Daye and the EIC Accelerator: HPV Screening With a Tampon

Tampon Innovations, which trades as Daye, is a women's health company whose Bulgarian entity was registered in Sofia in October 2018, with founder Valentina Milanova as manager. It sells organic and CBD tampons and turned the tampon into a sample collector for at-home tests for HPV, the virus behind most cervical cancer, as well as sexually transmitted infections and the vaginal microbiome. It was selected in the EIC Accelerator's January 2023 cut-off and received an EU grant of €2.50 million for a €3.79 million project running from July 2023 to June 2025, according to CORDIS.

The project is closed. Its final report states that Daye ran a trial with more than 250 participants with the University of Edinburgh, the Scottish HPV Reference Laboratory and Hologic, built a biobank of over 4,000 samples, registered the tampon with the UK regulator MHRA and developed an app and virtual care platform, according to the CORDIS reporting page. The report says the trial "demonstrated that the Diagnostic Tampon is more accurate" than swabs. The published study found comparable accuracy, not better: a sensitivity of 82.9% against clinician-collected swabs, with "no significant difference" between the two, according to the Journal of Clinical Microbiology.

Where Daye Stands Now

Daye sells an HPV and microbiome screen for £188 and a combined HPV, microbiome and STI screen for £277 on its website. In April 2025 it joined the NHS Innovation Accelerator for a three-year term, and in March 2026 it won the Digital Health Rewired Pitchfest, according to Digital Health. In July 2025 Daye Biotech Limited, incorporated in Cork, Ireland, with the stated objects of manufacturing and distributing medical devices, registered a UK establishment with Milanova as director, the Companies House register shows.

The Technology: A Familiar Collector

The tampon is used at home in place of a swab, and the sample is analysed in a laboratory; in the study, the Aptima assay tested it for 14 high-risk HPV types. In the study, the tampon gave a valid result for 99.2% of samples, against 95.4% for self-collected swabs and 90.8% for clinician-collected swabs. The authors say further research should check how well it detects HPV linked to actual cervical disease.

What the EIC Award Promised, and What the Record Shows

The award promised to validate the tampon clinically, set up manufacturing, launch a screening service and build a research platform. The public record supports each step: a peer-reviewed study, MHRA registration reported in the final report, a paid service online and a biobank. What the final report adds, that the tampon beat swabs on accuracy, goes beyond what the study itself concluded.

1. Clinical validationDeliveredPeer-reviewed, 2025.
2. Regulatory registrationDeliveredMHRA, per final report.
3. Screening serviceDeliveredOn sale from £188.
4. Superior accuracyNot shownStudy found parity.

The Money

The EU paid two thirds of the project's cost. The Bulgarian company's revenue rose 38.8% in 2024 and falls in a band of 5 million to 15 million leva, according to register data summarised by finansi.bg and CompanyBook. Exact revenue and profit are behind paywalls, and the accounts of the foreign parent that owns 90% of it, registered as АНС ДЕЙ ЛТД, have not been found.

What Cannot Be Checked

Why Europe Should Care

Cervical cancer affects more than 600,000 women a year worldwide, the final report notes, citing the World Health Organization, and names fear, embarrassment and discomfort with swabs and speculum exams as barriers to screening. A familiar tampon that gives a valid result almost every time could raise screening rates. That case is strong enough without overstating the evidence.

The Verdict

Daye and the EIC have not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records and published statements, linked throughout.