DOCSLIB.ORG

Theranos Phenomenon – Part 5: Theranos’ Presentation at the American Association for Clinical Chemistry Annual Conference 2016

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Theranos Phenomenon – Part 5: Theranos’ Presentation at the American Association for Clinical Chemistry Annual Conference 2016 Clin Chem Lab Med 2016; 54(10): e313–e314 Letter to the Editor Eleftherios P. Diamandis* and Mario Plebani Theranos phenomenon – Part 5: Theranos’ presentation at the American Association for Clinical Chemistry Annual Conference 2016 DOI 10.1515/cclm-2016-0737 Master, two highly recognized and respected clinical Accepted for publication August 18, 2016; previously published chemists, who did a good job in asking pertinent ques- online August 30, 2016 tions to Ms. Holmes and her associates. In this respect, AACC lived up to the expectations of high standards and Keywords: diagnostics; new technologies. impartiality for this presentation. Holmes presented to a large and curious, if not To the Editor, hostile, audience. She avoided talking about Theranos’ past and the difficulties of her company [1–7]. She also The widely anticipated presentation of Theranos at the made it clear that her presentation would focus on the Annual Conference of the American Association for future, not the past, and she distanced herself from the Clinical Chemistry (AACC) was finally given on Monday, previous “Edison” instrument and introduced a new August 1st, 2016 at the Philadelphia Convention Center. analyzer named “MiniLab”. In the first part of her pres- This journal has followed the Theranos story closely over entation, Ms. Holmes described the engineering behind the last 2 years and provided frequent updates [1–4]. Eliza- the MiniLab and explained that it is a compact desktop beth Holmes, the Chief Executive of Theranos, presented device that houses a mini spectrophotometer, a mini- to an audience of over 2500 clinical chemists and other luminometer, and mini-flow-cytometer and a mini-PCR laboratory scientists, as well as to an impressive number machine, along with a centrifuge. We acknowledge the of reporters from national and international media. We difficulties of putting together all these technologies in have not seen anything like this event, at the previous 30 a very compact machine, but apart from the engineer- AACC conferences that we have attended. ing challenge, no technological breakthroughs were First, we would like to comment on the moderation described. We wonder if this machine can be manufac- of this difficult event by AACC officials. Although we tured efficiently and if it can function reliably long-term, disagreed with the invitation [4], we acknowledge here due to its numerous components and moving parts. Time that AACC President, Dr. Patricia Jones, made it very clear will show if this machine can perform as a robust analyti- in her opening remarks that the presentation does not cal platform using micro-volumes, and if the sensitivity mean that AACC endorses Theranos, and that no CME achieved will be adequate for demanding analytes, such credits were allocated. She also recruited an excellent as high sensitivity troponin. panel, consisting of herself, Dr. Dennis Lo and Dr. Steven The cartridge included with this system, carrying dry reagents for multiple analytes, was not described in detail. It was not clear what happens to the unused rea- *Corresponding author: Eleftherios P. Diamandis, MD, PhD, gents if cartridges with multiple analytes are used for only FRCP(C), FRSC, Head of Clinical Biochemistry, Mount Sinai Hospital and University Health Network, 60 Murray St. Box 32, Floor 6, Rm one or two analytes. We assume that the rest of the rea- L6-201, Toronto, ON M5T 3L9, Canada, Phone: +(416) 586-8443, gents will be discarded, increasing the cost per reportable E-mail: [email protected]; Department test. Validation of some analytes by Theranos (K+, choles- of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Mount Sinai Hospital, terol, triglycerides, LDL-C, HDL-C, HSV-2 IgG, lymphocyte Toronto, Ontario, Canada; and Department of Laboratory Medicine subsets, ZIKA virus PCR) has shown good results but we and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Mario Plebani: Department of Laboratory Medicine, do not have independent validation or long-term perfor- University-Hospital of Padova, Padova, Italy. mance. Data on the majority of important laboratory ana- http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0270-1711 lytes were not described. e314 Diamandis and Plebani: Theranos phenomenon – Part 5 With this new