{"id":756080,"date":"2021-09-15T17:06:32","date_gmt":"2021-09-15T21:06:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=756080"},"modified":"2021-09-15T17:06:34","modified_gmt":"2021-09-15T21:06:34","slug":"how-did-elizabeth-holmes-build-her-fraudulent-biomedical-empire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-did-elizabeth-holmes-build-her-fraudulent-biomedical-empire\/","title":{"rendered":"How Did Elizabeth Holmes Build Her Fraudulent Biomedical Empire?"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhow-did-elizabeth-holmes-build-her-fraudulent-biomedical-empire%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=756080&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/GettyImages-1158861262-1.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p><span>The trial of Elizabeth Holmes \u2014 the founder of fraudulent medical startup Theranos \u2014 is now underway.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Along with former boyfriend Ramesh \u201cSunny\u201d Balwani, the young entrepreneur has been indicted on nine counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Holmes <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sec.gov\/news\/press-release\/2018-41\"><span>deceived<\/span><\/a><span> investors into thinking her company\u2019s portable blood analyzer could \u201cconduct comprehensive blood tests\u201d from no more than \u201cfinger drops of blood.\u201d As a result, she may now face up to twenty years in federal prison.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Before her would-be empire collapsed, Holmes managed to secure a $9 billion valuation for Theranos; with a $4.5 billion net worth of her own, she once <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/forbespr\/2015\/05\/27\/forbes-announces-inaugural-list-of-americas-50-richest-self-made-women\/?sh=73d2e0df24c1\"><span>topped<\/span><\/a><span> Forbes\u2019 list of \u201cAmerica\u2019s Richest Self-Made Women.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In essence, the story of Theranos \u2014 which was exposed and detailed by Wall Street Journal investigative reporter John Carreyrou in his book <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Bad-Blood-Secrets-Silicon-Startup\/dp\/152473165X\"><span>Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup<\/span><\/a><span> \u2014 centers upon an ambitious young entrepreneur who duped America\u2019s most influential corporations and political elites into supporting an entirely worthless enterprise.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Born With A Silver Spoon<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>Holmes entered the world \u2014 and Silicon Valley \u2014 through an elite family.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Holmes\u2019 father, Chris, was a former vice president at Enron, academic at Rice University, and Chief Operating Officer at the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance. According to Carreyrou, Holmes learned from her father that \u201cif she wanted to truly leave her mark on the world, she would need to accomplish something that furthered the greater good, not just become rich.\u201d&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Biotechnology offered the perfect opportunity to carry out this vision, so Holmes enrolled in Stanford University\u2019s chemical engineering program in 2002. By 2004, however, she dropped out to begin working on her first product \u2014 a wearable arm patch that could diagnose medical conditions and treat them on the spot.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Holmes reportedly leveraged her family\u2019s connections to raise over $6 million in seed money. Among the investors were Victor Palmieri, who served with Holmes\u2019 father in the Carter administration.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>By late 2005, Holmes and her small team had pivoted into developing the prototype of Theranos 1.0 \u2014 a device that allowed a patient to prick their finger, place a drop of blood on a small cartridge, insert the cartridge into a device, and instantly send test results to a doctor. Holmes envisioned the product as a cutting-edge, stylish, user-friendly innovation that could disrupt medicine in the same way that Apple once disrupted personal computing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Over the next few years, Theranos developed the Edison \u2014 a slightly larger device that used a technique called \u201cchemiluminescent immunoassay\u201d to test patients\u2019 blood.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Partnerships With Pharmaceutical Companies<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>Holmes managed to secure partnerships with several pharmaceutical development and retail companies \u2014 despite the Edison\u2019s lack of versatility.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Safeway, for one, saw Theranos as a \u201cbreakthrough technology that made blood tests not only more convenient, but faster and cheaper.\u201d The startup\u2019s value proposition, according to Carreyrou, \u201coffered a way to improve the supermarket chain\u2019s stagnating revenues and razor-thin profit margins.\u201d Safeway approved a $30 million deal with Theranos and renovated many of its stores to include blood testing clinics that could be outfitted with Theranos devices.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Walgreens, Pfizer, and GlaxoSmithKline also seriously considered working with the startup at various stages of its development.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Despite the new partnerships, the Edison could only perform a handful of minor blood tests. Therefore, Holmes \u2014 still fixated on the idea of a small, sleek piece of technology \u2014 initiated the development of the miniLab. The new device required the miniaturization of several previously existing technologies, leading to many delays in production.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Eventually, Balwani ordered engineers at Theranos to \u201cwrite an application for the miniLab\u2019s software that masked test malfunctions\u201d by preventing an error message from appearing on the device\u2019s digital display. Meanwhile, Theranos secretly used traditional blood testing machines manufactured by Siemens and other companies to complete tests for their partners.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In the absence of a functioning device, Holmes still managed to \u201cconvince board members, prospective investors, and journalists that the miniLab was a finished, working product.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Endorsed By Political Elites<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>Far beyond her father\u2019s own connections, Holmes was able to bring some of the most important political leaders of the twentieth century into her inner circle.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>For instance, George Shultz \u2014 who served as Secretary of Labor, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Secretary of the Treasury, and Secretary of State under the Nixon and Reagan administrations \u2014 joined Theranos\u2019 board of directors in 2011. According to Carreyrou, Shultz was \u201cone of Elizabeth\u2019s biggest champions\u201d \u2014 and he even hosted Holmes\u2019 thirtieth birthday.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Shultz\u2019s grandson, Tyler, worked at Theranos as a research engineer. However, he eventually resigned and became a leading whistleblower against the firm and its fraudulent practices.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Theranos\u2019 board was composed of several other powerful individuals \u2014 including former Defense Secretary James Mattis, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, former Defense Secretary William Perry, former Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sam Nunn, and former Navy Admiral Gary Roughead. As Carreyrou writes, \u201cthese were men with sterling, larger-than-life reputations who gave Theranos a stamp of legitimacy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Holmes also developed a close relationship with the Clinton family. She became friends with Chelsea Clinton, attended several Clinton Foundation events, and hosted a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton as she campaigned against Donald Trump in 2016.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Despite her political connections, Holmes was unable to continue channeling Silicon Valley\u2019s \u201cfake-it-until-you-make-it\u201d culture.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cA sociopath is often described as someone with little or no conscience,\u201d said Carreyrou in his epilogue. \u201cI\u2019ll leave it to the psychologists to decide whether Holmes fits the clinical profile, but there\u2019s no question that her moral compass is badly askew.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI\u2019m fairly certain she didn\u2019t initially set out to defraud investors and put patients in harm\u2019s way when she dropped out of Stanford,\u201d he continued. \u201cBy all accounts, she had a vision that she genuinely believed in and threw herself into realizing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cBut in her all-consuming quest to be the second coming of Steve Jobs amid the gold rush of the \u2018unicorn\u2019 boom, there came a point when she stopped listening to sound advice and began to cut corners. Her ambition was voracious and it brooked no interference. If there was collateral damage on her way to riches and fame, so be it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span>The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author\u2019s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><i><span>member<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The trial of Elizabeth Holmes \u2014 the founder of fraudulent medical startup Theranos \u2014 is now underway.Along with former boyfriend Ramesh \u201cSunny\u201d Balwani, the young entrepreneur has been indicted on &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-756080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/756080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=756080"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/756080\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=756080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=756080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=756080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}