INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Companies continue to refine digital diagnostic tools for in-home healthcare at a rapid clip
The latest to launch is an at-home test for urinary tract infections from the Los Angeles-based startup Scanwell Health.The company was
founded by Stephen Chen, who literally grew up in the diagnostics testing business
ChenSo far, Scanwell is the first company to receive clearance from the Food and Drug Administration for its tests, and the only company to
receive clearance to be sold over the counter, according to Chen.Through its partnership with Lemonaid Health, a telemedicine provider for
consultations with nurse practitioners and physicians, customers can get diagnosed using the Scanwell app and receive a consultation and a
course of treatment all from the comfort of their home
The tests cost $15 for a pack of three and the consultation with Lemonaid is another $25
their first diagnostic test to market
The company first submitted its product to the Food and Drug Administration for approval in 2015
While Chen waited for clearance from the FDA, he launched Petnostics to build out a user base and test the product in the less stringent
world of veterinary health.Sales from the Petnostics product helped bootstrap the company through its first few years of development and get
its first product onto the market
Now, Scanwell is ready to expand, says Chen.The company has a test for chronic kidney disease in the works through a collaboration with
Kaiser Permanent and the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort Study to improve screening for and monitoring of chronic kidney disease at home
Using urinalysis testing to screen for excess proteins, the company is hoping it can help identify CKD in more people earlier, allowing for
journey are a clutch of well-positioned investors, including the Y Combinator accelerator and institutional investors like Founders Fund,
national launch of our test and app, are exciting milestones that will allow us to realize our vision of making reliable, convenient at-home
We have a number of additional diagnostic tests in the pipeline that have the potential to change the way we diagnose and treat infections
and monitor chronic diseases
