Babson Diagnostics is poised to flip the script on blood testing with its BetterWay service, now available in Austin, TX.
For all its faults, Theranos did get one thing right: the now-defunct company proved that people want to have a choice of getting blood testing done in convenient, retail locations.
In 2015, shortly before the turning point in Theranos' story when it turned from fairytale to cautionary tale for all in medtech, two colleagues at Siemens Healthineers began talking about how the company could bring a better blood testing solution to market.
David Stein and Eric Olson began working with BD (Becton, Dickinson) on the sample collection end of the new venture and Siemens spun the project out. Olson left Siemens with a term sheet in hand and founded Babson Diagnostics. Siemens spun out licensing exclusivity and a cash investment into Babson, and BD also signed exclusive agreements.
Today, the company announced the launch of its BetterWay lab test that uses a small amount of blood (about the size of a pea) from a fingertip. Babson said BetterWay’s unique finger collection device, technology ecosystem, and microsample lab eliminate the need for a phlebotomist, needles, and the vials of blood typically required for diagnostic lab testing.
The company is launching BetterWay in Austin, TX at select locations, including H-E-B Pharmacy, Peoples Rx, and Lake Hills Pharmacy, where trained pharmacy staff collect samples and use automated technology to prepare and store them. Couriers transport the samples to Babson’s Austin, TX-based, CLIA-certified lab, and medically accurate, easy-to-understand test results are available within a day or two.
MD+DI sat down with Olson, Babson’s founder, ahead of the launch.
Navigating skepticism in a post-Theranos blood testing industry
Many outsiders said that what Babson is doing couldn’t be done and yet, here it is launching its BetterWay blood testing service in Austin, TX. So what does Babson’s founder, chief operating officer, and chairman say to the people who doubted the company from the beginning?
“Had you asked me 10 or 20 years ago I would have also been a skeptic,” Olson said. “And I think that skepticism is super healthy and that's what we need in diagnostics because it's an industry where there has been a lot of frustration that, ‘Can't we do better than this?’ We all feel, in the diagnostics industry, that there does have to be a better way somewhere but we've seen so many different attempts to make things better and you know all of the different efforts to get us from where we are, which we kind of collectively see as the dark ages, to the Tricorder from Star Trek ... we know there's going to be many steps between here and there and we've seen so many people try to skip steps and for it to just turn out to be nothing, for it to turn out to be false or to make compromises that are just not reasonable compromises to make.”
As an industry veteran who has seen so many of these fly-by-night diagnostics companies come and go, Olson said it is easy to become disillusioned.
“So, I don't have any objections to people being skeptical. I think skeptical is what we need, because a lack of skepticism is what let too many things get through the cracks,” he said. “...But I would say the approach that we took, the advantage of knowing that skepticism is going to be rampant – and should be rampant – is a science first approach where rather than exaggerating the things to come we produced the data from the clinical studies that are needed to evaluate whether what we're doing works.”
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Accurate: Babson conducted 44 clinical studies involving nearly 1 million blood tests to ensure that BetterWay results are equivalent to traditional blood testing methods and can be used for clinical decision-making, diagnosis, and treatment.
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Patient-centered: BetterWay offers an extensive menu covering testing needed for annual wellness exams, chronic condition management, and screenings. Insurance is accepted for testing ordered by a clinician for medical care. Consumers can also order tests for themselves online, with pricing up to 50% less than other self-pay options.
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Less invasive: BetterWay’s unique collection device, developed in partnership with BD, improves access for people who fear needles, have difficult veins, or faint when having blood drawn, a condition known as vasovagal syncope.
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Accurate: Babson conducted 44 clinical studies involving nearly 1 million blood tests to ensure that BetterWay results are equivalent to traditional blood testing methods and can be used for clinical decision-making, diagnosis, and treatment.
-
Patient-centered: BetterWay offers an extensive menu covering testing needed for annual wellness exams, chronic condition management, and screenings. Insurance is accepted for testing ordered by a clinician for medical care. Consumers can also order tests for themselves online, with pricing up to 50% less than other self-pay options.
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Less invasive: BetterWay’s unique collection device, developed in partnership with BD, improves access for people who fear needles, have difficult veins, or faint when having blood drawn, a condition known as vasovagal syncope.