Despite Boards Stocked With D.C. Luminaries, Theranos Still Faces Consequences From Regulators
The blood testing startup's advisory board includes, among others, former Cabinet secretaries George Shultz, Henry Kissinger and William Perry, former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and legal star David Boies. Analysts worry its failure, even with such big names advising it, could cripple investors' enthusiasm for innovative health care companies.
Politico:
Troubled Health Start-Up Theranos Faces Washington Reckoning
Theranos, a $9 billion health care startup, is becoming a poster child for the limited value of having a board stocked with Washington powerbrokers. With insiders ranging from Henry Kissinger to former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, Theranos still faces a federal regulatory call Friday that could capsize the firm and threaten an innovative healthcare sector along with it. The Palo Alto, Calif., company, headed by 32-year-old Elizabeth Holmes, has faced growing scientific and financial skepticism over its bold central claim: that it can replace the scary hypodermic needle with a cheap finger prick to test human blood, overturning the lab testing industry in the process. (Tahir, 2/11)
