– Scanwell Health announces the nationwide launch of smartphone-enabled test and treatment service for urinary tract infections via partnership with Lemonaid Health.
– Company also announces $3.5 million in seed financing from investors including Founders Fund, Mayfield, DCM, Version One, Y Combinator, and Joe Montana’s Liquid 2 Ventures.
Scanwell Health, a Los Angeles, CA-based modern diagnostics company dedicated to making healthcare more convenient and accessible, announced that its at-home smartphone-enabled test and treatment service for Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) is now available in all 50 states. Through a partnership with Lemonaid Health, a telehealth company that enables patients to quickly, safely and inexpensively receive care online, people across the country can now diagnose UTIs using Scanwell’s test and app, then receive immediate treatment from a Lemonaid physician or nurse practitioner.
Clinical-Grade and FDA-Cleared
Scanwell’s UTI test is the only FDA-cleared urine testing app available over-the-counter (OTC) without a prescription. The partnership with Lemonaid Health enables people across the country to diagnose UTIs using Scanwell’s test and app and receive immediate treatment from a Lemonaid physician or nurse practitioner.
Why Urinary Tract Infections?
About 50% of women will develop UTIs in their lifetime. Despite how common these infections are, less than half of US adults reported being able to get a same or next-day appointment with their primary care provider. Scanwell Health’s UTI test was conceived by founder, Stephen Chen, based on his experience developing Petnostics, an at-home urine testing solution to detect and monitor health conditions in dogs and cats. Petnostics was featured on Shark Tank and received a $300,000 offer from Lori Greiner and Kevin O’Leary.
Accessible, At-Home Testing
Using the Scanwell test kit and the Scanwell iOS or Android app, people can quickly and accurately determine whether they have a high concentration of leukocytes and nitrites in their urine, indicating that they could have a UTI. Scanwell’s test provides a result in as little as two minutes, with the same diagnostic accuracy as a urinalysis performed in a clinic. If the user has signs of a UTI they are directly connected with Lemonaid’s virtual team of physicians and nurse practitioners, who can prescribe antibiotics if needed. Scanwell’s tests are available via scanwellhealth.com for $15 per pack of three tests.
Partnership with Kaiser Permanente
Scanwell also has a partnership with Kaiser Permanente and the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) Study to improve screening for and monitoring chronic kidney disease (CKD) at home. Through this collaboration, Scanwell is using its urinalysis technology to screen participants’ urine for excess proteins. Increased access to screening may help identify CKD in more people at an earlier stage, allowing for timely lifestyle interventions to help stem the progression of the disease.
Seed Funding
In addition, the company also announced that it has raised $3.5M of seed funding from investors including Founders Fund, Mayfield, DCM, Version One, Y Combinator and Joe Montana’s Liquid 2 Ventures. The proceeds of the financing will be used to support the national launch, develop new diagnostics and hire additional team members.
“This funding from an incredible group of investors, together with the national launch of our test and app, are exciting milestones that will allow us to realize our vision of making reliable, convenient at-home testing available to millions of people,” said Stephen Chen, founder and CEO of Scanwell Health. “Our partnership with Lemonaid is only the beginning. 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. We look forward to working with additional partners to bring these tests to people across the country.”
