9 ms·
Theranos
- jerryhuang100 13y agotheir patents portfolios seems huge with 17 issued and mostly covered microfluidic diagnostics. one of them is titled "Real-time detection of influenza virus" (US 8,007,999). it would be really disruptive if they could do their claimed 1000+ lab tests with their proprietary microfludic devices in under 4hr.
- rachelbythebay 13y agoThey seem to have dropped their big map marker right on top of Agilent (between 280 and Lawrence in Santa Clara). If you do a search for 95051 (that zip code), it eventually tells you there are no locations there. I wonder what the significance of that marker is, then...
- jnardiello 13y agoIt's just saying that clicking there you find an actual map.
- nwh 13y agoIt'd be nice to have the marker on a real pace though, rather than being plopped in a random spot.
- hrkristian 13y agoI was going to write a response adding that adding a picture of the actual location would've been just as easy, instead I made a post about how I was going to make a post about how ready it'd be to use a snapshot of the actual location.
- noir_lord 13y agoYep, I still have no idea who they are or what they do. It's a pretty looking website though. http://www.xconomy.com/san-francisco/2010/07/08/theranos-raises-45m-for-personalized-medicine/ http://www.xconomy.com/san-francisco/2010/07/08/theranos-rai... actually made it a lot clearer than their website did.
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- taf2 13y agothe pictures of the people kind of creeps me out. the technology sounds great but the website design kind of gives me a half life feeling... like if I give them my blood next thing we know I'll be walking around like a zombie. besides that - website looks great. It would be great if my kids did could only have to deal with a finger prick to draw blood... definitely one of my worst memories growing up.
- jkuria 13y agoYep, it is a shame their site doesn't do a better job of telling their story but this article in this weekend's wsj does: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324123004579055003869574012.html http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142412788732412300457905... A real game changer I think.
- redschell 13y agoWow. That board of directors is a sight to behold. Looks more like a panel at the World Economic Forum. How on earth did the founder manage to get such high-profile backers?
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- gjkood 13y agoVery interesting people on the Board of Directors. Former heavyweights in the diplomatic, intelligence and military government sectors (George Shultz, Senator Samuel Nunn, Henry Kissinger etc). No big names from the technology or VC space are mentioned however. Something big is brewing.
- crassus 13y agoThey'd be dead within the year without some hefty political backing. The FDA does not play nice with novelty, ask any biomedical startup founder.
- gjkood 13y agoWith that kind of firepower (no pun intended) Ms. Holmes may be setting her sights on the larger World market. Lots of people to be helped beyond the borders of the USA. Could she become the Elon Musk of the healthcare sector?
- seehafer 13y agoThis, and the choice of board is perfect if you're trying to get military and VA contracts.
- spartango 13y agoMy experience in the space is that this is a mischaracterization of the FDA, but also misses an important point: Theranos does not fall under the FDA's mandate in its current form. It is a CLIA-certified laboratory operation, regulated under CDC rules and scrutinized most likely by the College of American Pathologists(CAP). The CLIA/CAP scrutiny is very different from the FDA device/drug process, focusing on protocol and output. Even if they have novel technology, it is often classified as a laboratory developed test(LDT) and falls outside of the FDA's mandate (for now). Many startups have achieved CLIA-certification without too much difficulty, from Foundation Medicine to Veracyte to Counsyl. It's totally reasonable and doesn't take too long.
- fidotron 13y agoSpeculation: it's nice for civilians, but for monitoring military personnel their systems could be enormously useful. That and the veteran health care cost reduction potential.
- justinjlynn 13y agoTheranos is a medical laboratory that appears to have developed new methods of measuring lab values in small sample sizes more quickly. This is interesting because it means that instead of a traditional blood draw with a needle and vial requiring a trained phlebotomist and healthy veins, physicians can use blood collected from a finger stick -- a far less invasive and painful procedure. Additionally, it appears that they've managed to keep costs very low by automating everything -- this also improves their accuracy. I would love to get a look at their technology and implementation. From a biogeek's perspective this is insanely great.
- justinjlynn 13y agoWith the volumes they're dealing with and the automation they tout I bet they're using integrated microfluidic chips with built in sensor technology. That's so cool and it makes sense given the time they spent in stealth mode since that's a rather new technology and getting it certified must've taken some time. Looking a patents and bingo, they have patents on microfluidic techniques. Awesome. Eventually they might have a medlab in a box -- neat.
