[52], In January 2016 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) sent a letter to Theranos based on an inspection of its Newark, California lab in 2015, reporting that the facility caused "immediate jeopardy to patient health and safety" due to a test to determine the correct dose of the blood-thinning drug warfarin. Reflecting on the upcoming trial, which has been repeatedly delayed, the former employee says she feels "sad to witness such an epic failure of proper due diligence on the part of so many people, but it's also very predictable. Marissa Senzaki, PHR's THERANOS Experience, Louis Liang | CPP | CPPM's THERANOS Experience, Jeffrey P. Blickman's THERANOS Experience, Jodi Shelley (previously Kanger)'s THERANOS Experience, Tara Lencioni Geer, SPHR, SHRM-SCP's THERANOS Experience, Matthew W. Percival's THERANOS Experience, Sani Hadziahmetovic's THERANOS Experience, St. Jude Medical NeuroModulation Division, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Warner Bros. Entertainment Group of Companies. [64] Theranos announced plans to appeal the decision by regulators to revoke its license to operate a lab in California and other sanctions. by R29 Team. Ex-Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes has pleaded not guilty to wire fraud charges. But like the movie Speed, she would never take her foot off the gas pedal.". For Rochelle Gibbons, Holmes trial is ripping open wounds that never fully healed. Elizabeth Holmes had taken Robertsons class that freshman year. People were drinking the Kool-Aid.. Name Position Location Contact info; Nabeel Sultan: Staff Test Engineer: California, USA sxxxxxxxxxxl@theranos.com [5][6] The company claimed that it had devised blood tests that required very small amounts of blood and that could be performed rapidly and accurately, all using compact automated devices which the company had developed. that he abused her emotionally and psychologically. Holmes was beginning to manifest her childhood ambition, now as the founder and CEO of Theranos. [58] The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce requested information on what Theranos was doing to correct its testing inaccuracies and adherence to federal guidelines in June 2016. Least of all, ex-Theranos employees who were legally bound to a confidentially agreement. She could have chosen any number of off-ramps and changed the trajectory of the company. The company claimed its technology could run blood tests with just a prick of a finger, but it was later revealed that Theranos used traditional blood testing machines for the majority of its tests, and that its own technology could produce inaccurate test results. Stay up to date with recent funding rounds, acquisitions, and more with the Its a place that has produced some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world, with alumni including Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman and PayPal founder Peter Thiel. I think this sort of seeds Elizabeth's grandiose vision or fantasy as it were for her business," Fuisz said. Whether Holmes will take the stand in her own defense remains unknown. He died by suicide in May 2013, the day before he was scheduled to testify in a patent dispute between the startup and Holmes erstwhile family friend, an inventor named Richard Fuisz. Elizabeth Holmes, founder and former chief executive officer of Theranos Inc., leaves federal court in San Jose, California, U.S., on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019. [147], In May 2018 John Carreyrou reported that American business and government leaders lost more than $600 million by privately investing in Theranos. The former employees interviewed by CNBC all said they left the company disillusioned and distraught over what happened, but don't want their careers defined by this ordeal. It was complete hell. Tyler Shultz and Erika Cheung are former Theranos employees and were whistle-blowers. [126][127][128] The board was criticized for consisting "mainly of directors with diplomatic or military backgrounds". ", Nies, who left Theranos after just one year, stays in touch with some of his former colleagues. Founded in 2003 by then 19-year-old Elizabeth Holmes,[3] Theranos raised more than US$700 million from venture capitalists and private investors,[4] resulting in a $10 billion valuation at its peak in 2013 and 2014. I'm happy to stick around and do that or if you want or resign, your choice. Andrej Sokolow/Getty Images Several former Theranos employees also submitted letters in support of Holmes. The atmosphere was so toxic you would hear the stories of people being disappeared. Theranos' first CFO raised concerns early on, questioning Holmes when he learned the blood testing machine demos for investors were essentially fake. So how did Elizabeth Holmes, a college dropout with no professional health care or science experience, convince so many people that her idea was going to change the world? At just 12.9 millimetres (0.51in) in height, the nanotainer held a couple of drops of blood. There was a long and well-documented history of Theranos employees raising concerns and suspicions, often at great personal risk. [109][110][111] Holmes reportedly named the device "Edison" after inventor Thomas Edison, stating, "We tried everything else and it failed, so let's call it the Edison." Recently unsealed court records indicate Holmes defense might rely on her bombshell claims that Balwani controlled and abused her, and that this alleged misconduct affected her mental state and her capacity to make decisions. She says that Holmes really believed that she was changing the world.. [132][133][134], In May 2016 members of the Theranos board of directors were:[135], In December 2016 it was announced the Theranos management team would be restructured with the departure of Riley Bechtel. Lessons from Theranos. Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, former chief operating officer of Theranos and ex-boyfriend of Elizabeth Holmes, will stand trial separately. The specific evidence in question is the history of internal testing, including accuracy and failure rates of Theranos's blood-testing systems. Nies was hired at Theranos in March 2015 for $185,000 a year to be the senior manager of customer service and call center operations at the company's headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif., according to an acceptance letter he shared with CNBC. Maxwell, who also hopes Holmes serves time, doesnt believe Balwani coerced Holmes in connection to the alleged multimillion-dollar conspiracya sentiment echoed by multiple employees interviewed by The Daily Beast. [81][82][83][84], In August 2017 Theranos announced it had reached a settlement with Walgreens. She's incredibly passionate. But I really truly believe you know it already. But unlike many others, her startup would go on to be valued at almost $10 billion making her the worlds youngest self-made female billionaire. [129] Members were invited to review the company's proprietary technologies and advise on the integration into clinical practice. [56][57], By April 2016 Theranos came under criminal investigation by federal prosecutors and the SEC for allegedly misleading investors and government officials about its technology. Theranos was based in Palo Alto and working on high-tech stuff, but most of its investment came from outside the traditional VC world. [She] just kind of blinked her eyes and nodded, and left. Arriola said that some of her colleagues also heard Elizabeth Holmes fall out of voice., It was maybe at one of the company parties, and maybe she had too much to drink or what not, but she fell out of character and exposed that that was not necessarily her true voice, Arriola said. by R29 Team. Prosecutors laid out five categories of "misleading statements" Holmes allegedly promoted: those related to Theranos's proprietary testing device, its military contracts, pharmaceutical work,. Her late husband, Ian, was the chief scientist at Theranos. This bluster aside, the fall of Theranos has been swift after a series of reports in 2015 revealed that its proprietary technology was unreliable. That same year, then Vice President Joe Biden visited the Theranos lab in Palo Alto and praised Holmes as an inspiration. Its founder, Elizabeth Holmes, was convicted of investor fraud after a series of Wall Street Journal (WSJ) articles that revealed the tests the company claimed to be doing were actually being carried out by . The company faced a string of legal and commercial challenges from medical authorities, investors, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), state attorneys general, former business partners, patients and others. I dont know what else to say., Watching news of the trial drip out, Gibbons said she has struggled to process Holmes possible defense in the fraud casethat alleged partner abuse by Balwani destroyed her capacity to make decisions., Originally, she was putting herself forth as sort of an independent, ferocious woman. Before Holmes and her ex-boyfriend, Theranos former president and COO Ramesh Sunny Balwani, were indicted, the company was the subject of civil and criminal investigations, and settled with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. On top of that, they said Holmes arranged the company so that everyone was purposely siloed. Now, with Elizabeth Holmes' criminal fraud trial set to begin Tuesday, Micah Nies is tired of "being siloed" and is breaking his silence. Holmes attended the prestigious St. Johns School in Houston, Texas, where she excelled as a top student who ran track and studied Mandarin on the weekends. [46] In 2015, an FDA inspection resulted in multiple observed violations of FDA Title 21 Regulations. Vollmer says that raising concerns internally wasnt tolerated. Barnwell said that when he came to Theranos in 2009, he quickly noticed Holmes and Balwani were super paranoid about everything. They wouldnt allow employees to list Theranos on their LinkedIn pages and were hell-bent on protecting trade secrets. Of course, if he hadn't just made contact with that former Theranos employee who was a lab director, then . He refused. Theranos even threatened to sue John himself who became a perceived enemy to the