Disgraced Theranos CEO, who was recently barred from running a lab for 2 years, will make her first public appearance since a media onslaught against her by the formerly fawning media destroyed her net worth from over $4 billion to zero, at the American Association for Clinical Chemistry presentation in Philadelphia today.
However, don’t expect any dramatic revelations. As Stat News reports, “Holmes declined to provide any data about the company’s controversial Edison platform for running diagnostic tests based on a single fingerprick of blood. The company voided results for thousands of those tests after their accuracy came under fire.
Holmes unveiled new device called the miniLab, which has been in development for the past five years. It’s meant to condense blood testing technology that would normally require several large machines into a single desktop device.
Holmes presented internal data showing that the platform can handle an eclectic menu of tests, ranging from general lipid panels for cholesterol to more specialized tests, including one for Zika.
But, and this is the punchline, Theranos did not release any data that’s been validated by a third party or subjected to peer review.
So just take her at her word?
As a reminder, regulators have banned Holmes for two years from the diagnostics industry, after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services found that Theranos’ lab practices led to “immediate jeopardy to patient health and safety.” The company is also under a federal criminal investigation for possibly misleading investors about its activities — and the value of its technology.
The presentation Monday at the annual American Association for Clinical Chemistry is widely seen as Holmes’ last chance to regain credibility in the industry. The valuation of her company has slid to near zero, from a high of $9 billion. Holmes used the presentation to try to distance the company entirely from the blood testing platform it had been touting for several years as a revolutionary technology.
That platform, called the Edison, is no longer in use, she said. The company has shifted all its focus to the new miniLab.
Watch her speak live at the following perscope link, although there is no way to know how long it will stay up.
LIVE on #Periscope: Streaming: Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos speaks at science conference https://t.co/d1QaK0vZvV
— scott budman (@scottbudman) August 1, 2016
Watching #AACC2016 live on Periscope: Elizabeth Holmes & 3 Theranos scientists are about to present https://t.co/rZAXdbilCC tx @StuartBlitz
— Christina Farr (@chrissyfarr) August 1, 2016
via http://ift.tt/2an4w77 Tyler Durden