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Houston health tech startup launches game-changing, at-home coronavirus testing

Houston-based Imaware has launched at-home testing that can identify if the patient has — or even had — the coronavirus. Photo via imaware.health

Politicians, scientists, public health officials, and others continue to stress the need for widespread testing to tame the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Houston-based startup Imaware, an at-home health testing platform, recently rolled out an at-home coronavirus test for high-risk people, such as someone with both a fever and recent exposure to someone infected with the virus. Now, it's gearing up to offer an at-home test designed to spot the presence of coronavirus antibodies in your blood.

Experts view antibody testing as a key to corralling the virus and rebooting the virus-crushed U.S. economy. However, some skeptics fear the benefits of antibody testing are being oversold.

As explained by Health.com, a nasal swab test can detect a coronavirus infection. But a blood test can pinpoint whether a person has been exposed to the novel coronavirus, which causes the COVID-19 respiratory illness, and might now be immune to it.

Jani Tuomi, co-founder of Imaware, says his company is working with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on approval of Imaware's antibody test. The in-home blood test might be available as early as May.

"We're still trying to make sure that everything checks out and validation is completed," Tuomi says, "but it looks like it's headed in the right direction."

In early April, the FDA approved the first test in the U.S. to detect coronavirus antibodies.

Tuomi says the process for Imaware's coronavirus antibody test will be similar to the one for the coronavirus detection test. Both tests, for instance, will be administered by licensed clinicians.

Here's how the basic test works.

To request a coronavirus test, someone completes a 10-question assessment at imaware.health. Austin-based startup Wheel, Imaware's telemedicine partner, created the online assessment.

Someone is given the go-ahead for testing if, as determined by a licensed health care professional, he or she falls into certain risk categories. For instance, somebody who's been exposed to a person with coronavirus and is over 60 years old would be approved for a test.

If health insurance covers the test or a patient pays for it entirely out of pocket, the test costs $135. (The home-based antibody test will cost about $120 to $125.) Public health agencies, including the Houston Health Department, can authorize a test for someone who can't afford it.

A trained health care professional goes to a patient's home to collect a test sample (by taking a nasal swab for the coronavirus test or drawing blood for the antibody test). A CDC-authorized lab then tests the sample. If needed, a board-certified health care professional can provide post-diagnosis care.

Results of a coronavirus test typically are available within three days. Tuomi says he hopes the results window for the test can be narrowed to between one and two days by the end of April.

"As a patient-advocate company, we are uniquely poised to be part of the testing shortage solution in Texas," Tuomi says in a March 23 release announcing the Imaware coronavirus swab test. "Our online platform, telemedicine partner, and in-home sample collection empower patients to take control of their health and access COVID-19 testing from the comfort of home."

Founded in 2018, Imaware employs 14 people. Others involved in the testing process, such as in-home testing clinicians and telemedicine experts, work for third-party partners. As the company adds to its testing lineup, Tuomi envisions the workforce rising to around 30 to 40 people by the end of 2020.

Earlier this year, Imaware (whose legal name is Microdrop LLC) had concentrated on home-based remote screening and monitoring for conditions like celiac disease and heart disease. But once it became clear that the coronavirus pandemic would be striking the U.S., the company shifted to coronavirus testing and, now, to antibody testing.

Before Imaware jumped into coronavirus testing, Tuomi performed a swab test on himself and realized that it wasn't feasible for anyone to do self-testing. On top of that, evidence surfaced that self-collection of test samples was producing a lot of false-negative results, he says. Subsequently, the federal government blocked self-testing for the coronavirus.

Today, health care professionals handle Imaware's at-home coronavirus testing and will handle the at-home antibody testing. The testing initially launched in Houston then expanded to the rest of Texas.

Tens of thousands of people have done coronavirus self-assessments through Imaware's online tool, Tuomi says. Far fewer people — in the hundreds — have actually fallen into high-risk categories based on the self-assessments and then have qualified for testing.

Tuomi says that as testing capabilities grow, Imaware will be able to accommodate people who fit into medium-risk coronavirus categories. Also, the company plans to offer its coronavirus test in states that neighbor Texas. Imaware hopes to provide its antibody test throughout the U.S.

In tandem with the public testing, Imaware teamed up with Austin-based energy tech startup RigUp to enable daily coronavirus screening at oil and gas jobsites. Imaware and RigUp are piloting the screening with several RigUp customers; they hope it eventually can be supplied nationwide.

"A cornerstone of the Imaware solution is the patient-centric approach offering superior telemedicine care from diagnosis to recovery," Tuomi says.

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With this new grant, UH has a new center for researching bioactive materials crystallization. Photo via UH.edu

A new hub at the University of Houston is being established with a crystal-clear mission — and fresh funding.

Thanks to funding from Houston-based organization The Welch Foundation, the University of Houston will be home to the Welch Center for Advanced Bioactive Materials Crystallization. The nonprofit doled out its inaugural $5 million Catalyst for Discovery Program Grant to the new initiative led by Jeffrey Rimer, Abraham E. Dukler Professor of Chemical Engineering, who is known internationally for his work with crystals that help treat malaria and kidney stones.

“Knowledge gaps in the nascent and rapidly developing field of nonclassical crystallization present a wide range of obstacles to design crystalline materials for applications that benefit humankind, spanning from medicine to energy and the environment,” says Rimer in a news release. “Success calls for a paradigm shift in the understanding of crystal nucleation mechanisms and structure selection that will be addressed in this center.”

The Welch Foundation, which was founded in 1954, has granted over $1.1 billion to scientists in Texas. This new grant program targets researchers focused on fundamental chemical solutions. Earlier this year, the organization announced nearly $28 million in grants to Texas institutions.

"Support from the Welch Foundation has led to important advances in the field of chemistry, not only within Texas, but also throughout the United States and the world as a whole,” says Randall Lee, Cullen Distinguished University Chair and professor of chemistry, in the release. “These advances extend beyond scientific discoveries and into the realm of education, where support from the Welch Foundation has played a significant role in building the technological workforce needed to solve ongoing and emerging problems in energy and health care.”

Rimer and Lee are joined by the following researchers on the newly announced center's team:

  • Peter Vekilov, Moores Professor, chemical and biomolecular engineering
  • Alamgir Karim, Dow Chair and Welch Foundation Professor, chemical and biomolecular engineering;
  • Jeremy Palmer, Ernest J. and Barbara M. Henley Associate Professor, chemical and biomolecular engineering
  • Gül Zerze, chemical and biomolecular engineering
  • Francisco Robles Hernandez, professor of engineering technology.

The University of Houston also received another grant from the Welch Foundation. Megan Robertson, UH professor of chemical engineering, received $4 million$4 million for her work with developing chemical processes to transform plastic waste into useful materials.

“For the University of Houston to be recognized with two highly-competitive Welch Foundation Catalyst Grants underscores the exceptional talent and dedication of our researchers and their commitment to making meaningful contributions to society through discovery,” Diane Chase, UH senior vice president for academic affairs and provost, says in the release.

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