Growth of the middleman company is a sign of increased credibility and acceptance among its client organizations
There’s a new category of player in the clinical laboratory testing industry. It is the “middleman” company. One high-profile example of a middleman company in diagnostics is the company ixlayer of San Francisco, which has a novel plan for growth.
The software developer provides cloud-based diagnostic testing platforms to retailers, health plans, and biopharma companies. Medical laboratory tests are not processed by ixlayer, however, but are instead sent to independent CLIA-certified clinical labs for completion and results reporting.
Thus, ixlayer acts as a third-party “middleman” in the lab testing chain.
Ixlayer recently debuted as number 1,418 on the 2023 Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies in the US, according to a company news release. Might this signal a dynamic and expanding clinical laboratory middleman sector?
There are a number of other established middleman companies doing this on the web as well, including:
Produced by Inc. Business Media, the Inc. 5000 list is based on data analysis of the fastest growing private businesses in the US. Ixlayer reportedly grew its 2023 revenue 100% year-over-year.
“To be selected for the Inc. 5000 list is an honor that validates the value we deliver while enabling greater access to care for all,” said Pouria Sanae (above), co-founder and CEO of ixlayer. “We’ve developed a platform that powers millions of diagnostic tests each year and serves as the backbone of thousands of health testing programs for trusted health brands, healthcare delivery organizations, payers, and life sciences companies. I’m excited about the future as we redefine and simplify the diagnostic laboratory testing ecosystem.” (Photo copyright: ixlayer.)
Ixlayer Works with Retailers, Insurers, Biopharma, and Clinical Labs
Ixlayer “facilitates” tests by working with industry partners and clinical laboratories, Managed Healthcare Executive explained.
One such relationship is with retailer CVS, Fierce Healthcare reported. Ixlayer provides the cloud-based diagnostics platform, at-home sample collection kits, and coordination of testing services for some of the pharmacy company’s at-home testing products. They include:
“With nearly 70% of medical decisions dependent on lab testing, regular diagnostic testing is a cornerstone of improving health and wellness,” Pouria Sanae, co-founder and CEO of ixlayer, told Drug Store News. “At-home testing enables people to proactively take control of their health, on their own schedule, in the privacy of their own home and on a regular basis. Our mission of creating a healthier world through more accessible, affordable, and easy health testing requires systemic changes and buy-in from key stakeholders and partners.”
Ixlayer directs specimens to independent labs that perform the tests and report results to consumers via an online portal.
“Founded in 2018, ixlayer initially focused on remote lab testing for Alzheimer’s disease patients. The company now offers thousands of white-labeled, at-home, and onsite health tests ranging from women’s wellness to sexually transmitted diseases and chronic condition management,” the news release notes.
“We’re thinking of it more from the perspective of: How do we infiltrate this infrastructure into our whole healthcare ecosystem? How do we let traditional providers run their programs the way they want to?” Alecia Pritchett, ixlayer Chief Growth Officer, told Managed Healthcare Executive.
Ixlayer “is not a lab,” Managed Healthcare Executive explained. “It describes itself as a platform. Instead of performing its own lab tests, it connects providers and retailers to accredited laboratory partners. Instead of sending out its own team of phlebotomists to collect blood samples, the company coordinates with mobile phlebotomy firms.”
“This comprehensive data visualization solution provides a more insightful analysis of testing performance data, empowering health plans, retailers, and biopharma organizations to monitor and manage progress in real-time effectively. With this actionable intelligence, decision-makers can focus on addressing gaps in care, accelerating access to critical drug studies, and promoting greater health equity to improve clinical and quality outcomes and economics across the healthcare ecosystem,” said David Yu, Chief Product Officer at ixlayer, in a news release.
Any Lab Test Now Also Makes Inc.’s 5000 List
Also making the 2023 Inc. 5000 list is Any Lab Test Now, an Alpharetta, Ga.-headquartered laboratory franchise that was founded in 2007. Any Lab Test Now is another form of middleman company which bills itself as the nation’s first direct access lab testing service with 200 locations. This is Any Lab Test Now’s second consecutive year on the list, according to a news release.
Unlike ixlayer, Any Lab Test Now’s business model features independently owned and operated locations around the US. Customers go online to choose a testing location, pay for tests, and schedule an appointment. Tests include:
Allied Market Research reported that the global at-home testing market is expected to grow by about 10.5% annually from 2022 to 2031, when it will reach $45.5 billion.
Another middleman company offering at-home tests is Everlywell of Austin, Texas. Other middleman companies that enable consumers to order tests online and then visit a local clinical laboratory for specimen collection include Testing.com and Walk-In-Lab.com.
Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for at-home sample collection testing has grown steadily. Dark Daily has covered this in numerous ebriefs. That middleman companies are showing up on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing companies indicates that the middleman sector of the clinical laboratory testing industry is growing as well.
Direct-to-consumer medical laboratory testing company gets a major shot in the arm as developers find ready investors and increasing consumer demand
Clinical laboratory tests, usually performed without fanfare, were thrust into the limelight during a recent episode of Shark Tank, an American reality TV show on which aspiring entrepreneurs compete for the attention and partnership funds of various investors.
