INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Urinary tract infections are highly uncomfortable and distracting, and they are very common for women because of the female anatomy
In fact, according to the Mayo Clinic, many women experience more than one infection during their lifetimes.
Many of the afflicted try
resolving the infection on their own — using heating pads, drinking more water, taking pain medications
But often, these infections become quickly more advanced, a doctor is called, an in-patient visit is made, and the whole terrible episode is
only ended after a trip to the pharmacy for some antibiotics.
Until now, at least.
A young San Francisco-based startup called Scanwell
Health just this week began selling directly to consumers the first and, for now, the only FDA-cleared urine testing app that allows someone
to test their urine at home using a paper test strip and a camera phone
(Its app uses sophisticated color metrics to analyze the strip and determine what what.)
The kits are just $5
A call to Scanwell to confirm the results — it relies on outside physicians — will cost another $25
But that prescription service will also call in an order for antibiotics immediately if there an infection
(Users can also order the antibiotics, but it takes a couple of days for them to arrive.)
The startup — which has so far raised just
$120,000 from Y Combinator — was founded by Stephen Chen, a Harvard MBA who has the kind of backstory that makes investors
slobber.
Right out of school, he joinedTeco Diagnostics, a now 33-year-old maker of in-vitro diagnostics and medical devices, first as an
RD manager and later as a GM
Using what he&d learned there, he left Teco in 2013 to create a separate company, Petnostics, which makes a urine test for pets that can
help identify a range of issues, from diabetes to kidney stones to bacterial infections
He even pitched the company on the show &Shark Tank,& which was hosting open tryouts within distance of his home a couple of years ago, and
he landed $300,000 in exchange for 20 percent of the company.
While the exposure was great, the terms were not, suggests Chen, who says he
ultimately didn''t take the money
He didn''t need to, apparently
Petnostics is still a going concern and it has generated enough revenue to support the development of Scanwell, which Chen says was always
In fact, Chen started the FDA approval for Scanwell nearly three years ago
The reason: UTI testing for humans is a much bigger market, especially when factoring in the billions of dollars that are wasted on
emergency room trips for UTIs each year
Though hard to fathom, a visit to the ER for the condition can cost a stunning $2,600.
What happens from now depends on how effectively
Scanwell reaches its target market, but so far, it seems, so good.
Though the direct-to-consumer service will take some time (different
states have different regulations around over-the-phone prescription services), people in California and select other states can use the
In the meantime, Scanwell is making its kits available on as many college campuses as possible, given UTIs tend to be prevalent at schools
because students are sexually active.
The company is also looking to work more closely with insurance companies, arguing it can help them
improve their own quality ratings by using Scanwell kits to reduce Medicare and other insurance payouts.
Not last, the four-person team is
already working on other urine-based tests, including a test that identifies chronic kidney disease, and another test for cardiovascular
diseases.
Says Chen, &Paper tests are so cheap
They can reach people through the mail
It kind of like when AOL used to send out a bunch of discs
We can work with health providers to work with their patient populations and reach them more effectively through home tests.
Hopefully,
Certainly, as he notes, home access to diagnostics is &long overdue.