machine, Ms. Holmes seems to have as current technologies for detecting the virus. This taken a step away from the direct-to-consumer laboratory remains to be seen in evaluation trials. sector (e.g. testing in pharmacies) and she is now suggest- ing that their business model includes placement of these Regarding fingerprick capillary blood testing: We have machines in hospitals and in point-of-care or doctor’s seen at the AACC exhibition smaller and less traumatic office environments. needles that permit almost painless collection of venous Ms. Holmes also spent significant time describing blood for laboratory analysis. One of us (EPD) has already Theranos’ efforts to optimize fingerpricks for high quality tested one of these new blood collection devices and capillary blood retrieval in relatively large amounts. She found out that it was totally painless and collection time has shown that her device is suitable for performing tests was less than a minute. These related technologies will on site, or for shipping to remote laboratories for further likely be preferable to patients than fingerpricks, which, analysis. as we mentioned earlier, are more painful [1]. Overall, what Ms. Holmes said was relatively straight- The video of Miss Holmes’ presentation can forward. We did not identify any disruptive technologies be found at this link: https://www.youtube.com/ or revolutionary new ways of doing what we have been watch?v=n6JRG733ReQ. doing in clinical laboratories for years but maybe, we did The future of Theranos will depend on the quality and not hear the whole story. While we appreciate that her the reliability of their products. We are looking forward to approach will save some valuable real estate, due to the see Theranos validating and publishing on their products compact size of her machine, we suspect that this benefit in the near future and having them return to the AACC may compromise quality, critical assay performance char- Conference as exhibitors and sponsors. acteristics such as sensitivity or the long-term reliability of the instrument. Author contributions: All the authors have accepted We believe that Theranos will face some challenges in responsibility for the entire content of this submitted the future, as summarized below: manuscript and approved submission. 1. Ms. Holmes admitted that her new machine is not Research funding: None declared. ready and that they are still configuring optimal pan- Employment or leadership: None declared. els for their cartridges. We do not know how much Honorarium: None declared. time it will take to do this, but being familiar with Competing interests: The funding organization(s) played in-vitro diagnostics over many years, we suspect that no role in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and it may take more time than originally thought. The interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the system has to still be independently validated and decision to submit the report for publication. the results published (in progress). They also need to receive Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approv- als for their new system and assay tests, as well as References their blood collection device. 2. Based on the previous history of Theranos, we antici- 1. Diamandis EP. Theranos phenomenon: promises and fallacies. pate that they will face increased scrutiny and it may Clin Chem Lab Med 2015;53:989–93. be difficult to convince skeptics that their new tech- 2. Li M, Diamandis EP. Theranos phenomenon-part 2. Clin Chem Lab nologies are better than the old ones. Med 2015;53:1911–2. 3. Li M, Diamandis EP. Theranos phenomenon – part 3. Clin Chem 3. It remains to be seen if their system can match the Lab Med 2016;54:e145–6. performance characteristics of larger, conventional 4. Diamandis EP. Theranos phenomenon – part 4: theranos at an analyzers. international conference. Clin Chem Lab Med 2016;54:e243–4. 4. There are already many alternative machines for their 5. Li M, Diamandis EP. Theranos promises a new era of preventive targeted niche. For example, we have seen at the AACC health care. Clin Biochem 2015;48:1027. exhibition many other companies marketing simpler 6. Ioannidis JP. Stealth research: is biomedical innovation hap- pening outside the peer-reviewed literature? J Am Med Assoc products. The Zika virus assay was one of the most 2015;313:663–4. talked about assays at the Theranos presentation, but 7. Ioannidis JP. Stealth research and Theranos: reflections and Dr. Dennis Lo suggested that it may not be as sensitive update 1 year later. J Am Med Assoc 2016;316:389–90..
