Ro Acquires Kit To Expand At-Home Medical Testing

Healthcare tech firm Ro has acquired at-home testing company Kit to expand its platform’s lab and diagnostics capabilities, the company announced on Wednesday (June 30). The value of the deal was not disclosed.

Kit offers doctor-ordered, customizable tests for home delivery. Patients administer the tests — such as finger pricks for blood tests, weight measurement tools and more — using the on-demand virtual and video support through Kit’s app.

“While we focused first on scaling with enterprise organizations, our vision has always been to bring affordable, routine medical care into as many patients’ homes as possible,” said Philip Fung, founder and CEO of Kit, and Erik Salazar, co-founder and COO of Kit, in the press release. “Joining Ro will accelerate this vision and allow us to create a turnkey diagnostics API for companies, vastly reducing the friction of patient testing and transitioning more healthcare services from responsive to preventative.”

Telehealth has surged since the beginning of the global COVID-19 pandemic, and it appears that it’s here to stay as an integral part of the connected economy.

Kit will operate autonomously, but its services will be integrated into Ro’s vertically integrated primary care platform. Patients will be able to order Kit tests and access their results on Ro’s platform, in addition to discussing the results with their providers.

Ro, which recently raised $500 million, will also add Kit to Workpath, its in-home care and testing services API, which can send healthcare providers to a patient’s home when necessary, expanding Kit’s offerings.

“Combining Kit with Workpath, our existing in-home care API, will enable Ro and other healthcare companies to send either a healthcare professional or test kit to a patient’s home with the click of a button,” said Zachariah Reitano, co-founder and CEO of Ro, in the press release.

The acquisition expands Ro’s B2B offerings, helping companies provide in-home products and services. Kit will also continue to work with its current B2B customers as well.

Kit’s lab is CLIA-certified and CAP-accredited.