- aharrison 13y agoYou appear to be interested and aware of the current state of clinical chemistry. Are you aware of any HN/Slashdot-esque sites for this pursuit? One of my main areas of hobbyist interest this year is biochemical assays and health diagnostic mechanisms, but there is a lot of chaff in my google searches. Any pointers would be appreciated. My email is in my profile if you would like to discuss it more in depth.
- ihnorton 13y agoThe diybio mailing list has many interesting discussions: http://diybio.org/ http://diybio.org/
- aharrison 13y agoI have looked at the DIYBio groups on a number of occasions, and while they are fascinating it their own right, they aren't quite what I am interested in. DIYBio (as far as I can tell) is considerably more interested in DNA sequencing and genetics, whereas I am more interested in diagnostic tools for improving my quality and quantity of life. An example of something I am interested in is: http://jenslabs.com/category/electronics/ketosis-detector/ http://jenslabs.com/category/electronics/ketosis-detector/ but my more general question is: how can we do everything a standard blood panel does now, except do it extremely frequently (e.g. daily or hourly or even continuously) and noninvasively or as close as is feasible. Of course, I know very little about the field, so this might all be the equivalent of "Hey guys, I know a little HTML and I was wondering if I could build a MMORPG..." posts on gamedev, but hey, gotta start somewhere. :D
- gojomo 13y agoThe website design hides the message in frills and imagery, but the essence appears to be: Faster/cheaper blood-testing, via a smaller/quicker samples (a fingertip-prick rather than needle-stick).
- MichaelGG 13y agoDoes this mean that I'll be able to walk in and order my own blood tests in the US, without being extorted by a doctor? I see zero reason for me to be forced to schedule time with a doctor, pay her, just for her to "order" tests and have the results sent only to her, and then pay her again to read them back to me. I get regular liver checks due to medication I take. Being able to walk into a lab and download the results online is a great convenience, but not something allowed in the US at the moment (to my knowledge).
- beagle3 13y agoDo note that this is a state by state issue. You are held hostage by the medical establishment in NY, much less so in CO.
- justinjlynn 13y agoThere are companies that take orders directly from patients and provide results back directly as well. Just google for "online lab tests" and look at the top few. They go through a doctor, but they basically rubber stamp the test order. They don't typically provide interpretation services nor are they covered by insurance (afaik). They do however, return results to you as soon as their back from the lab and typically work with labcorp or quest so you probably won't have to change your routine.
- heurist 13y agoTheir website said you still need a doctor's note. It would be nice to avoid that in the future, I'd get cheap tests done all the time just out of curiosity.
- melling 13y agoYes, I'm not sure about the types of tests that are done but if there are some that you could run periodically to compare numbers, it might prove useful to monitor how one's body changes over time.
- rosser 13y agoYou can already do that, through lef.org, among others. You get a discount on the tests if you pay for a membership with the site, but it doesn't appear to be necessary. (I'm neither a member, nor a customer, but I stumbled across their site a while back, doing some research about a health issue I ended up not having, anyway...)
- gojomo 13y agoSeems like an ease/cost breakthrough for health-monitoring... so I'm surprised they picked a name that sounds so much like 'Thanatos', the Greek god of death.
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- sker 13y agoI've been waiting so long for this. As someone who avoids syringes like the plague, I always wondered, how come we have robots in Mars, yet we can't come up with something better than injecting a large piece of metal into our bodies? Now I just need to find a way to give them my money.
- aheilbut 13y agoIt's odd how little information is provided about the actual new technologies behind this.
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- marcamillion 13y agoWow...one of their board members is Henry Kissinger - http://www.theranos.com/our-company http://www.theranos.com/our-company I wonder how they pulled that off. This is interesting....I wonder what the technology behind this looks like. Is it really that difficult to achieve 'instant, accurate' results? Why is that? Is it because the traditional way is to just put a blood sample on a fungus and see what happens?
- realo 13y agoAm I the only one here who thinks all those people imaged on the web site have really weird eyes? Creepy.
