Not much longer…
Those patents are basically crap, but a granted patent is presumed valid unless a challenger tries to invalidate and succeeds. So that patent portfolio can have a ton of value to a ■■■■■ like entity to harass medical device startups, for example.
She sure knew how to raise money!
She was quite charming when it came to fundraising. Investors are like dogs… they have a pack mentality: if a big dog invests into something, the others will pile on with their cash. So the key is to lure in that big shot… the rest will follow.
She was a cold-blooded liar wrapped up in the form of a charming and intelligent young woman - one that was being hailed by Wall Street, Silicon Valley, and the media as a brilliant, world-changing genius. No wonder it was easy to convince investors to throw money at her.
She was especially adept at charming famous elderly men who didn’t have backgrounds in healthcare or science: Henry Kissinger, George Schultz, James Mattis, etc. And once you’ve got luminaries like that onboard, getting even more investors to hand over the money become almost too easy.
The tactics used by Theranos’ lawyer David Boies and his firm to intimidate and frighten potential whistleblowers (as described in Bad Blood) are just despicable. I just read a very interesting article about him that really puts him in an even worse light, even as he attempts to defend himself.
Apparently “aggressive representation” is really just code word for anything goes, no matter how corrupt, unethical, or even illegal.
I had to clear my cookies to get past the firewall.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/21/business/david-boies-pleads-not-guilty.html
Interesting article. $1,850 an hour. Mind-boggling!
Boies used those same tactics to harass Weinstein accusers. Any respect I had for him for winning the gay marriage case vanished when I learned that unsavory fact. I wasn’t surprised he turned out to have helped Theranos.
I already posted this in the “best book I’ve read” thread, but thought I would put it here as well.
Just finished Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup, by John Carreyrou. Such a good book about the Theranos scandal. It’s non fiction that reads like a fictional thriller. While there is a fair amount of dry technical information, it also has all the other elements of a great suspense novel: hubris, avarice, manipulation, intimidation, bullying, race to beat the bad guys to press before their bully tactics scare off all of the prime witnesses, etc. If done well, the movie has the potential to be so entertaining and thought provoking.
Glad you liked the book, @Nrdsb4. Your review is spot on.
Here’s my quick review of Bad Blood: I was at a hotel one morning, getting ready for a midday flight home. Mentioned to my husband that I didn’t have anything to read on the flight home. He handed me Bad Blood. I was unable to put it down, and finished it before the plane took off.
“Apparently “aggressive representation” is really just code word for anything goes, no matter how corrupt, unethical, or even illegal.” I think this publicity would only favor David Boies - many clients value shameless and aggressive lawyers with anything goes mentality.
I wonder how Theranos could even survive for so many years - medical devices and medical testing is a highly regulated industry, and bioassay development and reporting is highly standardized - it’s not at all rocket science. I am not talking about investors (fools and their money…), but the company being able to meet the regulatory requirements to market and sell their products and services. Could EH political and family connections help keep them afloat? Either way, given her family history and connections, I am sure she will not starve.
The company met the regulatory requirements by committing fraud.
@mycupoftea - the book goes though that in details. Yup, it does not hurt to have a powerful family’s backing. I’m sure EH will float up to the surface again. You sound like you are familiar with biotech… so you probably have heard of David Blech. He definitely did not starve even though he narrowly escaped eating taxpayer-provided chow.
She should be in jail for long time. I am sure big investors feel foolish. Shows you adcoms make mistakes all the time even though not their fault. More reason to not doubt yourself when you get rejected by top schools. I wonder why her Stanford prof did not speak up. Wonder how the adcom who admitted her feels.
She probably thought she will eventually find a solution with all the financial backing.
But I have to day the media is partly to blame for her rise by hyping her and her achievements.
I read an article about this awhile ago and what’s amazing to me is it said she just approached silicon valley with this idea and no proof of concept and she started to get all this financial backing. It’s a brilliant idea if it was true. I even had my broker look into it when she started the company but as my rule goes… I don’t invest in things I don’t understand.
So if I have a great idea I guess I can have investors just give me tons of money to invest… Hmmm… Have to start thinking of something…
As I am reading this book, the thing that stands out is that there is some kind of mad conspiracy here, because no way was she smart enough, manipulative enough, charismatic enough, to pull this off, The real question is who is behind her and why.
media is partly to blame for her rise by hyping her and her achievements<<<
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The media loves to chop down a tall poppy, so I doubt this is the real truth. Why did she have such great press? Who made that happen?
Isn’t George Soros responsible for every conspiracy these days? Maybe it was him?
Just joking.
Seems like she embarrassed Stanford too. What a loser.
Oh my. I bought the finger stick blood test hook, line, and sinker. I mean, it really makes sense. If you can multiply a microscopic particle of DNA, why can’t you do the same for a drop of blood? Just. Wow.