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Squaring Venture Capital Valuations with Reality ONLINE APPENDIX
    Squaring Venture Capital Valuations with Reality ONLINE APPENDIX Will Gornall Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia Ilya A. Strebulaev Graduate School of Business, Stanford University and National Bureau of Economic Research Sept 2017 Find the full paper here: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2955455 The online appendix follows. Appendix A contains the alternative names for the unicorns in our sample. Appendix B lists companies whose COIs omit information. Appendix C lists companies where we could not locate the most recent COI. Appendix D contains examples of legal text for each of the major terms. Appendix E details the major terms we found for each company in our sample. Appendix F contains comparative statics. Appendix G contains discussion of our return distribution assumptions. Appendix A: Full Legal Names and Other Names for Unicorns in Our Sample Short Name Legal Name Also Known As 23andMe 23andMe, Inc. A123 Systems A123 Systems, Inc. B456 Systems Actifio Actifio, Inc. Adaptive Biotech Adaptive Biotechnologies Adaptive TCR Corporation Age of Learning Age of Learning, Inc. Airbnb Airbnb, Inc. Airbed & Breakfast, Inc Anaplan Anaplan, Inc. AppDirect AppDirect, Inc. Origo Networks Corporation AppDynamics AppDynamics, Inc. Singularity Technologies, Inc. Appnexus AppNexus Inc. Apttus Apttus Corporation Automattic Automattic Inc. Avant Avant, Inc. Avant Credit Corporation Better Place Better Place, Inc. Better Place Holdings; Better PLC Bloom Energy Bloom Energy Corporation Bloom Energy Server; Ion America Corporation Bloom Energy Bloom Energy Corporation Ion America Corporation Blue Apron Blue Apron, Inc. Petridish Media, Inc. Box Box, Inc. Box.Net Buzzfeed BuzzFeed, Inc. Carbon3D Carbon3D, Inc. EIPI Systems, Inc.
    [Show full text]
  • The Effect of FOMO on Stakeholder Enrollment
    The Effect of FOMO on Stakeholder Enrollment Susan L. Young, PhD Kennesaw State University Kennesaw, GA Ph: 470-578-4536 [email protected] Birton Cowden, PhD Kennesaw State University Kennesaw, GA Ph: 470-578-36781 [email protected] 1 The Effect of FOMO on Stakeholder Enrollment Abstract Stakeholder theory suggests dishonest ventures would struggle with stakeholder enrollment, limiting resource access and ultimately failing. Yet cases exist where amoral entrepreneurs do enroll stakeholders through deceit. We propose “fear of missing out” on an opportunity facilitates enrollment by encouraging stakeholder acceptance of information asymmetry. To illustrate we use exemplar Theranos: a biotech firm which convinced stakeholders it would revolutionize healthcare, rising to a $10 billion valuation through 15 years of sustained deceit. We contribute to theory by demonstrating the dark side of stakeholder enrollment, where opportunism increases venture power over stakeholders, and deceit can endure long past start up. Keywords: stakeholder theory, stakeholder enrollment, entrepreneurial deceit, fear of missing out, legitimacy 2 The Effect of FOMO on Stakeholder Enrollment “Theranos had demonstrated a commitment to investing in and developing technologies that can make a difference in people’s lives, including for the severely wounded and ill. I had quickly seen tremendous potential in the technologies Theranos develops, and I have the greatest respect for the company’s mission and integrity.” (Johnson, 2015) — 4-star General Jim Mattis, U.S. Marine Corps, Retired U.S. Secretary of Defense, 2017-2019 The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Silicon Valley-based private company Theranos Inc., its founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes, and its former President Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani with raising more than $700 million from investors through an elaborate, years-long fraud in which they exaggerated or made false statements about the company’s technology, business, and financial performance.
