Expanded access to at-home HPV screening directly aligned with Biden Administration’s Cancer Moonshot Call to Action
BOSTON (May 4, 2022) – binx health, a healthcare technology and diagnostics company focused on making routine testing convenient, has partnered with student health insurer Wellfleet to broaden access to human papillomavirus (HPV) testing through convenient, at-home sample collection. The companies believe this joint initiative will encourage more Americans to get tested for HPV, in the settings and at the times most convenient for them. The Biden Administration highlighted HPV infections among its key areas of focus in its Cancer Moonshot reignition announcement earlier this year. Through this partnership between binx health and Wellfleet, a Berkshire Hathaway company and one of the nation’s largest student health insurance carriers, universities can offer their communities binx technology solutions and at-home sample collection for high-quality diagnostic testing to broaden access to HPV tests and help prevent its spread.
“Partnering with binx has opened a channel for low cost, discreet sample collection that has the potential to save lives,” said Barrie Baker, MD, MBA, and Wellfleet’s Chief Medical Officer, “In the U.S. there are an estimated 42 million cases of HPV at any given time[1]. This is an epidemic. Screening and early detection can lead to better health outcomes.”
Although the immune system can control most HPV infections, some infections, if left undetected and untreated, can lead to cell changes that can eventually lead to cervical, head and neck and other forms of cancer. In particular, more than 95% of cervical cancer is caused by HPV. The Cancer Moonshot Fact Sheet recognizes that facilitating HPV screening outside the clinic (e.g., through at-home and mobile screening) is critical to reducing barriers and ensuring equitable access. It commits the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to accelerating efforts to nearly eliminate cervical cancer through screening and HPV vaccination, with a particular focus on reaching people who are most at risk.
“It is gratifying to be shoulder-to-shoulder with an organization as committed to student health as Wellfleet,” said Jeff Luber, binx health President and CEO. “Their reach in student health enables us to jointly provide a safe, convenient, discreet solution for HPV detection and allow individuals to determine if they are at an increased risk for cervical cancer. We encourage everyone to get more information on HPV to better understand their own personal risks, and to get tested if they are at risk.”
For more information on the binx health HPV test kit visit: https://app.mybinxhealth.com/binx-boxes/hpv
About Wellfleet
Wellfleet is a Berkshire Hathaway company focused on delivering customer-centric insurance solutions through flexible product offerings and quality service. With an A++ (Superior) financial strength rating from A.M. Best (visit ambest.com for latest rating), Wellfleet’s goal is to protect people against risk throughout every stage of life — from grade school to college, the workplace, and beyond. Headquartered in Springfield, Mass., Wellfleet was founded in 1993 and is one of the leading providers of health and accident insurance products to the higher education market.
Additionally, Wellfleet’s Workplace division delivers high-quality, customizable benefit solutions through a suite of voluntary products, including Accident, Critical Illness and Short-Term Disability Income insurance. For more information, visit www.wellfleetinsurance.com Wellfleet is the marketing name used to refer to the insurance and administrative operations of Wellfleet Insurance Company, Wellfleet New York Insurance Company, and Wellfleet Group, LLC. All insurance products are administered or managed by Wellfleet Group, LLC. Product availability is based upon business and/or regulatory approval and may differ among companies. For more information, visit www.wellfleetinsurance.com.
About binx health
binx health is a healthcare technology and diagnostics company that makes routine testing convenient. The Company works with large corporate partners and institutions who have access to large patient populations and have a significant interest in delivering or facilitating better healthcare to provide access to and enable more streamlined delivery of diagnostic testing and care. Its omnichannel platform includes its point-of-care io platform, which puts central-lab quality testing solutions in the hands of clinicians everywhere, and the Company’s suite of physician-mediated and medical guideline-driven, at-home sample collection offerings, which bring high-quality testing, population health tools, and seamless digital integration capability to those unable or unwilling to visit a clinic location.
binx’s io platform is the first ever FDA-cleared, CLIA-waived point-of-care tool for the detection of chlamydia and gonorrhea from male and female specimens that provides central lab performance results in about thirty minutes. Its platform is highly flexible, easy-to-use, and rapid, offering molecular point-of-care answers at central-lab quality performance and for the first time enabling single-visit test and treatment. For more information, visit www.binx.com.
Media Contacts –
Jennifer Picard – Wellfleet
413-452-5360
Tony Berry – LaVoieHealthScience – binx
[email protected]
617-865-0063
Molly McKinney – LaVoieHealthScience – binx
617-865-0047
[1] https://www.cdc.gov/hpv/parents/about-hpv.html#:~:text=HPV%20infections%20are%20very%20common,teens%2C%20become%20infected%20each%20year.
