform architecture and initial product design
Laboratory validation of collection and processing workflow
Intellectual property protection for core technologies
Pre-seed round close ($250K USD)
Quality management system certification
1,000 women pilot study with Western Cape Department of Health
Stem cell therapeutic pipeline validation
Three scientists united by a shared mission to transform women's health
PhD Candidate, Biochemistry. MSc in Bloodborne Diseases & Clinical Trial Outcome Prediction. Expertise in infectious disease biomarker discovery, computational systems biology, and preclinical drug screening.
PhD Candidate, Biochemistry. Expertise in stem cell tissue culture, off-target effects of cancer therapeutics, and biochemical characterization of non-communicable diseases.
MSc in Vaginal Microbiome & Host-Microbe Interactions. African STARS Fellowship. Expertise in business development, stakeholder engagement, and operational strategy.
SANGAEA was founded by three scientists united by a shared frustration: despite advances in precision medicine, women's health remains systematically underserved and under-researched.
The founding team met at Stellenbosch University, where Tasmin and Nicole shared a lab bench while pursuing their doctoral research—Tasmin investigating malaria metabolism and Nicole studying metabolic dysfunction in diabetes and cancer. Through their work, they recognized a critical gap: many diseases present differently in women, yet diagnostic development continues to rely on male-biased datasets and invasive sampling methods.
SANGAEA emerged from a powerful insight: menstrual fluid—a biological sample that half the world's population produces monthly—remains almost entirely untapped. By developing standardized tools to unlock this resource, we aim to transform women's health from episodic, clinic-dependent care to accessible, data-rich, personalized medicine.
Non-invasive cervical cancer screening from the comfort of your home
Non-ZAR prices are indicative conversions and may vary at checkout.
Sensitive handling of health data and patient privacy is foundational to our model. Positive screening results are communicated with care, and patients are connected with trusted medical professionals for follow-up support and counseling.