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Allegations of Data Manipulation At Theranos (wsj.com)
An anonymous reader writes: A lengthy report at the Wall Street Journal brings allegations of data manipulation against blood-testing startup Theranos. The company raised hundreds of millions of dollars from investors, at a valuation of roughly $9 billion, on the hope that they can revolutionize medical diagnosis. They've also made agreements with Safeway and Walgreen's to offer blood tests within stores. But multiple former employees say Theranos was shaky on the science at best, and intentionally misrepresentative at worst.
Engineer Anthony Nugent says the device intended for Walgreen's was still experimental. He also recalls seeing the machines labeled "for investigational use only," because of poor accuracy. A Theranos lab worker "told federal authorities that the results from the quality-control runs diverged from the known amount by more than two standard deviations, a red flag that suggested possible accuracy problems." When that employee notified superiors within the company, somebody came and deleted the quality control data, which made the device's test runs appear better than they were. There are also reports that inspectors and auditors were purposefully kept away from parts of Theranos's lab. A Theranos spokesperson denied everything.
Engineer Anthony Nugent says the device intended for Walgreen's was still experimental. He also recalls seeing the machines labeled "for investigational use only," because of poor accuracy. A Theranos lab worker "told federal authorities that the results from the quality-control runs diverged from the known amount by more than two standard deviations, a red flag that suggested possible accuracy problems." When that employee notified superiors within the company, somebody came and deleted the quality control data, which made the device's test runs appear better than they were. There are also reports that inspectors and auditors were purposefully kept away from parts of Theranos's lab. A Theranos spokesperson denied everything.
Looks like they finally found a replacement for Carly Fiorina. I see a bright future for Ms Holmes.
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
What kind of company gives itself a name that is so close to "Thanatos"? Creepy at best.
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
Something like blood testing should have a outside validation for their machines. Why is the company validating these machines on their own? Whenever a company tries to do this it does nothing to help people get the right answers. A person wants valid and accurate results, not a guess. The blood pressure machines at places like Walgreen's or WalMart are just about worthless too. These machines are rarely calibrated frequently enough to provide a valid reading. Do it yourself kits like for A1C tests and blood glucose are not very good either. Its a very minimal indicator tool to give a person a reasonable average but not nearly as good as a full lab can do.
Medicine is too important to be a 'for profit' industry.
Great minds think alike; fools seldom differ.
It's a shame Theranos is having so many problems, because to me it was never about blood testing using small volumes of blood, but about low cost DIY blood testing available at places like Walgreens. The ability to walk in and get a Cholesterol test for $3, and a comprehensive metabolic plane for $7 instead of going through a doctor (and paying several hundred dollars for the privilege of having that doctor cluck-cluck at me) is a big deal: it means I could (for example) try different diets and get a blood test monthly to see how those diets affect me.
still unclear now? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQlXlkGRW7k ... #s lie constantly? free the innocent stem cells... in mom we trust..
"19 year old Wunderkind gives the educational and medical systems the finger by inventing shit on her own! This proves the Insurance Companies are out to get you! Vote Obama! Consequences don't happen!"
How many jerkoff articles about this did we read?
And now, wah-wah-waah, it doesn't (never?) work.
This is why you have scientific FDA oversight of medical products.
Medicine for profit drives innovation. Unfortunately history has shown that hucksters abound with their secret formulas and technology. This is why the FDA exists. You can make all the money you want, but you have to prove to the FDA that it works both in principle and in practice.
The first people to scrutinize are those who work for Theranos who sold their stock
quickly. Those would be the people who were in on the secret that the data was manipulated.
Prison is the correct destination for people who manipulate medical data.
Most of these claims come from ex-employees. It's like having my ex-wife write my biography; I'm sure she'd find a way to put a negative spin on that time I saved puppies from a house fire (like: "he went back inside to grab things he cared about but left my cherished family photos to burn").
lucm, indeed.
After reading TFA, it seems like the company runs like a cult of personality of Ms. Holmes. Their answer for every objection is to impugn the integrity or intelligence of the person who raised the issue. Their remembrance of the facts diverges wildly from the first hand accounts of their critics. Whenever they mention Ms Holmes odd behavior, they basically make the No True Scotsman defense, that Ms Holmes would never do that. That is classic cult-like behavior.
I can't get my head around how they raised so much money with nothing but the most basic outline of an idea and not even an original one. Score one for political connections.
I smell something funny, but I don't think they have a test for that at Theranos.
I would not. Not even if you put me in a stranglehold.
why was my last comment not posted??
injunction from Meg, or carly..
comments that cut to quick to the bone, or surface tangeability need not be posted..
really
Well color me shocked.
Data Manipulation by *Thanos*. Much more sinister.
