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"UCSF charges Theranos more than $300 for a comprehensive metabolic panel, said a person familiar with the matter. Theranos’s website shows that patients who ge

"UCSF charges Theranos more than $300 for a comprehensive metabolic panel, said a person familiar with the matter. Theranos’s website shows that patients who get the same test at one of the company’s blood-draw sites pay just $7.19. A comparison of all the tests done by UCSF for Theranos shows that the company appears to be incurring losses on many of those tests." If correct, anyone have a legitimate rationale for Theranos doing this?

Terr_ 11y ago
I assume it's not because they want the samples, unless it's some kind of... CIA Fake vaccination-drive v2.
nradov 11y ago
In order to compete against LabCorp and Quest Diagnostics, Theranos needs to offer a full range of lab tests. If they are still scaling up then it might make sense to outsource some tests even if they lose money doing it in order to build market share and test out their processes. And then they can gradually start doing more and more of those tests in house in order to bring costs down. (But I have no idea what's going on in Theranos or if they have legitimate reasons.)
- exit 11y ago
  how can they outsource it if their sampling process collects a much smaller volume than what other companies require?
  - imron 11y ago
    By taking a full sample for those tests.
rhizome 11y ago
Loss-leader?
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
melling 11y ago
According to Wikipedia the comprehensive metabolic panel is a series of 14 tests: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comprehensive_metabolic_panel https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comprehensive_metabolic_pane... "The tests are performed on machines based on the AutoAnalyzer invented in 1957." Is there some reason that this should cost $300 58 years later? No Moore's Law in medicine?
- CamperBob2 11y ago
  "The tests are performed on machines based on the AutoAnalyzer invented in 1957." That's like saying that modern PCs are based on the IBM 360 architecture from 1964. To the extent it's true, it's true in a way that makes sense only to a tech-illiterate journalist.
  - danso 11y ago
    That quote comes from the Wikipedia article, not the WSJ.
    - CamperBob2 11y ago
      That doesn't make it any more meaningful. It's a ridiculous thing to say in any context.
      - danso 11y ago
        No argument there...just wanted to point out that the author of the submitted article didn't make such a claim, as that would cast some doubt about the assertions of the reporting.
        CamperBob2 11y ago
        True, for some reason I read his post as both linking to Wikipedia and quoting from the original article; my bad.
- rgbrenner 11y ago
lawnchair_larry 11y ago
Basically, Theranos is the Jet.com of blood testing. Use VC money to order it from someone else for more than you're selling it for. This is what we call a bleeding unicorn.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]

Terr_ 11y ago

I assume it's not because they want the samples, unless it's some kind of... CIA Fake vaccination-drive v2.

nradov 11y ago

In order to compete against LabCorp and Quest Diagnostics, Theranos needs to offer a full range of lab tests. If they are still scaling up then it might make sense to outsource some tests even if they lose money doing it in order to build market share and test out their processes. And then they can gradually start doing more and more of those tests in house in order to bring costs down. (But I have no idea what's going on in Theranos or if they have legitimate reasons.)

exit 11y ago
how can they outsource it if their sampling process collects a much smaller volume than what other companies require?
- imron 11y ago
  By taking a full sample for those tests.

rhizome 11y ago

Loss-leader?

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

melling 11y ago

According to Wikipedia the comprehensive metabolic panel is a series of 14 tests: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comprehensive_metabolic_panel https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comprehensive_metabolic_pane... "The tests are performed on machines based on the AutoAnalyzer invented in 1957." Is there some reason that this should cost $300 58 years later? No Moore's Law in medicine?

CamperBob2 11y ago
"The tests are performed on machines based on the AutoAnalyzer invented in 1957." That's like saying that modern PCs are based on the IBM 360 architecture from 1964. To the extent it's true, it's true in a way that makes sense only to a tech-illiterate journalist.
- danso 11y ago
  That quote comes from the Wikipedia article, not the WSJ.
  - CamperBob2 11y ago
    That doesn't make it any more meaningful. It's a ridiculous thing to say in any context.
    - danso 11y ago
      No argument there...just wanted to point out that the author of the submitted article didn't make such a claim, as that would cast some doubt about the assertions of the reporting.
      - CamperBob2 11y ago
        True, for some reason I read his post as both linking to Wikipedia and quoting from the original article; my bad.
rgbrenner 11y ago

lawnchair_larry 11y ago

Basically, Theranos is the Jet.com of blood testing. Use VC money to order it from someone else for more than you're selling it for. This is what we call a bleeding unicorn.

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]