
Theranos Executive to Depart Amid Regulatory Probes - joering2
http://www.wsj.com/articles/theranos-executive-sunny-balwani-to-depart-amid-regulatory-probes-1463015943
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rconti
"Mr. Balwani, the Journal reported, told them in an email, “I am extremely
irritated and frustrated by folks with no legal background taking legal
positions and interpretations on these matters.” He wrote, “This must stop.”

He then ordered the employees to only report to the accrediting organizations
results from proficiency tests performed on conventional devices, and not the
results of those tests obtained from the company’s proprietary Edison
machines, according to former employees."

Yikes.

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IIlllIllIIIIlII
He's frustrated by people with no legal background making legal judgments.

We're frustrated by people with no medical background making fake devices.

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GabrielF00
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public
relations, for nature cannot be fooled."

\-- Richard Feynman

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barhum
She said the following a while back:

"I think that the minute that you have a backup plan, you've admitted that
you're not going to succeed."

I bet she wishes she had a backup plan now...

[http://www.inc.com/deborah-petersen/elizabeth-holmes-
avoid-b...](http://www.inc.com/deborah-petersen/elizabeth-holmes-avoid-backup-
plans.html)

~~~
dekhn
Their backup plan was already executed: they switched from their testing
methodology to acting as a service provider for somebody else's testing
methodology ([http://www.businessinsider.com/bill-maris-explains-why-gv-
di...](http://www.businessinsider.com/bill-maris-explains-why-gv-didnt-invest-
in-theranos-2015-10) """So, we just had someone from our life-science
investment team go into Walgreens and take the test. And it wasn't that
difficult for anyone to determine that things may not be what they seem here."

That employee found that when he went to get a test done, Theranos wanted more
than just a drop of blood in one of its "nanotainers." He denied a full venous
blood draw, and ended up getting called back a week later because they wanted
him to give more blood.""")

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rudolf0
Were they even able to get their Edison device into a functional state?

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dekhn
it was approved for a single test. [http://fortune.com/2015/07/02/theranos-
fda-approval/](http://fortune.com/2015/07/02/theranos-fda-approval/) dunno if
they ever got the device in a functional state, _outside of extremely
controlled conditions in a lab_.

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reviseddamage
I can't imagine the stress that Holmes goes through on a constant basis. There
is the usual startup founder stress, but this feels like another level.

~~~
pfarnsworth
Isn't this what one deserves if one tries to peddle something that doesn't
work to investors, and then gets hundreds of millions of dollars for it?

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markk
This is advocating revenge, and being pleased to see someone suffer. Imagine
she had a breakdown due to stress and her life went off the rails - would you
feel that was fair? How much would she have to suffer before you are
satisfied?

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jonknee
She benefited greatly from a cult of personality on the way up and is now
finding out it goes both ways. I myself don't feel bad for someone who
enriched herself while peddling snake oil and _knowingly giving junk test
results to real patients_. It is despicable.

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Animats
So Balwani has been thrown to the wolves.[1] Who's next?

[1]
[http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=27...](http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2707&context=greatplainsquarterly)

~~~
mathattack
Thrown to the wolves? Sounds like he was deserving to be sacrificed.

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jo6gwb
The article clearly states: "Mr. Balwani isn’t being blamed for the company’s
regulatory problems."

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mathattack
Of course that's what the PR person says.

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Ankaios
Anybody have any clever ideas about how to short Theranos?

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bpicolo
Start a blood testing company.

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tardo99
Will there be a perp walk?