- fallingmeat 13y agono, you're not. That site looks like an advert for Elysium
- X4 13y agoI think the intent was to show how humane and globally thinking they are, by showing different ethnic races. But to me it looks as if they want to hoard blood-samples for a DNA-Database in order to clone the best of us into super-soldiers. If the military has a DNA-Database of every human on the world they think are worth living, they could wipe all of us out, then re-breed the world to their own likings. I think some billionaires would love this sick sick idea.
- smoyer 13y ago"We believe access to accurate, affordable, real-time diagnostic information is a basic human right." There's a bit of a conflict-of-interest if the company that makes money providing "X" declares that "X" is a basic human right. Even as a non-profit (most hospitals are non-profit, but that just means the corporation doesn't keep earnings), you can't justify that statement.
- carbocation 13y agoYes, positive rights that have real cost associated with them–rights which require that someone else do something for you–seem more like "part of the social contract" rather than a fundamental right. Also, this company states it will still require doctors' orders so not sure how that squares with the rights talk.
- rfnslyr 13y agoPeople who make these statements don't fully understand what they are typing. I feel like in the modern English language, you almost have to over emphasize just to get your basic point across.
- eliasmacpherson 13y agoHere's an example of what you are talking about: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2392586/Oxford-English-Dictionary-admits-used-wrong-sense-word-literally.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2392586/Oxford-Engli...
- baddox 13y agoYou just have to ignore the "basic human right" stuff. Generally it just means "something we think a lot of people want," but phrasing it this way can comfort people who think that profit motive is evil (despite the fact that it seems to be the most economically efficient way to distribute resources).
- eliasmacpherson 13y agoIt's getting really annoying though, and it demeans actual basic human rights and those that are denied them.
- dlisboa 13y agoSo, it's a health testing company that will keep all my blood-related health information and make it "actionable", with the backing of James Mattis, William Perry and none other than Henry Kissinger. There are more soldiers in that board there than doctors. The only way I'd give them my blood would be to infect them with a disease.
- X4 13y agoJust recently I had a visit at an allergist and found the entire procedure so primitive, that I nicely informed the doctor that they could upgrade the way they do tests. I or anyone else technically minded could very easily come up with less prehistoric tools, but he was as expected not interested in any improvements. I hate school-medicine. Thanks for the background info, it's always worth to know who is behind something. Even the best thing that can happen to humanity would be abused, if supported and financed by sick minds.
- seehafer 13y agoI'd bet anything the choice of board is due to Theranos looking to get military and/or other government contracts very, very soon.
- glhaynes 13y agoI assume the image of the micro-vial balanced on a fingertip is meant to illustrate how small the quantity of blood is, but, at least for me, the initial evocation is of drawing blood from beneath the fingernail.
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- fosap 13y agoOk, what the hell are they selling? It says in "our tests": - Oncology - Pediatrics - Geriatrics Yeah. Would you go to a doctor that is specialized on "cancer and stuff"? I wouldn't. This is as unspecific as one can get.
- benrapscallion 13y agoit's weird how the founders' background is all about "dropped out from here" and "dropped out from there". Is dropping out an achievement?
- X4 13y agoidk, but it appears like it really is and most importantly it is very important to know where someone is coming from. Finding a high profile company/institution and dropping out, because you can do better without them shows ego and attribution. Most billionaires dropped out and became billionaires then.
- redschell 13y agoIt's always been a gamble. If you achieve even a modicum of success or notoriety, your "drop out" status becomes incredibly valuable. You're a trailblazer, a rebel who blew past convention on her way to glory. If you fail, you're an arrogant idiot who thought she was too cool for school. What's fascinating about Holmes is that she's a drop out in the biotech/health care realm. This has long been considered a protected area, one where heavy education is a must, as lives are on the line. Founders are expected to be PhDs or MDs with decades of research and/or clinical experience. Holmes has a decade of experience, and no degree. This is going to be a lot of fun to watch.
- caycep 13y agoIt sounds like she dropped out in 2003 to work "in biotech" so she's probably working on this for the past decade. That she's gotten to this stage is pretty impressive - considering the board, plus the "careers" page and the type of folks they're looking for right now looks like they're off and running
- MarkSweep 13y agoInterestingly some of their jobs for software engineers require "B.S. degree […] one of the World's Top 50 ranked Technical Universities". Other jobs like the Android position require a BS degree. It seems a little odd to require a degree after deciding you don't need one yourself.
