
Theranos Announces Expansion of Board of Directors, New Organizational Structure - minimaxir
https://www.theranos.com/news/posts/theranos-announces-expansion-of-board-of-directors-and-new-organizational-structure
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jackgavigan
The tone of the press release is very strange. There's no acknowledgement of
how much trouble the company is in, no acknowledgment of the loss of
confidence on the part of their key distribution partner (Walgreens), no
acknowledgement of the fact that they need to be more open and transparent, no
acknowledgment that the CEO is under investigation and might be banned from
the industry, and no hint of contrition for the missteps that took them to
this point. Sunny Balwani has "retired" with a glowing testimonial from the
board.

Admitting you have a problem is the first step in fixing the problem. Theranos
have yet to admit that they have a problem. I find it astonishing that,
despite their regulatory challenges, they haven't found someone with a
background at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to join their
Board.

If Theranos were a public company, I suspect Holmes would have been ousted by
now. At the very least, she should step back and appoint an interim CEO (who
has experience in this sector) until the ban question is resolved. Refusing to
do so lends credence to the accusation that she is incompetent.

~~~
Delmania
Having worked in many large corporations (and seeking to get out), admitting
mistakes and problems can not only harm your PR, it can also open you to
liability.

Also, given that the CEO of the company seems to emulate Jobs and Jobs never
apologized, it's reasonable not to expect one.

~~~
jackgavigan
_> ..Jobs never apologised.._

[https://web.archive.org/web/20070908223628/http://www.apple....](https://web.archive.org/web/20070908223628/http://www.apple.com/hotnews/openiphoneletter/)

~~~
Delmania
Fair enough, I was thinking about Apple Maps.

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zitterbewegung
This is one of the biggest "the emperor has no clothes" stories of Silicon
Valley and healthcare startups . When are they going to stop trying to pivot
or make people think things have changed and just close the company ?

~~~
cylinder
They're already acting like HP!

~~~
hkmurakami
apt, considering their HQs are on adjacent blocks.

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boto3
Theranos is now under a criminal investigation by federal officers from the
Department of Justice. This is not going to end well for Holmes.

[http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/19/business/theranos-sec-
just...](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/19/business/theranos-sec-justice-
department-investigation.html)

~~~
hackaflocka
This is USA. She's worth multiple billions of dollars. Money talks. She'll buy
her way out.

Sorry for sounding so cynical. But it's just facts.

~~~
FussyZeus
That's not cynical at all. Rich people don't go to jail in the US unless they
really, REALLY screw up, and even then it's not a guarantee if they have the
right friends. Citation: the banking crash in 2008.

~~~
edanm
Just out of curiosity, who specifically should've gone to jail in 2008, and
for what?

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ldehaan
who: Anyone who profited from defrauding the us tax payers. There is a very
long list. given the proper time and budget from, say, the department of
justice; we'd probably have it. however the doj did nothing twice, and so I
doubt they'll be the ones to whom we should entrust such long list making.

why: billions of dollars stolen from the world economy to make people who were
already wealthy; more wealthy. All at the expense of hundreds of millions who
have a lower quality of life because of it. on this you'll just have to trust
me or research on your own.

There are several movies and documentaries which address it in depth on
Netflix/HBO/Amazon.

~~~
saiya-jin
if they broke the law during that time then yes, otherwise no.

the last part about "you just have to trust me" is pretty funny - there are
several movies and documentaries on Netflix/HBO/Amazon (and youtube!) about
how jet fuel can't melt steel beams. or you just have to trust me.

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joshmn
Just suits, no highly-qualified scientists. I'm sensing this is a precursor to
some litigation or investigation.

~~~
hackaflocka
They did hire a highly-qualified scientist: Ian Gibbons.

> Rochelle Gibbons, whose biochemist husband, Ian, was hired by Holmes in
> 2005, confessed to the reporter that her husband “told me nothing was
> working.” Ian Gibbons committed suicide in May 2013.

Source: [http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/10/theranos-founder-
eliz...](http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/10/theranos-founder-elizabeth-
holmes-report)

~~~
Roritharr
That is so dark I can only hope for Mrs. Holmes sake that the suicide was
unrelated.

I couldn't live with myself if somebody else committed suicide because of my
lies.

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powera
The saying about rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic comes to mind.

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jdonaldson
Yeah, it seems their only hope might be to construct another ship out of those
deck chairs. If you read that announcement the mandate of the company gets
even more general and vague.

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MIKarlsen
I'm a bit curious since I haven't had the time to read up on this whole case.
From what I understand, they have used fraudulent tests and pushing guesswork
as scientific results? Yes?

But I'm also a bit curious as to the idea itself - could a healthcare-company
actually provide this service at the said price with the right staff and
technology, or is it simply an overly optimistic setup?

~~~
petra
In theory lab on chip testing may reduce costs greatly, yes.

The harder(or maybe impossible) part is collecting clean samples from the
fingertip. But maybe theranos will pivot to collect blood via veins, at least
for now ?

That of course will reduce their valuation greatly(because people hate vein-
puncture, so no frequent blood testing scenarios), but the cheap price could
be very valuable to third world countries.

But again, that's just theory.

~~~
sandGorgon
Umm.. How much do you think a blood test costs in India?

[http://m.upto75.com/Thyrocare/m/6693/Sale_Offer.html](http://m.upto75.com/Thyrocare/m/6693/Sale_Offer.html)
is a set of 32 tests that costs roughly 14$ . and this is the most expensive
company there is.

The only tech that could make this better is fingertip testing.

~~~
vixen99
Romania: set of basic tests for equivalent of $20. In Britain it's free if
your doctor orders it else it seems to be much pricier.

Incidentally I noticed that
[https://www.medichecks.com/](https://www.medichecks.com/) offer " Finger-
prick - comprehensive entry-level health screen" analysis for $142. Someone
should investigate!

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Bud
Did they also announce actual viable technology?

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nraynaud
Oh Snap! I knew I forgot something in the action plan!

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empressplay
Re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic...

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Overtonwindow
At first I was very pro-Theranos but their behavior, particularly the CEO, has
given me great concern. I'm sad to say aside from the media coverage, I'm
starting to think this was all a fishing expedition wrapped in a fraudulent
pitch of actual science and technology. I'm also seriously irked that the tech
media didn't probe as critically as they should have in the beginning.

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vilden_sokn
I find it discouraging that everyone is looking at Theranos. It smells dead
and it is dead. Can't we just leave it alone and untouched, please?

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matt_wulfeck
Sorry, you can't found a $9 billion company on wishes and promises and then
simply get left alone.

