Memphian Carla Balch launched her med tech company Spesana officially in December 2019.
But, Balch says the idea for the startup has built upon all her experiences in the health care industry since 1999.
Her background is in the oncology space, and Spesana — Latin for hope and health — is a software platform — informed by molecular diagnostics — that could help patients get targeted cancer treatments more efficiently.
This latest venture is not Balch’s first oncology focused med tech platform launch. From 2011-15, she was CEO of California-based Altos Solutions.
In 2014, Google Ventures-backed Flatiron Health acquired Altos, and it first web-based oncology electronic medical record software, OncoEMR. Former Google Ventures managing partner Bill Maris told The Wall Street Journal at the time, “Altos is like rocket fuel for Flatiron.”
In 2018, Roche bought Flatiron — and its key OncoEMR tech — for $2.1 billion.
The team that built OncoEMR is building out the Spesana platform, Balch said.
OncoEMR primarily focuses on the community oncology setting and on one molecular diagnostic test. The Spesana platform is intended to work with all EMRs and all diagnostic tests.
“Until all patients are represented in a single EMR [and] getting a single test, that's not good enough for us,” Balch said.
The core of Spesana’s med tech is a platform that melds molecular diagnostic reports with electronic medical records, prior authorization, payer processes, approved drugs and pathways, clinical trials, clinical literature, and scheduling.
“We aren't just stopping at the genomic test. We're also interested in proteomic and radiomic tests,” Balch said. “So, any diagnostic that can help us put the patient on the right path in collaboration with our payer partners.”
Spesana is working with mProbe to incorporate machine learning it its platform. Based in California, mProbe is a molecular diagnostics and artificial intelligence company.
The Spesana platform is currently in beta testing at four sites, including Prisma Health’s Institute for Translational Oncology Research in South Carolina. The software will be marketed to community oncology and pulmonary providers, health systems, and academic medical centers.
Physician beta testers have already helped refine the Spesana platform with additional features — the ability to refer a patient to another specialist and to collaborate one-to-one on the platform.
Currently, Spesana has nearly 20 full-time staff and advisors. Balch expects to launch the platform in 2021 and add needed staff.
“The ramp [up] in the first half of next year is significant,” she said.
According to a July 2020 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Form D filing, Spesana has raised $1 million from a total $3 million securities offering.
While the company is virtual, Balch does hope to have physical space in Memphis in the future. She is based locally and is a University of Memphis graduate.
“I've run virtual companies since 2007 so we were virtual before it was cool or mandatory,” Balch said. “But, I would like to invest in the state of Tennessee — specifically Memphis — with some space.”
Once the Spesana is live and being used by providers, the startup hopes it can make a connection between cutting-edge diagnostic tools, shortened referral times, and maximizing all-important timing in oncology care.
“That will make a pretty big difference in diagnostics — getting the patient to the right specialist and on the right treatment,” Balch said.
