Top Story

Morning Read: Theranos sued for consumer fraud, while Walgreens execs doubted Theranos years ago

Also, J&J sued over vaginal mesh products, FDA again puts off decision on Duchenne drug, while Medtronic teams with Qualcomm on diabetes technology.

Elizabeth-Holmes source TEDMED 2014(1)

TOP STORIES

Another shoe has dropped in the Theranos saga, as an Arizona man has sued the wounded unicorn for consumer fraud. Attorneys for the plaintiff said that they expect the case to become a class action.  — The Verge

Meanwhile, Walgreens executives had doubts about Theranos prior to investing at least $50 million into the then-hot startup in 2013, but Elizabeth Holmes and her scientists didn’t adequately answer their questions. Still, Walgreens moved ahead with the deal for fear of losing Theranos to a competitor. As the Wall Street Journal reported:

Former Walgreens officials involved in the negotiations say Theranos told them it could perform many tests using smaller amounts of blood because it had invented a proprietary device. That appealed to Walgreens because the company believed it could use Theranos’s device to do many blood tests right in drugstores.

In reality, Theranos used Edison machines for just a fraction of its tests and ran the rest on conventional lab equipment, according to former Theranos employees. The company recently told the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that it performed just 12 types of tests on the Edison, a person familiar with the matter says.

As it turned out, Walgreens officials and a retired Quest Diagnostics executive hired by the pharmacy giant to vet Theranos’ technology never got access to the Theranos lab in Newark, California. — The Wall Street Journal

LIFE SCIENCES

Deborah Dunsire is out as CEO of Forum Pharmaceuticals following a series of setbacks to lead drug encenicline. — Xconomy

DNA testing and counseling service Counsyl is entering the oncology market. — Business Wire

Amulet Capital Partners has bought biopharma contract research organization SynteractHCR for an unspecified amount. — PE Hub

PAYERS/PROVIDERS

Doximity will offer free continuing medical education credits for physician assistants and nurse practitioners. — Doximity

Two primary care physicians make their case for continuing routine checkups, despite their desire to reduce waste in American healthcare. — STAT

CVS Health announced plans to expand access to the opioid antidote naloxone without a prescription in seven more states, bringing the total to 30 by August. — PR Newswire

TECHNOLOGY

Affectiva, a startup that is building  “emotion recognition” technology, has scored $14 million of Series D venture capital. — TechCrunch

Biotronik USA has introduced a device that adds cellular connectivity to pacemakers and other implantable cardiac monitors. — MobiHealthNews

Dr. Paul Tang, the longtime CMIO of Sutter Health’s Palo Alto Medical Foundation, is now chief health transformation officer of IBM Watson Health. — Business Insider

IMS Health has acquired Privacy Analytics Inc., maker of technology that de-identifies healthcare data. — Business Wire

Carolyn Magill has been hired as CEO of health IT vendor Remedy Partners. She previously led the development of provider-based health plan solutions and payer contracting strategies at Evolent Health. —  PR Newswire

POLITICS

The FDA has again delayed its decision on approval of eteplirsen to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy. — NeurologyAdvisor

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has signed into law a bill that bans abortions in the state after 20 weeks of pregnancy, with no exceptions for rape or incest. — The Post and Courier

Oregon won’t be building a state-run health insurance exchange anytime soon, and will stick with the federal exchange for the next 3-5 years. — Portland Business Journal

A LITTLE BIT EXTRA

E-cigarettes are exploding. Literally. — PR Newswire

Photo: TEDMED

 

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