LetsGetChecked home testing kit.
LetsGetChecked
LetsGetChecked is a direct-to-consumer at-home health testing platform available nationwide in the US, as well as in Canada and Europe, that connects customers to regulated laboratory testing to better manage and control their individual health.
Headquartered out of New York, LetsGetChecked’s portfolio of testing procedures currently includes wellness testing (cholesterol, thyroid, etc.), cancer screening, sexual health testing, fertility testing, genetic testing, and pharmacogenomic testing, among others. Partnered with connected health devices such as Apple Health, Fitbit and Garmin, the company provides customers access to a range of health data via its dedicated health dashboard. And by combining lab results with real-time wearable data, users can receive risk assessments and scores, such as their cardiovascular health to determine the probability of developing a heart attack within a given timeframe.
Today they announced the closing of $ 30M in Series B financing, with LTP, a Boston-based growth equity investment firm focused on healthcare IT, leading the round and existing investors Optum Ventures and Qiming Venture Partners USA also participating. LetsGetChecked will use the funding to continue scaling the company’s consumer brand in diagnostics, fuel development of the core technology platform and expand manufacturing and logistical capabilities throughout North America.
Speaking to Peter Foley, the founder and CEO of LetsGetChecked, he told me that his motivation for starting the company actually came from when he was younger – he underwent early screening for a medical condition and benefited enormously from the subsequent diagnosis and treatment and so wants his company to enable this type of discovery in others:
I made a full recovery, but that isn’t always the case. We have all experienced family or friends getting diagnosed with something too late and conditions that should be manageable get way out of hand. Early diagnostics through consumer-led screening can help solve this problem and lead to better clinical outcomes from everyone.”
Users can order physician-approved laboratory tests via LetsGetChecked.com or through partner retailers, including CVS (NYSE: CVS), Walmart (NYSE: WMT), Pharmaca, and McKesson (NYSE: MCK) online stores. Patients are connected with in-state board-certified physicians to discuss any abnormal results and determine the best course of action for treatment and care and also receive a nurse call to discuss the results live, which can be accompanied by an e-prescription to the pharmacy of their choice.
Todd Cozzens, managing partner at LTP, and previously CEO and founder at Marquette (IPO and subsequent sale to GE) and Picis (acquired by UnitedHealth Group) and investor at Sequoia said:
LetsGetChecked is taking lab testing and personal health management to the home through tight coordination of existing certified reference labs and logistics platforms. This creates a convenient and seamless consumer health testing experience, allowing timely access to results, follow-up care and professional guidance.”
Mark McDade, managing partner, Qiming Venture Partners USA adds:
We have seen LetsGetChecked grow and expand successfully over the time we have been involved. We are dedicated to investing in companies that solve real life problems, which is why LetsGetChecked stands out to us. We’re excited to help the company continue to grow at a time when people want more control over their own health.”
Direct-to-consumer home testing is certainly growing in popularity and people are increasingly looking to home testing as a means of optimizing their health. Here in the UK, there is still a question about the role of the public sector when it comes to direct-to-consumer health products, but companies like Thriva are beginning to work with the NHS to build out potential partnerships alongside a B2C model. Watch this space.