EverlyWell, a direct-to-consumer (DTC) company that offers at-home lab tests without lab visits or doctor referrals, obtained a $1-million line of credit from Lori Greiner, one of Shark Tank’s participating entrepreneurs, according to MobiHealthNews. EverlyWell has consumers collect their own specimens at home, which are then sent to a medical laboratory testing facility.
Based in Austin, Texas, EverlyWell was founded in 2015 by Julia Taylor Cheek, CEO, with an aim to “make lab tests accessible, simple, and meaningful,” according to a news release. Cheek is also a Venture Partner with NextGen Venture Partners and formerly the Director of Strategy and Operations with the George W. Bush Institute.
“It’s incredible for the industry that we were selected and aired on a show like Shark Tank. It really shows the intersection of what’s happening in consumer healthcare and the high cost in healthcare and that people are really responding to new solutions,” Cheek told MobiHealthNews.
“I think the product is brilliantly crafted,” Greiner stated during the episode’s taping, according to MobiHealthNews. “It’s really nice; it’s really easy. It’s super clear. I think the state of healthcare in our country now is so precarious. I think this gives people an empowered way … to know whether or not they have to go find a doctor,” she concluded.
Greiner offered the $1 million line of credit (with 8% interest) in exchange for a 5% equity stake in EverlyWell, explained Austin360. According to SiliconHillsNews, she did so after reviewing certain EverlyWell financial indicators, including:
$2.5 million in revenue in 2016;
$5 million expected revenue in 2017; and
20% monthly growth rate.
Julia Cheek, CEO and Founder of EverlyWell (above), in a news release following her success on reality show Shark Tank, said, “We’re leading a major shift in the consumer health marketplace by bringing the lab to consumers’ doorsteps, and we are moving quickly to expand our channels, launch innovative tests, and deliver a world-class customer experience.” (Photo copyright: Forbes/Whitney Martin.)
Physician Review Still Part of Home-testing Process
EverlyWell lists 22 home lab tests on its website and a market share that encompasses 46 states. Shoppers can search for specific tests based on symptoms or by test categories that include:
General Wellness;
Men’s Health;
Women’s Health;
Energy and Weight; and
Genomic Test (through a partnership with Helix, a personal genomics company).
The most popular test panels include:
Food sensitivity;
Thyroid;
Metabolism;
Vitamin D; and,
Inflammation.
Prices range from $59 for a glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) test (found under the general wellness category) to $399 for a women’s health testing kit. EverlyWell explains that it has no insurance contracts for these diagnostic tests, which do not require office or lab visits.
The testing process, according to EverlyWell’s website, proceeds as follows:
After ordering and paying online, kits arrive at the customer’s home;
The consumer self-collects a sample (such as blood spots, dried urine, or saliva) and returns it by prepaid mail to a medical laboratory that partners with EverlyWell. The company notes that it works with CLIA (Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment)-certified laboratories;
A board-certified doctor reviews the lab results; and,
A report is available online in a few days.
“Our goal is not to remove the importance of physician review. It’s to make the experience easier for the consumer,” Cheek told Texas CEO Magazine. “We designed a platform that is all about access and empowering consumers to have access to and monitor their own health information,” she continued.
Texas CEO Magazine explained that Cheek was inspired to create the company following “a bad personal experience with health and wellness testing that sent her to seven different specialists, cost $2,000 out of pocket, and left her with pages of unreadable results.”
Since then, the three-year old start-up company has garnered more than $5 million in venture capital, noted the news release.
Many Choices in Direct-to-Consumer Lab Company Market
EverlyWell is not the only player in the DTC clinical laboratory test space. According to MedCityNews, there are at least 20 other DTC lab test companies in the market including:
23andMe;
Laboratory Corporation of America (LabCorp);
Mapmygenome;
Pathway Genomics;
Quest Diagnostics (Quest);
Sonora Quest Labs;
Theranos; and others.
The direct-to-consumer lab test market grew from $15 million to about $150 million in 2015 and includes both large and small clinical laboratory test developers, noted Kalorama Information.
Clearly, the DTC testing market is expanding and garnering the attention of major developers and investors alike. This growing demand for home-testing diagnostics could impact anatomic pathology groups and smaller clinical laboratories in the form of reduced order testing and decreased revenue.
Hospitals Opening Retail Clinics to Capture Greater Market Share
Walk-in rapid medical clinics in retail stores are so popular with consumers that now hospitals want in on the action. Some of the nation’s most famous hospitals have inked agreements to put their brand on rapid clinics located inside many of the country’s largest retail and pharmacy chains.
Hospital-branded rapid clinics are inside 25 Wal-Mart stores nationally, according to a New York Times article. Additionally, Cleveland Clinic lent its brand to CVS drugstore clinics in northern Ohio, Mayo Clinic is operating Express Care clinics inside a supermarket and shopping mall in Rochester, Minnesota, and there are others. In fact, one in 10 retail clinics are now connected to a hospital, and more are planned, according to Merchant Medicine News, an online newsletter for the clinic industry.
