Medical Technology Start Ups

Congratulations 23andme’s Anne Wojcicki & a Theranos Update

23andme.com logo

edited November 6.  2am thoughts

“LabCorp had more than $5.6 billion in revenue in 2012. ” This is a large number I just saw. Given this plus all the other signs, Theranos is going to be the hottest thing in the Valley next to the iWatch. And make no mistake – that iWatch is coming…soon.  Where else will we find Theranos besides Walgreen’s and the military?  How about college campuses?  (But can’t LabCorps make the same product?) Who is going to want the iWatch? Everyone.

more on Theranos after Anne W.

It’s about time! Fast Company honors Founder and CEO of 23andme.com, Anne Wojcicki

Wojcicki is connected to the fabric of Silicon Valley, which has served her well. But her goals are global. “We’re not just looking to get a venture-capital return,” Wojcicki says. “We set out with this company to revolutionize health care.” On the same December day when she closed a $59 million round of financing, she dropped the price of 23andMe’s genetic testing from $299 to $99. While prices like that may not make taking control of one’s health a universal, democratic reality, they accelerate our society’s move in that direction. The end result could be a wholesale shift in the way we treat illness, a move away from our current diagnostic model to one based on prevention. That’s why, if Wojcicki gets it right, 23andMe could help change the health care industry as we know it. “At $99, we are opening the doors of access,” she says. “Genetics is part of an entire path for how you’re going to live a healthier life.”

I flipped this article on the cover of Silicon Valley and DNA is Me, two Flipboard magazines I curate. (download the Flipboard app – it’s worth it!)

Juxtaposing 23andme (and knowing full well that it is embedded in mainstream ways Anne probably never dreamed of to begin with), with Theranos shows us Theranos will be HUGE quickly but controlling. (Anyone into Facebook’s Palo Alto headquarters has to be)

Interesting to see that they have now probably responded to complaints from insurance companies and doctors because, OMG, using Theranos means a loss of income.

Blood draws are sources of income – and god forbid, we should let the doctors lose some to a disruptive technology. So, Theranos has redone its website and told the medical community not to worry – your income is safe. They say:

No new infrastructure needed.

You can draw samples in your office using your standard venipuncture draw method. Small specimens in your smallest collection containers are all we need.

You can also have your patients have samples drawn at any Theranos™ Wellness Center. They’re conveniently located and are available on a walk-in or appointment basis with a physician order, easily fitting into patients’ schedules and routines.

This will be interesting to see how it plays out when the patients realize the cost savings of going to Walgreens.

I see the website has also deleted the sentences I outlined in my earlier post and revised it to reflect those concerns as well as the concerns of the medical community.

But, still no tip of the hat to real power to the people so, to those who really want control of their health, you can order blood tests on your own here:

http://www.privatemdlabs.com/ (very expensive tests indeed, but zero out the cost of a doctor and the stress involved with that and ask yourself: What’s peace of mind worth?)

http://www.lef.org Join them for $4.50 a month and use Lab Corps.

and of course, for genetic data, there is 23andme.com for $99.00 Just spit, wait, and get your data points!

Have you seen who is on the board of Theranos? See: Blood Money

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