company, with some Theranos employees even chanting 'Fuck you Carreyrou'. Theranos then raised $45 million in venture funding in July 2010. He reported directly to Balwani, who he called "the king manipulator." Reporter who broke Theranos scandal predicts outcome of trial. Theranos dubbed its blood collection vessel the "nanotainer" and its analysis machine the "Edison". When Tevanian would challenge Holmes or ask important questions about the technology or the progress of the company, he said that she was very good at deflecting and that her responses were more of a non-answer or an evasive answer.. (now called Threshold) in June 2004, according to Crunchbase. Theranos was once valued at $9 billion, and Forbes magazine in 2015 estimated Holmes' net worth at $4.5 billion. It was something that Fuisz remembers the Holmes family being very proud of. In my view, that man had no redeeming qualities I could see. The Edison device looked like a black, rectangular box about the size of a desktop printer with a screen on the front and was meant to process Theranos tiny blood test samples. Align your vision with ethical principles According to research published by. Not so long ago, Elizabeth Holmes was Silicon Valleys rising star. , which led Theranos last financing event, a $100 million debt financing in December 2017, before the blood-testing company shut down. Holmes pleaded not guilty, as . I think she just wanted fame at all costs., Barnwell also figured out that the blood-testing deviceone that Holmes vowed would change the worldwas far from revolutionary. When Walgreens signed and Safeway signed, I was looking at my two buddies, Im like dude what the hell are these people thinking? It doesnt do anything., When Holmes and company presented the lab machines to Walgreens and other potential corporate partners, Barnwell said, the data from the devices was canned. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox. One former member of the firms management team told us, This is health care. Biden praised what he saw,[35] but to conceal the lab's true operating conditions, Holmes and Balwani had created a fake lab for the Vice President's tour. And she answers immediately I want to be a billionaire. The curated list of the most valuable private companies in the world |. [148] Major investments had been made by the Walton family ($150 million), Rupert Murdoch ($121 million), Betsy DeVos ($100 million) and the Cox family (of Cox Media Group) ($100 million). 2023 Vox Media, LLC. Gibbons said the company made her husband miserable in other ways. The most obvious way is to create a workplace that celebrates them every day with a supportive culture, inclusive benefits and stellar leadership. [37][38] Tyler Shultz, a Theranos employee from 2013 to 2014 and the grandson of then-Theranos director, former U.S. Secretary of State George P. Shultz, was a key source for the WSJ story. Despite reservations from Gardner, Holmes spent five days during a school vacation writing a patent for her idea. Now Holmes, 37, is about to stand trial, and ex-Theranos employees are watching closely. They were extremely sharp and knew the industry very well and they just vanished, Maxwell said. Bad news: Thats not actually saying much. For Holmes, the dog represented the journey that lay ahead for Theranos. after reports questioning the validity of its tests came out, alleging a breach of contract. Maxwell recalled learning from other employees that the technology wasnt working and the science wasnt matching up. It became clear that without technology, the designers became unnecessary. Among them are Rupert Murdoch, Henry Kissinger, James Mattis, Riley Bechtel, and Holmes herself. Theranos even threatened to sue John himself who became a perceived enemy to the company, with some Theranos employees even chanting 'Fuck you Carreyrou'. Christian Holmes IV descended from Charles Louis Fleischmann, who founded the incredibly successful Fleischmann Yeast company. But a lot of us are skeptical that'll happen since she's part of this elite group. In 2004, Theranos was based in a rented basement near the Stanford campus. Theranos United States employs 53 employees. There were patients who were third- and fourth-stage oncology cancer patients at the University of Tennessee that had given basically their blood to test this device, Arriola said. [122], Theranos was headquartered in the Stanford Research Park in Palo Alto, California. Theres an anecdote where shes 9 or 10 years old and shes asked by a relative, 'What do you want to do when you grow up? While Theranos tried to focus on the MiniLab and battle numerous lawsuits from investors, the company laid off 155 employees. At one stage Theranos was sparring with Elizabeth's uncle Richard . Tevanian also said that the technology wasnt improving. