Kallaco is proud to be a trusted partner delivering the highest-quality COVID-19 testing available in the United States. Our company, which marries the latest in technology and testing, was created by U.S. healthcare executives who have worked for decades supporting universities, hospitals and employers in many different capacities, all driven by the intention to provide a much-needed, modern service when communities need it most. The testing provided by Kallaco has all of the licenses required in the U.S. Our testing has been submitted to the FDA through the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) process and our labs have the authority to run this test under current FDA EUA guidelines.
We understand that these are very challenging times. There are a lot of questions and everyone deserves full transparency. Here is a list of commonly asked questions. You can also reach us at connect@kalla.co.
Q&A
Kallaco is such a new company. Who are they?
Kallaco was created by U.S. healthcare executives who saw firsthand what the lack of testing could do to highly-impacted areas while they were working in New Orleans when COVID-19 struck. They were able to deliver testing to one of the first, and hardest hit, areas of the city. They believed this lack of available testing was going to quickly and dramatically affect businesses and universities across the country.
Who runs Kallaco?
The Kallaco leadership team has worked in healthcare for decades, supporting universities, hospitals, and employers in many different capacities. Our leadership team is comprised of:
John M. Spivey
Founder / CEO
John is the founder and CEO of Kallaco which is based in New Orleans, Louisiana. He has over 25 years of experience in executive leadership and entrepreneurial ventures in multiple technology and healthcare endeavors. John formed his first start-up, Vention, Inc., at age 25, which grew into one of the largest e-business application development firms in the southeast. John was later instrumental in founding a number of healthcare ventures including: Bladder Health Network, Sigma Health Ventures, EngageDX, Constance Ventures, and Availiant Healthcare Strategies which provides management and consulting services to clinical laboratories. John received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Mississippi and completed his doctoral coursework at the University of Kansas.
James McMahon
CFO
James is an executive with more than 13 years of experience in corporate finance, mergers & acquisitions and general business operations. He has spent the past six years in the healthcare industry, first in the corporate strategy department at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana and then helping to develop several healthcare ventures, most recently Kallaco, where he serves as the CFO. Prior to working in health care, he spent seven years working in various corporate finance and private equity roles in the energy industry including: director of mergers & acquisitions and director of financial planning & analysis for two global fortune 500 companies. James holds an MBA from Tulane University and a Bachelor’s of Science in Management from The University of New Orleans. He also spent twelve years serving in the U.S Military, completing multiple overseas deployments.
Dr. San San Ng
Chief Scientific Advisor
San San Ng has her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology & Human Genetics and has her CLS-S and ASCP Board certifications. She has spent her entire career in advanced genetics research and applying state-of-the-art laboratory science to aid in the health and care of patients. She is an avid supporter of personalized health, with over 20+ years of experience working in multiple disciplines, including clinical pathology, biochemistry, molecular biology, human genetics and cancer. Dr. Ng serves as the Chief Scientific Advisor to Kallaco. She completed her Bachelor’s degree in Cell and Molecular Biology at Tulane University in New Orleans. She then completed her Ph.D. in Human Genetics at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center.
James Perkins
EVP Product, Client Engagement
James has spent the last nine years in Healthcare Informatics developing, deploying and integrating software applications for large hospital systems and healthcare startups. Working with systems like West Jefferson Medical Center and LCMC Health, James helped implement EMR cutovers and PACS migrations. Working for startups like EngageDX and most recently Kallaco, James focuses on developing strategies for product development and system integration, as well as building teams focused on client success and engagement. James holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Management from Southeastern Louisiana University and a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing from William Carey University. Before moving to Information Technology, James spent several years working as a Registered Nurse in the greater New Orleans area.
Why is Kallaco the best option for these universities?
Kallaco is sought after as a technology enabled platform with the ability to turn around relatively large numbers of tests through their network of CLIA certified labs in about 36 to 48 hours. The challenge to a lot of other local options is there is a longer wait, sometimes as long as 2 weeks.
How has Kallaco quickly acquired such a large number of tests? How many tests have they completed?
Currently, Kallaco partners with three labs and is in talks to create relationships with additional labs in the near future. To date, Kallaco has delivered and tested over 20,000 individuals.
Which lab does the bulk of the testing?
Much of the Virginia university testing to date has been in concert with Kallaco’s partners at Opeto Labs, which is a high complexity CLIA laboratory.
Is Kallaco’s testing FDA approved?
The testing provided by Kallaco has all of the licenses required in the U.S. As an extra step, the testing was submitted to the FDA and the Kallaco labs have the authority to run the test under FDA EUA guidelines.
Is Kallaco experiencing delays in testing?
No process is ever perfect, but we are proud to say that the average turnaround time has been 44 hours.
In the coming days we will be posting more answers to questions as we receive them on our site. We are committed to being as transparent as possible while providing the safest tests and technologies available.