LetsGetChecked to expand at-home Covid testing for Irish customers

Health insights company LetsGetChecked has opened its Dublin lab as part of a plan to expand its at-home coronavirus testing for Irish customers.

The lab, which is its first owned and operated lab in Europe, will also play a part in a wider expansion of the business.

The Irish-founded company announced in December that it would add 160 jobs in Dublin, bringing the total number employed by the company to more than 650. It has already recruited 10 people for the lab, which is based in Calmount Business Park in Dublin 12.

Initially concentrating on the analysis of Covid-19 test samples, LetsGetChecked said the lab would eventually branch out to the company's other services, overseen by Lorna Ingoldsby, director of laboratory operations at LetsGetChecked.

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“Owning the whole supply chain has been a major priority for us since the beginning. We want to ensure our customers have the most reliable and efficient service possible, especially now amid a global pandemic.

"Building this lab has been a crucial part of our scaling up of Covid-19 testing as Ireland begins on the road back to normality. Testing will remain important to ensure safety in workplaces and for essential travel as the vaccine ramps up," said chief executive Peter Foley.

“Beyond this pandemic, we’ve seen a huge rise in demand for quality telehealth services. Customers have seen that they can access effective medical care from the comfort of their home. This lab will also help us expand this testing of other conditions such as diabetes, cholesterol and colorectal cancer screenings.”

Sales

Founded in 2015 by Mr Foley, LetsGetChecked has seen its business grow significantly in 2020, with sales rising by more than 800 per cent year-on-year.

The company has offered its private at-home screening model to more than 335,000 people in the past five years, with 13,500 infections and diseases detected. Pricing for its tests, which usually require only a simple prick of the finger, start at about €50.

The company began with sexual health tests, but its current list of tests includes men and women’s health and diagnostics for vitamin levels, thyroid function and cortisol levels. It has continued to offer its standard diagnostic tests to clients during the coronavirus outbreak.

LetsGetChecked has been offering coronavirus tests to frontline workers in the US since May, and has shipped more than one million coronavirus tests since the beginning of the pandemic.