Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Walgreen Terminates Partnership with Theranos

wsj.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 153 posts

Re: Walgreen Terminates Partnership with Theranos

#41

Post by joshdickson »

metalliqaz wrote: post #35
smaili wrote: post #13

Anyone happen to know why this took so long to become official? EDIT: Looks like it's mentioned a few paragraphs into the article: Walgreens leaders decided to end the partnership after regulators disclosed problems at Theranos in late January, but held off on finalizing the separation because the company feared Theranos might sue, said people familiar with the matter.

They must have realized that Theranos is going to sue no matter what happens.

Not quite - Walgreens believes that the CMS punishment, which is expected in the next two weeks, will be sufficiently harsh enough that it will win a case against Theranos. If they lost the case, they could have potentially been on the hook for hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars in damages (i.e. so much money that even with the incredibly bad press of not severing the deal sooner, it still made more sense to keep the deal until things got to where they are now).

https://twitter.com/joshdickson40/status/742154076851408898

Re: Walgreen Terminates Partnership with Theranos

#42

Post by jmcgough »

bane wrote: post #16

Walgreens managers also grew increasingly frustrated in recent weeks with Theranos as they sought information about the extent of test reports it had corrected or voided. This seems to be a common thread in the stories I've read about Theranos, an almost pathological inability to provide basic information upon request. I can only guess that Holmes' notion of open and transparent communication is defined very differen…

Pretty typical. A lot of startups that are going down the tube (or were always awful) end up with horrible reviews on glassdoor. That makes it harder for their recruiters to do their job, so they pad it with extremely obvious fake reviews to compensate.

Re: Walgreen Terminates Partnership with Theranos

#43

Post by [deleted] »

tlb wrote: post #30
grizzles wrote: post #6

It's shocking to find out that a science education is actually pretty useful for leading a science company. DFJ and the other investors should be getting way more of the blame for not doing proper due diligence on Theranos. It's kind of amazing in a way that the company is still a going concern. There is going to be no salvaging this company, because it has nothing of value. What a shmozzle.

On the other hand, out of the top 5 pharma companies, only 3/5 CEOs have science degrees: (Edit: was 1, wasn't counting medical degrees before) #1: Novartis: Economics, MBA #2: Pfizer: BS chemical engineering, chartered accountancy #3: Roche: economics, law #4: Sanofi: MD #5: Merck: veterinary medicine, PhD So a person who didn't know any better might not assume a science degree was necessary.

[deleted]

Re: Walgreen Terminates Partnership with Theranos

#45

Post by danieltillett »

_audakel wrote: post #25

1 - Theranos should have been more transparent, but what startup doesn't stretch the truth or even leave out data on occasion? It is a fine line between lying and hustling. Startups can often talk about something that doesn't exist yet like it does because they can move fast enough to build it. 2 - I worked at a medical startup in Palo Alto and I can attest that it is incredibly hard complying with all the FDA rules.…

I haven't got a lot of love for the FDA and their regulations, but if you are going to break them then at least have science on your side. It is one thing to not complete the 12th form that was identical to the previous 11 forms, but it is another thing to provide wrong diagnoses to real patients. I would be a lot more supportive of Theranos if they actually were competent.

Re: Walgreen Terminates Partnership with Theranos

#46

Post by askafriend »

dominotw wrote: post #18
bane wrote: post #16

Walgreens managers also grew increasingly frustrated in recent weeks with Theranos as they sought information about the extent of test reports it had corrected or voided. This seems to be a common thread in the stories I've read about Theranos, an almost pathological inability to provide basic information upon request. I can only guess that Holmes' notion of open and transparent communication is defined very differen…

This is hilarious https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Employee-Review-Theranos-R... Advice to Management You are doing a good job. Stay in better touch with the employees. I think most people do feel appreciated but there are also some that are disgruntled and unhappy for other reasons. I see these people spreading negative energy. You should seek them and try and fix the problem. Is it common practice among upstart co…

They are absolutely padded and padding is even encouraged at some places. Even companies like FB do it.

Re: Walgreen Terminates Partnership with Theranos

#47

Post by danieltillett »

dennyis wrote: post #44

Man I've gotta say that despite all the bad news this really bums me out. I love being able to run down to Walgreens, order my own blood tests, and get the results without a doctor or a big hassle.

I can make it even more convenient - get out a couple of dice and roll them across your desk. If the total is under 7 you are ok otherwise go to the doctor for some competently run test.

Re: Walgreen Terminates Partnership with Theranos

#48

Post by dingo_bat »

dang wrote: post #11
GuiA wrote: post #2

The Theranos leadership belongs in jail. Misleading patients with bullshit medical science ranks pretty high up on the list of things that should get executives locked up. We are talking about tens of thousands of patients here whose doctors made medical choices based on fundamentally flawed blood work, all while Holmes and her buddies were boasting about how disruptive their technology was, how much better they were…

You're not going to find many defenders of Theranos at this point, but that doesn't mean this isn't a bad comment to post to HN. We ask users here to post reflective comments, not ones that try to maximize fury—no matter how right you are or how angry you feel. The fact that you end your comment with a cheap slur about "more civilized countries" is indicative.

I think mucking up blood tests that almost certainly lead to misdiagnoses should stir up some fury.

Re: Walgreen Terminates Partnership with Theranos

#50

Post by PhasmaFelis »

tlb wrote: post #30
grizzles wrote: post #6

It's shocking to find out that a science education is actually pretty useful for leading a science company. DFJ and the other investors should be getting way more of the blame for not doing proper due diligence on Theranos. It's kind of amazing in a way that the company is still a going concern. There is going to be no salvaging this company, because it has nothing of value. What a shmozzle.

On the other hand, out of the top 5 pharma companies, only 3/5 CEOs have science degrees: (Edit: was 1, wasn't counting medical degrees before) #1: Novartis: Economics, MBA #2: Pfizer: BS chemical engineering, chartered accountancy #3: Roche: economics, law #4: Sanofi: MD #5: Merck: veterinary medicine, PhD So a person who didn't know any better might not assume a science degree was necessary.

> #5: Merck: veterinary medicine, PhD

I'm really curious what sort of path takes someone from training to be a vet to heading up a global pharmaceuticals company.

Post reply on HN