    [Show full text]
  • Professor Julie Audet<B>
    University of Toronto Faculty, Staff, and Student Awards and Honours Governing Council Meeting October 23, 2008 Faculty & Staff Awards Professor Emeritus Paul Aird of forestry is the winner of the Endangered Species Stewardship Award, presented to him by Donna Cansfield, Ontario minister of natural resources, at a natural History Day event, held May 24 at Bonnechere Provincial Park in Renfrew County. Aird was honoured for his volunteer contributions related to Kirtland’s Warbler over the past 30-plus years, not only raising public awareness for this particular species at risk but for having made an important contribution towards recovery of this globally rare bird in Ontario. Keith Ambachtsheer, director of the Rotman International Centre for Pension Management, is the recipient of the James R. Vertin Award, given by the CFA (chartered financial analyst) Institute to recognize individuals who have produced a body of research notable for its relevance and enduring value to investment professionals. Ambachtsheer received the award July 22 at the 50th Financial Analysts Seminar, a CFA Institute conference hosted by the CFA Society of Chicago. Francesca Andrade of financial services is this year’s winner of U of T Scarborough’s Patrick Phillips Staff Award for outstanding service and commitment by a campus staff member, while Svetlana Mikhaylichenko of physical and environmental sciences is the recipient the D.R. Campbell Merit Award for enhancing the quality of life on campus. Professor Janet Potter of physical and environmental sciences is the winner of the Faculty Teaching Award. The Principal’s Awards were presented in June at an event hosted by Principal Franco Vaccarino.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27
    Case 2:16-cv-02373-SPL Document 1 Filed 07/15/16 Page 1 of 36 1 Mark D. Samson Ron Kilgard 2 KELLER ROHRBACK L.L.P. 3 3101 North Central Ave., Suite 1400 Phoenix, AZ 85012 4 Phone: (602) 248-0088, Fax (602) 248-2822 5 [email protected] [email protected] 6 Lynn Lincoln Sarko (pro hac vice application forthcoming) 7 Gretchen Freeman Cappio (pro hac vice application forthcoming) 8 T. David Copley 1201 Third Avenue, Suite 3200 9 KELLER ROHRBACK L.L.P. 10 Seattle, WA 98101-3052 (206) 623-1900, Fax (206) 623-3384 11 [email protected] [email protected] 12 [email protected] 13 Attorneys for Plaintiffs 14 15 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF ARIZONA 16 R.C., individually and on behalf of all others 17 similarly situated, No. 18 Plaintiff, 19 CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT v. 20 JURY TRIAL DEMANDED THERANOS, INC., a California 21 Corporation, and WALGREENS BOOTS 22 ALLIANCE, INC., a Delaware Corporation, 23 Defendants. 24 25 26 27 COMPLAINT 28 1 Case 2:16-cv-02373-SPL Document 1 Filed 07/15/16 Page 2 of 36 1 I. INTRODUCTION 2 1. Blood tests are a critical component of a patient’s healthcare. Patients, as well as 3 their doctors, rely on blood tests to detect conditions and use those results to help determine which 4 course of treatment is or isn’t needed. Inaccurate blood test results can contribute to serious 5 6 conditions going undetected, to treatable conditions growing worse unnoticed, to patients forgoing 7 medications they should take or taking medications they shouldn’t.
    [Show full text]
  • Debates9 963919 9878034 Final Group Paper
    Group 9 Against Edison- Potential Patients Kendall Travis, Charles Goff, Jenna Lang, Isaiah Watts Position: Against Edison Perspective: Potential Patients Strategy: Against Edison- Potential Patients Background As appealing as Theranos’s low prices are for blood testing, the cost of that is results that are far from the truth. The lab technicians who work at Theranos have little faith in the tests that they do. They feel criminal, uncertain, and concerned enough to the point where they would never do a test there or allow a family member to. For anyone to work there, non-disclosure agreements have to be signed. Clearly the company is hiding something. And for the many workers who have quit Theranos, they have spoken up about how defective everything is there, knowing it would result in the harassment and hounding from Theranos’s team of lawyers and higher up individuals, a price they were willing to pay to warn potential patients like us. The life-changing effects of Theranos’s work have all been anecdotal claims from Elizabeth Holmes, her work is discovered in isolation, and also her work is impossible to achieve with a single drop of blood according to medical experts. All of these are signs of bogus science that can be tied to Theranos. The list of concerns we have compiled comes from watching The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley on HBO. The documentary alone has made it easy for us, as potential patients, to see that Theranos is a fraudulent and unfit company that is unethical for any patient to go to.
