Tempus is a healthcare startup using key technologies, mainly artificial intelligence and machine learning, to identify cures for illnesses such as cancer. Why invest in Tempus? One of the reasons is to join the fight against Covid-19 and depression. But another reason is that Tempus has joined the CNBC Disruptor 50 list, 50 private companies that have the potential to change the world.
The founder of Tempus is Eric Lefkofsky, the CEO of the company and a Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) co-founder. The company launched in 2015, having its headquarters in Chicago. At the time the CNBC list was written, it had already raised $620 million and its valuation had reached $5 billion.
Tempus operates in the healthcare sector, using artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyze data and identify treatments for several illnesses, mainly cancer though it is branching into fighting Covid-19.
What Is the Business Model of Tempus?
First, Tempus offers genomic tests for physicians to order, currently offering four types of tests. According to the website, “our genomic tests analyze DNA, RNA, and proteomic data to understand a patient’s tumor at the molecular level so we can identify treatment options tailored to each and every patient.”
Second, there are partnerships with academic and medical centers to gather data and organize them in electronic health records. The labs are in Atlanta, and Tempus is said to have formed among the world’s largest molecular and clinical data libraries.
Third, the company “curates and sells de-identified data to pharmaceutical companies working on drug discovery.”
Before deciding if you want to invest in Tempus, you should know that big data in the healthcare market is a multi-billion market worldwide. This specialized healthcare market “was valued at over $ 14.7 billion in 2018 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of around 20% to reach $ 42.8 billion by 2024 owing to increasing adoption of Electronic Health Record (EHR), control healthcare spending, advance patient outcomes, etc. Health-related data is growing at a rapid pace driven by the government initiatives to promote the adoption of healthcare information system and introduction of cloud storage. Moreover, increasing adoption of mobile health apps and wearable devices, are further stressing on the need for managing large amount of data to obtain critical information, thereby driving the demand for big data in healthcare sector. Additionally, elevating popularity of electronic prescriptions eliminates the need for paper-based prescriptions, which is further positively influencing the growth of the market.”
Before investing in any company, either through public trading or private investing, it is always a good idea to check the fundamentals and growth of the main market it operates in. The above data shows that there is plenty of potential for growth for this healthcare sector, a factor to consider should you decide to invest in Tempus.
Main Applications, Products and Services
The main applications of Tempus business solutions are in the fields of oncology; neurology and psychiatry; research; life sciences; and infectious diseases. The company is focusing on supporting the cure of Covid-19 — providing tests and sample kits to individual patients, which are collected and processed. The results are very quick — usually within about two days — and the Tempus mobile application is used to inform the patients.
Tempus|iD is a sequencing panel under development that will be used to cover and analyze an extensive range of known respiratory ailments including Covid-19 and other common forms of coronavirus, as well as pneumonia and others. The purpose is to have a wide range of genomic sequencing for the virus that will further help research and discovery as well.
Other products and services offered by Tempus include genomic profiling, data licensing, clinical trial matching, companion diagnostics and additional testing. Genomic profiling is among the core products, offering a wide range of DNA and RNA sequencing services to help physicians to make data-driven decisions. Doctors can have access to a variety of sequencing capabilities and partnerships with physicians and hospitals can provide both a plethora of analytics and machine learning solutions.
There are four types of genomic tests:
• Tempus|xT searching and analyzing a targeted panel of 648 genes for the most commonly mutated cancer driver genes
• Tempus|xE a panel of about 20,000 genes
• Tempus|xF a targeted panel of 105 genes
• Tempus|nP a targeted panel of 15 genes
These tests use DNA sequencing using tumor/normal match and RNA sequencing and the laboratory capacity is over 100,000 patients per year.
It is worth mentioning that Tempus offers financial assistance to provide both easy and affordable access to its services offering a maximum cost of no more than $100 for those who qualify. Tempus is covered by insurance accepting all insurance plans and at this time is in-network with Aetna and Priority Health. Tempus is a covered entity under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), providing anonymity to all important and sensitive data such as the name of the patient, their date of birth and their address.
Should You Invest in Tempus?
The company has not yet released detailed IPO plans, but it operates in a business sector with a lot of potential growth, offering cutting-edge technologies and business solutions to fight illnesses such as cancer and Covid-19. The data-driven healthcare market is promising, yet it is suggested to further analyze in-depth and evaluate the positive and negative aspects of private investing.
As of this writing, Stavros Georgiadis did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
Investing through equity and real estate crowdfunding or asset tokenization requires a high degree of risk tolerance. Despite what individual companies may promise, there’s always the chance of losing a portion, or the entirety, of your investment. These risks include:
1) Greater chance of failure
2) Risk of fraudulent activity
3) Lack of liquidity
4) Economic downturns
5) Dearth of investor education
Read more: Private Investing Risks
