SensNews Jul 2015

Sensor100

July 2015

Healthcare

Theranos: Catalyzing Healthcare Consumerization

Theranos, Palo Alto, CA, defines its company name as “Detecting the

onset of disease in time for therapy to be effective”. The secretive

company has come under a great deal of scrutiny from among others,

the FDA, who have demanded more information on the tests offered,

and business analysts - why is the company valued at $9bn? Is this

simply the most successful microfluidics company which has evolved a

strategy to bypass regulatory hurdles by offering tests directly to the

public?

Eric Lakin, Analyst at DeciBio Consulting, LLC has suggested that Ther-

anos is emulating Apple in trying to sell lab tests directly to consumers

(B2C) in a market which is driven by physicians ordering tests and the

insurers who pay for them (B2B). It is likely that has Theranos grows

past its teenage years (a company valued at $9b is hardly a start-up)

it will continue to encounter significant hurdles in its business model.

Nevertheless, Lakin concludes that Theranos has the potential to be-

come a major disruptive influence in the diagnostics market.

, October 2014

Sensing Drugged Driving: SBIR award for roadside

drug test

University of Maryland spin-out

Diagnostic anSERS

announced that

the National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded the company a

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I grant to identify

drugged drivers.With the $150,000 funding, Diagnostic anSERS will

develop

a paper-based test strip to enable rapid roadside screening for

driv

drug impairment, a particularly pressing need.

Source:

July 20, 2015