    [Show full text]
  • DRUG DISCOVERY SUMMIT: Enabling Early Stage Drug Discovery and Venture Creation
    PRESENT: DRUG DISCOVERY SUMMIT: Enabling Early Stage Drug Discovery and Venture Creation Event Program JLABS@Toronto Tuesday June 11, 2019 MaRS Centre, West Tower 1:00 – 6:00 PM 661 University Avenue, Suite 1300 Toronto, ON, Canada M5G 0B7 POWERED BY: WELCOME MaRS Innovation and our partner Evotec SE are pleased to welcome you to our inaugural LAB150 Drug Discovery Summit. We would like to thank Allan Miranda and the JLABS team for hosting us here today in this spectacular facility! It has been 18 months since we launched LAB150, a program designed to enable translation of academic discoveries into medicines from MaRS Innovation (MI) Members. With five projects approved and funded and one project graduated from the program and negotiating follow-on investment, we are off to an incredible start! The LAB150 program, paired with MI’s venture creation and investment model, provides a leading platform for life sciences venture creation and growth in Canada. Over the last decade, MI has created over 50 companies that have attracted and retained seasoned management, created over 400 STEM jobs and raised over $350M in direct third-party capital. With LAB150, we look forward to building on this success in the coming decade and beyond. Today you will hear from entrepreneurs and scientists regarding their experiences with the LAB150 program. In addition, we are pleased to be joined by scientific experts from Evotec who will share emerging trends in the drug discovery space. Last but not least, early stage investors will share their tips and tricks for securing capital for building therapeutic ventures in Canada.
    [Show full text]
  • Theranos' Bad Blood
    Theranos’ Bad Blood In 2003, Stanford University student Elizabeth Holmes founded the health care company Theranos. The goal of the company was to revolutionize health care. Beginning with the goal of creating a patch to deliver drugs, the company instead shifted focus to developing a simple and effective method for blood diagnosis. Holmes dropped out of Stanford and began raising millions of dollars in funding. The company claimed that its technology could offer over 240 tests from just a prick of the finger. Test results could be delivered to a patient’s phone in hours, and a single test would cost less than half of the reimbursement rate of Medicare and Medicaid. Blood could be diagnosed easily without the need for many vials of blood drawn from patients’ veins or expensive lab work. By 2014, the company was valued at $9 billion, of which Holmes held a majority stake. Many investors backed the company based on the promise of the technology. Holmes received glowing profiles in news magazines, was featured on television shows, and presented keynote addresses at tech conferences. But the excitement of investors and the promise of the technology did not translate into success. Operating largely in a cloak of secrecy, the company could never validate its claims about its blood sampling technology, and many of its lab results went unchecked. In 2015, journalist John Carreyrou investigated the company for an article in The Wall Street Journal. He disclosed problems in the company’s equipment and testing methods. He found that the company did not even use its own technology in tests and often relied on older technology from other companies.
