Go fast. Stay Safe.

After being friends for more than a decade, Andrew Tupper and Rob Batchelor founded BT Biotech, a Eugene-based startup that is developing a platform for simple and accessible medical diagnostics. Currently BT Biotech is working on a rapid over-the-counter home test for chlamydia, a sexually transmitted disease (STD).

Founded only ten months ago, BT Biotech has developed a fully functioning test for chlamydia, which works like a home pregnancy test. Bringing this product to market requires Federal Drug Administration (FDA) approval; however, Tupper and Batchelor are moving fast. “With an FDA plan complete, we’re now working with a world-renowned FDA team to complete the process,” explains Tupper. BT Biotech expects to see FDA approval sometime in 2016, which is when the over-the-counter test will hit store shelves in the United States.

With about one out of every fifteen college students experiencing chlamydia and many cases left untreated, women can develop serious complications, including infertility. During customer interviews, BT Biotech found that a majority of people between the ages of 18 and 30 who experience chlamydia tend to go untreated for too long because they are embarrassed to see a doctor or don’t have easy, fast access to healthcare.  BT Biotech’s over-the-counter testing solution not only has the potential to minimize the spread of STDs, it offers extra privacy and an alternative to visiting a healthcare provider when possible exposure to chlamydia has occurred, saving consumers money, time, and exposure to uncomfortable testing methods.

BT Biotech is currently in the third week of a twelve-week accelerator program. Tupper and Batchelor continue to identify opportunities and partnerships that advance BT Biotech’s mission to provide simple and accessible medical diagnostics that deliver peace of mind.

-Profile by Carrie Russo, @carrieineugene