Babson Diagnostics to Launch Unique Lab Service in Texas
Babson Diagnostics (Austin, TX) will launch its micro-sample blood testing service at H-E-B supermarkets in Austin and San Antonio this July, according to Babson Founder and Chief Operating Officer Eric Olson. The service (branded “BetterWay”) will utilize BD’s FDA-cleared MiniDraw fingerstick blood collection system at kiosks located at the pharmacy sections at H-E-B supermarkets. Patient samples will be couriered to Babson’s CLIA-certified and CAP-accredited 21,000-square-foot laboratory in North Austin. Babson is aiming to have blood-collection sites set up at 100 supermarkets and independent pharmacies throughout Texas by the end of the year.
San Antonio-based H-E-B operates more than 430 grocery stores across Texas and Mexico. Babson also has agreements to open BetterWay collection sites at two independent pharmacies in the Austin area, Peoples Rx and Lake Hills Pharmacy.
Olson says that Babson’s BetterWay sites will focus on traditional physician-ordered lab tests for patients with private insurance, Medicare and Medicaid. Self-paying patients will also be served. Olson says that Babson is working with several private health insurers in Texas and expects to have several in-network contracts in place by July.
Based on a study by the University of Chicago and West Health Institute, Olson says that up to 40% of patients fail to get ordered lab tests. He believes that Babson’s convenient locations and fingerstick sample collection can improve patient compliance.
The initial test menu includes 55 routine blood tests, including CBC, lipid panel, comprehensive metabolic panel, A1c,
Vitamin D, PSA, TSH, etc.
Created at Siemens Healthineers
Prior to founding Babson, Olson spent 17 years at Siemens Healthineers — most recently as Vice President of Disruptive Technologies. Babson was incubated at Siemens in 2015 and then spun out as an independent company in early 2017.
How the BetterWay Process Works
Babson will supply its retail partners with supplies for fingerstick sample collection and transport. Babson is utilizing BD’s Minidraw Capillary Blood Collection System, which was cleared by the FDA in December 2023. Trained pharmacy employees, rather than phlebotomists, will collect specimens. Here’s a summary of the BetterWay process:
Step 1: The patient places their palm on BetterWay’s warming device (slightly larger than a computer mouse) for one to five minutes. A pharmacy employee then slips a plastic finger sleeve over the patient’s ring finger. A lancet is used to prick the finger. Wings on the finger sleeve are squeezed to produce blood drops.
Step 2: A tube attached to the finger sleeve collects 435 to 635 μL of whole blood (approximately 5-10 drops). The tube is then placed in a storage device for centrifugation and cold storage.
Step 3: A Babson courier picks up and delivers specimens to Babson’s CLIA-certified lab in North Austin for testing on conventional analyzers.
Investors Backing Babson Diagnostics
Babson has raised a total of more than $44 million to date. Most recently, Babson raised $21 million from a Series B financing round in June 2021. Emerald Development Managers (New York City) was the lead Series B investor, and existing investors Siemens Healthineers, Prism Ventures and Lago Consulting also participated