    [Show full text]
  • Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 278E)
    Nominee Report | U.S. Office of Government Ethics; 5 C.F.R. part 2634 | Form Approved: OMB No. (3209-0001) (March 2014) Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 278e) Filer's Information DeVos, Elisabeth P ("Betsy") Secretary, Department of Education Other Federal Government Positions Held During the Preceding 12 Months: Names of Congressional Committees Considering Nomination: ● Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Electronic Signature - I certify that the statements I have made in this form are true, complete and correct to the best of my knowledge. /s/ DeVos, Elisabeth P ("Betsy") [electronically signed on 01/19/2017 by DeVos, Elisabeth P ("Betsy") in Integrity.gov] Agency Ethics Official's Opinion - On the basis of information contained in this report, I conclude that the filer is in compliance with applicable laws and regulations (subject to any comments below). /s/ Goodridge-Keiller, Marcella, Certifying Official [electronically signed on 01/19/2017 by Goodridge-Keiller, Marcella in Integrity.gov] Other review conducted by /s/ Sprague, Marcia, Ethics Official [electronically signed on 01/19/2017 by Sprague, Marcia in Integrity.gov] U.S. Office of Government Ethics Certification /s/ Shaub, Walter M, Certifying Official [electronically signed on 01/19/2017 by Shaub, Walter M in Integrity.gov] 1. Filer's Positions Held Outside United States Government # ORGANIZATION NAME CITY, STATE ORGANIZATION POSITION HELD FROM TO TYPE 1 The Stow Company - Holland, Inc. See Endnote Holland, Corporation Chief Creative 5/2016 11/2016 Michigan Officer 2 The Stow Company - Holland, Inc. See Endnote Holland, Corporation Director 6/1994 11/2016 Michigan 3 RCB Main Floor, LLC (d/b/a "Reserve GR, See Endnote Grand Rapids, Corporation Director 3/2010 11/2016 LLC") Michigan 4 The Stow Company See Endnote Holland, Corporation Director 5/2010 11/2016 Michigan 5 Neurocore, LLC See Endnote Grand Rapids, Corporation Member/Manag 2/2009 11/2016 Michigan er 6 Windquest Group, Inc.
    [Show full text]
  • The Bleeding Edge: Theranos and the Growing Risk of an Unregulated Private Securities Market
    University of Miami Business Law Review Volume 28 Issue 2 Article 8 September 2020 The Bleeding Edge: Theranos and the Growing Risk of an Unregulated Private Securities Market Theodore O'Brien Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.law.miami.edu/umblr Part of the Business Organizations Law Commons, and the Securities Law Commons Recommended Citation Theodore O'Brien, The Bleeding Edge: Theranos and the Growing Risk of an Unregulated Private Securities Market, 28 U. Miami Bus. L. Rev. 404 (2020) Available at: https://repository.law.miami.edu/umblr/vol28/iss2/8 This Comment is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at University of Miami School of Law Institutional Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Miami Business Law Review by an authorized editor of University of Miami School of Law Institutional Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Bleeding Edge: Theranos and the Growing Risk of an Unregulated Private Securities Market Theodore O’Brien* America’s securities laws and regulations, most of which were created in the early twentieth century, are increasingly irrelevant to the most dynamic emerging companies. Today, companies with sufficient investor interest can raise ample capital through private and exempt offerings, all while eschewing the public exchanges and the associated burdens of the initial public offering, public disclosures, and regulatory scrutiny. Airbnb, Inc., for example, quickly tapped private investors for $1 billion in April of 2020,1 adding to the estimated $4.4 billion the company had previously raised.2 The fundamental shift from public to private companies is evidenced by the so-called “unicorns,” the more than 400 private companies valued at more than $1 billion.
    [Show full text]
  • Bad Blood Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou
    Bad Blood Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup By John Carreyrou At its peak in 2013/14, Theranos had a valuation of $10 billion, representing incredible growth in the 10 years since its incorporation in 2003. The company claimed that it had developed and commercialized a revolutionary new blood testing solution. Viewed as a stunning start-up success, the Theranos board was a roster of well-known government and business leaders, including Henry Kissinger, James Mattis and Riley Bechtel. The buzz around Theranos was electric, and high-profile investors such as Betsey DeVos, the Walton family, and Rupert Murdoch invested hundreds of millions of dollars to fund the company. At the helm was Elizabeth Holmes, founder and CEO. Holmes dropped out of Stanford Engineering in 2004 and used her tuition fees to help fund her brainchild. Blond, attractive, and possessed of an unusually deep baritone voice, Holmes was listed by Forbes as one of America’s Richest Self-Made Women in 2015, with a net worth of over $4 billion. That same year, however, it all came crashing down when investigative reporter John Carreyrou of the Wall Street Journal revealed that the Theranos technology did not work as claimed. Carreyrou’s exhaustive research uncovered a web of lies and cover-ups, dating back to the earliest days at Theranos. Today, the company is worth nothing and has been dissolved, investors have lost multi- millions, and Elizabeth Holmes was charged with massive fraud by the SEC in March, 2018. This riches-to-rags story has captured the public’s imagination, and a movie based on Carreyrou’s book (starring Jennifer Lawrence as Elizabeth Holmes), is slated for release in 2020.