... Gas the rich!!
Commercial clinical analyzers are programmable by the end user. Thus, for example, it is possible for company "X" to purchase commercial clinical analyzers, put it's own programs on them, and say that "samples are being run on company X's proprietary systems". However if company X is also representing that it has proprietary clinical hardware, confusion might result. That is, a statement that "samples were run on company X's proprietary systems" would not enable outside readers determine if either commercial hardware or proprietary hardware was used. I am not sure if the press understands this.
Another week, another Theranos "conspiracy" post on Slashdot. If the machines lied there would already be multi-million dollar civil suits being filed in Florida.
Who the hell invests in a company with non-existing tech and incompetent board???
You have to know a female that is young, very good looking and has become one of the world's richest people in a very short time will be attacked mercilessly by legions of people that either want her, want to be her, or want to be like her and can't. This would include "disgruntled employees" as well as "respected" journalists who know a story like this will sell.
I think that in my 20+ years of technology that I have seen the same person over and over. They usually spend more time on the front covers of magazines than they do in the office. They woo investors that seem impressive because of their money but often these investors aren't usually in the business of investing in that type of business so their imprimatur isn't that impressive, landing them is but their backing it isn't.
Then there is the "revolutionary" aspect. But there is no mention of the scientists who actually did the work. None, nada, zip, no mention. Then there is usually a back story; dropping out of an ivy league school is seemingly impressive as they are hard to get into and dropping out of one makes the "leader" seem bold. Then there is always that type A ethic. Get by on a few hours sleep, into the office at 6am. Blah blah blah.
But the simple reality is that giving that many interviews, going to that many talks, raising all that money is a more than full time job. Thus it circles back around to the science. The only way that would happen would be with some damn impressive scientists. Yet at no point do I hear any real mention of science gods working quietly in the background working hand in hand with their business partner.
What pisses me off about these stories is that after this blows up in massive way it will continue to follow the same storyline. Some dupe will pay the big price while she will mostly skate. She will manage to walk away with some serious bucks and nothing criminal. Maybe she will lose a few lawsuits that might even sound serious but it will either end up as judgements against her company which will be a worthless shell by then, or paid out of some insurance policy.
But then she will write some vague book "Look before you leap" where she will manage to get a bizarre huge advance, and in a few years she will somehow be at it again. First she will end up on a few boards of directors, then she will weasel her way into a leadership position because she is the type who knows how to build a force behind her and shove someone who is actually spending time running the organization, out.
As I said, I have seen this story over and over. Often it is just a dumb local story where the scam artists make it into the local business magazine "Top 40 under 40." When I read those articles I basically now know of 40 local businesses that are going to flame out when the grants or investors dry up.
But when a profitless business is covering Forbes and becoming the darling of the national papers then the term Vapourware instantly springs to mind.
The head of Theranos is an attractive young woman, so I refuse to believe any of this nonsense.
Why would the medical industry want to attack Theranos? 1) the standard array of blood tests I get 2 times every year for the last 20 years (quantified geek) have gone from 200$ to $3000 over that time. That's right. With technology improvements basic tests have climbed 15 times in cost. Why? I think it is how hospitals and clinics recover money they lose on other services like the famous $1000 toilet seat they just allocate essentially an arbitrary cost it has nothing to do with actual cost. Whatever. I don't really know. All I know is you can get this same set of tests from Theranos for 200 dollars or less and even in other countries for 1/10th cost. So this reflects the same problem we see everywhere in healthcare. Unbelievable costs that are literally a persons lifetime earnings for a disease. My company pays $3500 / month for healthcare for a family of four which is 4 times what it was just 10 years ago. In one year rates went up nearly 50%. Other years 20-25%. I thought obamacare was going to have MORE people buying insurance which would reduce the subsidy burden of everyone else. Instead prices have soared unbelievably. I don't understand. I think Theranos trying to enable a cheaper testing system is something to be highly supported. Why are people defending labs which charge $500 for a test they did for $20 10 years ago ? Maybe you think I get too many tests but bigdata is the answer to reducing the costs of medicine. Understanding what helps who under what conditions and genetic factors or unknown variables today is a holy grail to Improving results and cost effectiveness as well as prevention. We need cheaper tests. Thank you Theranos.
Okay. I'll grant this comment has the sense of authentic and interesting points. We still need to address the fact that costs of all tests and drugs have soared 10 to 20 times in the last 10 years without any real increases in underlying costs in many cases. The way medical care is allocated costwise is not transparent.
I would say that there are two cynical approaches to this: One, the drug companies shut her down for cutting into their pie. Or two, she wanted a taste of the big pie and like the bank robbers once said, "That is where the money is."