- medman77 13y agoThe company is all hot air. They have a board full of retired military figure heads that have no experience in medical devices or retail services. Additionally, they do not have any products to show. Look at their patents. They are all very general and broad. There has been NO FDA CLEARANCE for anything they are doing, which raises legal questions. Speaking of legal, search for lawsuits they are involved in. Their core technology is not even theirs. They stole it from someone else.
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- perchance 13y agoI agree. Building a medical device and/or diagnostics company is not a joke.
- gnoway 13y agoThe only lawsuit information I've found so far shows Theranos as the plaintiff, represented by Boies Schiller & Flexner LLP. That would be David Boies, fwiw. Are there others? Edit: Here's some background: http://www.leagle.com/decision/In%20FDCO%2020121203541 http://www.leagle.com/decision/In%20FDCO%2020121203541
- rloomba 13y agoI would tend to agree. Nanomix (nano.com) has been trying to accomplish this for the past ~6 years or so. Combining a complex biological assay + micofluidics + high precision sensing technology is not a trivial task. I want to see some hard data verified from a third party.
- spartango 13y agoWhile I have no idea if any of the other claims are true, it's important to note that they do claim to be regulatory-cleared (not FDA, not relevant in this case): they claim to be running a CLIA-certified lab. CLIA (Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments)[1] defines the regulatory standards for clinical labs which take in samples and perform medical tests on them. It works very differently from FDA drug or device approval. Most often the certification is done by an organization such as the College of American Pathologists (CAP), which scrutinizes a lab's protocols and output[2]. In any case, if they are CLIA-certified they are open for business, legally speaking. [1]: http://wwwn.cdc.gov/clia/ http://wwwn.cdc.gov/clia/ [2]: http://www.cap.org/apps/cap.portal?_nfpb=true&cntvwrPtlt_actionOverride=%2Fportlets%2FcontentViewer%2Fshow&cntvwrPtlt%7BactionForm.contentReference%7D=laboratory_accreditation%2Faboutlap.html&_pageLabel=cntvwr http://www.cap.org/apps/cap.portal?_nfpb=true&cntvwrPtlt_act...
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- _pmf_ 13y ago> We believe access to accurate, affordable, real-time diagnostic information is a basic human right. Your employer thinks likewise.
- petemc_ 13y agoWhen I was in South Korea a while back I was able to get a blood test via a finger prick and the results back before I left the clinic that day. Admittedly, the chap at the clinic did think I had hepatitis, but apparently that can be explained by the excessive amount of whiskey I had consumed the previous day.
- jboynyc 13y ago"one tiny drop changes everything." They might want to come up with a different tag line: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_drop_rule https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_drop_rule
- cypherpunks01 13y agoJust today, I was just searching around for a way to order my own Quest lab tests here in the US. (I'm on the East Coast, Theranos doesn't seem to have locations here) Does anyone know of any e-doctors that will provide me with lab orders on my behalf? I've seen WellnessFX, but I want to order Quest panels for things they don't offer in their package. Who else is doing something similar to them?
- aheilbut 13y agoHolmes has a set of lectures on Udemy about building a team, if you want to learn how to put together a board like that: https://www.udemy.com/the-essentials-of-team-building/ https://www.udemy.com/the-essentials-of-team-building/
- beyondcompute 13y agoStrangely designed web-site. When you open it you don't understand what they provide. Is it a service, app, or idea? Device or standard? Then while clicking through sections you see some clipartish generic-looking pictures of people and ipad screens. Only the small vial with blood promises some useful information but no descriptive text or images provide any detail (why this small vial is better and experience is less painful than generic tests?). So after skimming the site reveals nothing you get irritated and leave. There's so much interesting things on Hacker News. Maybe those guys are changing the world but their web-site does not convey it.
- bsullivan01 13y agoWith a board like that they'll probably get a lot of VA /Medicare /Medicaid contracts and swim on cash. But then Labcorp etc will fight back, they already offer deeeeep discounts for Aetna and other major clients (seen $7 for them, $100+ for cash payers.) Also on top of my head, I can think of newborn screening, that is all done via heel prick, so the tech exists. Unless the business plan call for a free first test for everyone in USA...sponsored by NSA ;)