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STD Testing Firm MyLab Box Raises $1.56M

NEW YORK (360Dx) – At-home sexually transmitted disease testing service firm MyLab Box announced on Thursday that it raised $1.56 million in seed funding.

The financing will be used to expand the company's product line and increase access to its testing services, it said. In total, the company has raised $2.1 million.

The most recent financing was led by K5 Ventures and Texas Halo Fund. Morgan Stanley, Pasadena Angels, Pipeline Angels, and Sand Hill Angels also participated.

The Los Angeles-based company markets its tests directly to consumers, with prices ranging from $79 to $499 — about half of conventional lab tests, according to MyLab Box. Its testing menu includes chlamydia, gonorrhea, HIV, herpes, syphilis, and human papillomavirus.

Citing statistics from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, MyLab Box said that 2016 was the third year in a row in which STD rates in the US rose. Chlamydia was up 4.7 percent from the prior year, gonorrhea increased 18.5 percent, and syphilis was up 17.6 percent. Each year there are 20 million new STD cases in the US, the CDC said.

"STD rates in this country are at red-alert levels, increasing year after year," MyLab Box CEO and Cofounder Lora Ivanova said in a statement. "We believe that access to an at-home alternative will remove the stigma and shame of STD testing, allowing people to take control of their sexual health."