At-home testing startup LetsGetChecked secures $71M in funding to increase manufacturing, supply and testing capacity for COVID-19

As many states across the country are slowly reopening to get their citizens back to work, the need for testing is more needed than ever. LetsGetChecked is a New York City-based direct-to-consumer at-home health testing and insights startup. The company is presently launching a test for Coronavirus to help frontline healthcare workers combat COVID-19, with hopes to launch an at-home test for the public soon.

Today, LetsGetChecked announced it has closed $71 million in its Series C round of financing. The round was co-led by Illumina Ventures and HLM Venture Partners, with participation from new and existing investors. In conjunction with the funding, LetsGetChecked also announced that  Nick Naclerio, Founding Partner at Illumina Ventures and Steven Tolle, Partner at HLM Venture Partners have joined as new Board members. Just about a year ago, LetsGetChecked raised $30 Million in Series B Financing. The round was led by Boston-based growth equity investment firm focused on healthcare IT, LTP.

Founded in 2014 by Peter Foley, LetsGetChecked is an at-home health testing platform that connects customers to regulated laboratory testing. By combining health data and diagnostic results, LetsGetChecked provides rich health insights to enable better healthcare decision making. LetsGetChecked tests cover general health, men’s health, women’s health, and sexual health, and are available nationwide in the US, Canada, and Europe.

“As a fund dedicated to improving human health, we’re thrilled to support LetsGetChecked’s mission of empowering consumers to take more control of their personal health, said Nick Naclerio.

He continued: “The company’s work has never been more important now that the world faces a global pandemic, forcing us all to re-evaluate how we obtain health and wellness services. LetsGetChecked is already having a profound impact on patient-led at-home healthcare, which is necessary now and will become increasingly common in the future.”

LetsGetChecked will use this round of funding to increase manufacturing, supply and testing capacity for COVID-19, as well as scale-up activity at its CLIA certified high complexity laboratory in California. Furthermore, the investment will allow the company to expand supply and business operations and support personnel across the United States and Europe and to deepen its partnerships with leading insurers and employers.

“HLM invests in companies that inherently drive adoption due to the need they serve, and companies that leverage important market trends. In this case, LetsGetChecked is helping to improve consumer access to care, which is increasingly essential.” said Steven Tolle.

The LetsGetChecked “twin-track” Coronavirus test includes a rapid (antibody) serology test for results within 15 minutes, followed by a PCR-based test which requires a swab sample to be collected from a patient and later processed within the LetsGetChecked high complexity CLIA lab. The tests help relieve pressure on over-stretched hospital screening services and speed up identification of potential cases by providing additional testing capabilities for frontline healthcare workers, at risk groups and critical workers.

“We have been developing our platform for more than five years and have helped hundreds of thousands of individuals by enabling access to high-quality testing and telehealth services in the home, across many health conditions. With the onset of COVID-19, we realigned resources with a view to helping with this global pandemic and are currently delivering tens of thousands of tests per day to critical and frontline healthcare workers”, said LetsGetChecked founder and CEO Peter Foley.

He continued: “We are working hard to deliver COVID-19 testing into the home and hope to have an answer soon. At-home testing has never been more important as consumers around the world look for new and trusted methods for managing their health.”

In addition to COVID-19 testing, consumers can order a variety of physician-approved at-home health tests via LetsGetChecked.com or through partner retailers online with other in-store retail options expanding through 2020. Available tests currently include wellness testing and chronic condition testing, e.g. diabetes, cholesterol, and thyroid testing; cancer screening, sexual health testing, fertility testing, and pharmacogenomic testing. Once a test is purchased, users collect samples at home and send it back to LetsGetChecked’s accredited facility at no additional cost. Confidential, accurate results are available online within a matter of days.

Throughout the process, consumers are connected with in-state, board-certified physicians to discuss any abnormal results and determine the best course of action for treatment and care. Consumers will also receive a call from a medical professional to discuss their results live, which can be conveniently accompanied by an e-prescription from a pharmacy of their choice.

LetsGetChecked has also integrated with a number of CLIA-certified reference labs and health systems in both the US and Europe, and is building partnerships with a growing number of US healthcare insurers and employers for personalized screening, home and employer onsite testing. For shipping and handling, the company has logistics partnerships with UPS and USPS to provide a seamless and convenient consumer experience with rapid turnaround for testing results.