NEW YORK, November 12, 2026 — HITLAB today announced a strategic partnership with Faex Health. The company’s AI-powered app analyzes smartphone photos of stool to flag gut health concerns, with an additional focus on individuals at elevated risk of colorectal chanas

The timing matters. Colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death in Americans under 50, and roughly three in four younger patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage. Screening saves lives, but only 37% of adults aged 45 to 49 are up to date.

Faex aims to make that first step as easy as taking a photo. What sets them apart is their ability to do the continuous monitoring. The company is studying how its image analysis compares with standard at-home stool tests, with the goal of identifying risk earlier and getting people screened sooner.

HITLAB will help Faex build its clinical evidence, prepare for FDA review, enter the U.S. market through health systems, employers and payers, and pursue grant and Series A funding. HITLAB will also support Faex’s expansion into lower-resource health systems worldwide.

“The tests that catch colorectal cancer early already exist. Too many people never take them,” said Dr. Stan Kachnowski, Chair of HITLAB. “If a phone can get someone to the right test sooner, that’s worth proving, and proving rigorously.”

“Most people will never mail in a stool sample, but nearly everyone carries a phone,” said Landon Nattrass, Co-Founder and CEO of Faex Health. “HITLAB gives us the research, regulatory and investor network to show, with real data, what that can mean for early detection.”