Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
As Face Of Theranos, Elizabeth Holmes Has Taken Brunt Of Censure. But What About Her Second-In-Command?
Stat: What Will Become Of The Man Who Helped Build Theranos?
Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani is a virtual ghost — despite serving nearly seven years in the No. 2 position at the blood-testing startup that turned out to be too good to be true. While the black-turtleneck-clad [Elizabeh] Holmes graced magazine covers and spoke before adoring crowds, Balwani, her former boyfriend, stayed in the shadows. He has almost no internet presence, and the only verifiable photo that STAT could find of him was a grainy image from his 1988 college yearbook. Now, he’s at the center of a legal showdown that could tear open a new chapter in a scandal that has rocked the business world and captivated the public imagination. And it could set up a daytime-TV legal defense: My ex-girlfriend duped me. (Robbins, Garde and Feuerstein, 3/19)
In other health industry news —
Bloomberg: TPG Targets $11 Billion For Next Main Buyout Fund
TPG is targeting $11 billion for its eighth flagship buyout fund and launching a supplementary health-care pool at the same time, according to people familiar with the matter. The target for the health-care fund, known as a sidecar, is $2.5 billion, said the people, asking not to be identified because the details are private. That pool is likely to split the main fund’s health-care deals on a 50-50 basis, one of the people said. (Mittelman and Willmer, 3/16)
Bloomberg: J&J Reaches $2.1 Billion Deal to Sell Diabetes Device Business
Johnson & Johnson got a $2.1 billion offer from a private-equity firm for its glucose monitor business LifeScan, the drugmaker said Friday. The company said in January of last year that it was considering options for the diabetes device business as part of a broader effort to focus on its core health-care offerings. The deal, with Platinum Equity, is expected to close by the end of the year. (Koons, 3/16)