    [Show full text]
  • Inovio Pharmaceuticals (INO) – Bad Blood the COVID-19 Version of Theranos – Target Price $1
    April 27, 2020 Inovio Pharmaceuticals (INO) – Bad Blood The COVID-19 Version of Theranos – Target Price $1 It was less than 10 years ago when Theranos was the talk of the med tech community as the mysterious startup claimed breakthrough advancements with the ability to quickly process over 240 laboratory tests with a prick of the finger. Seemed too good to be true? Well, as you know, the rest of the story is business history. Fast forward 10 years and we are now facing the largest global pandemic in generations. As the greatest scientific minds globally are working tirelessly to find a cure, Inovio Pharmaceuticals (INO) claims to have developed a vaccine in just 3 hours under the same scientific team that has spent decades deceiving investors. It’s been over 40 years since Inovio was founded, yet the company has NEVER brought a product to market, and all the while insiders have enriched themselves with hefty salaries and large stock sales. In this report, Citron will detail why Inovio shareholders have been “Theranosed” and why the SEC should immediately halt this blatant stock promotion. The Secret Algorithm Much like Theranos, Inovio claims to have a “secret sauce” that, miraculously, no pharma giant has been able to figure out. This is the same “secret sauce” that supposedly developed a vaccine for COVID-19 in just 3 hours. Simply put, the management team at Inovio is a group of charlatans. Just look at this exchange with 60 minutes and Inovio’s SVP of R&D Researcher Kate Broderick: Kate Broderick: All we need is that genetic code.
    [Show full text]
  • How and Why Did It Go So Wrong?: Theranos As a Legal Ethics Case Study
    Georgia State University Law Review Volume 37 Issue 2 Winter 2021 Article 6 3-1-2021 How and Why Did it Go So Wrong?: Theranos as a Legal Ethics Case Study G.S. Hans Vanderbilt University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://readingroom.law.gsu.edu/gsulr Part of the Legal Education Commons, and the Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Commons Recommended Citation G.S. Hans, How and Why Did it Go So Wrong?: Theranos as a Legal Ethics Case Study, 37 GA. ST. U. L. REV. 427 (2021). Available at: https://readingroom.law.gsu.edu/gsulr/vol37/iss2/6 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Publications at Reading Room. It has been accepted for inclusion in Georgia State University Law Review by an authorized editor of Reading Room. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Hans: How and Why Did it Go So Wrong? HOW AND WHY DID IT GO SO WRONG?: THERANOS AS A LEGAL ETHICS CASE STUDY G.S. Hans* ABSTRACT The Theranos saga encompasses many discrete areas of law. Reporting on Theranos, most notably John Carreyrou’s Bad Blood, highlights the questionable ethical decisions that many of the attorneys involved made. The lessons attorneys and law students can learn from Bad Blood are highly complex. The Theranos story touches on multiple areas of professional responsibility, including competence, diligence, candor, conflicts, and liability. Thus, Theranos serves as a helpful tool to explore the limits of ethical lawyering for Professional Responsibility students. This Article discusses the author’s experience with using Bad Blood as an extended case study in a new course on Legal Ethics in Contemporary Practice.
    [Show full text]