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Learn about salaries, pros and cons of working for THERANOS directly from the past employees. Living. But Maxwell said that it wasnt long before they realized that they were designing a technology that didnt really exist. I hope engineers are testifying (at trial), he said. Former employees said that damage control was routine at Theranos and all agreed that Holmes is innately optimistic. [108], John Carreyrou, a Wall Street Journal journalist whose work exposed Theranos, published a book-length treatment in May 2018 titled Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup. Almost like a dancer carries herself onstage with this kind of can-do attitude, chin-up. So she was always very composed. Elizabeth Holmes, CEO of Theranos, attends a panel discussion during the Clinton Global Initiative's annual meeting in New York in this Sept. 29, 2015 file photo. Part of what made Theranos such a big name in Silicon Valley was the people the company brought on for its board of directors. Maxwell said the company also went after his online portfolio for calling the device a blood robot.. At one point, he wanted to put hands on me, and I said that would be a bad idea., According to Barnwell, his former colleagues later told him Balwani called the cops after he drove away and claimed hed stolen from the company. Holmes rose to Silicon Valley fame after founding Theranos in 2003 at age 19 and became known for her penchant for wearing Steve Jobs-like black turtlenecks. [50][51], The Arizona Department of Health Services reported issues with the company's Scottsdale lab meeting regulations in September 2015. The company claimed that it had devised . The news was first reported by Bloomberg, and later confirmed by the startup. All he ever did was talk about the money he made, he said. Holmes wanted to invent a skin patch that could test for diseases and deliver medication. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Find the right companies, identify the right contacts, and connect with decision-makers with an all-in-one prospecting solution. [53][54] Walgreens subsequently announced a suspension of Theranos blood tests from the Newark lab and immediately paused wellness services in Palo Alto. [114][115] Theranos claimed to have data verifying the accuracy and reliability of its tests that would be published. It remains to be seen what is left of Theranos to be cut,. Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, now a mother of two, is asking to delay her 11-year sentence for felony fraud so she can be at home with her two young . Klicken Sie auf Alle ablehnen, wenn Sie nicht mchten, dass wir und unsere Partner Cookies und personenbezogene Daten fr diese zustzlichen Zwecke verwenden. The case, United States v. Elizabeth A. Holmes, et al., has been assigned to Lucy H. Koh, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. She basically conveyed to me that I should not intervene that this is an incredibly critical juncture in the company's current fundraising. [61] The company announced that about 1% of test results had been voided or corrected from its proprietary machines in June 2016. Although we are confident that we would have prevailed at trial, resolution of these two cases allows our tender offer to go forward and enables us to return our focus where it belongs, which is on executing our business plans and delivering value for our shareholders. This was likely because of a well-known Edison quote: "I've not failed. Theranos recruited him at age 41 from another healthcare company in San Diego. In February 2021 federal prosecutors accused Holmes and other executives of destroying evidence in Theranos's final days in business. She wasnt trying to build a house of cards. Senator, senate majority leader and heart-transplant surgeon), Gary Roughead (Admiral, USN, retired), Jim Mattis (General, USMC), Richard Kovacevich (former Wells Fargo Chairman and CEO) and Riley P. Bechtel (chairman of the board and former CEO at Bechtel Group). Holmes and Balwanis respective trials are expected to be the last chapter of the Theranos story which has been unfolding over the past six years. She attracted both high-profile. [103] She was sentenced in November 2022 to 11 years and 3 months in prison. Palo Alto, CA That ambition surfaced in her education. Theranos was a privately-held consumer healthcare technology company that is now arguably the largest biomedical fraud in U.S. history. The Wall Street Journal . And it turned out to be Elizabeth Holmes. Another former staffer, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said he has mixed feelings about the ongoing trial. Arriola wasnt the only former Apple employee that Elizabeth hired. He said promises that Holmes was making werent being fulfilled and information wasnt adding up. She wanted Theranos to have the same design-first aesthetic as Apple, and so, when it came time to hire, she turned to the tech giant to find potential employees. Why Employee-owned Companies Are Better at Building Worker Wealth November 11, 2022; . [11] Between 2004 and 2016, the amount of Private Equity Dry Powder available grew from $400 billion to $1.5 trillion. A lot of the folks that she hired in during my period were ex-Apple, former Theranos employee Ana Arriola said on The Dropout podcast. And I decided to resign, Arriola said. I thought my life was going to come crashing down and they would come after me, Maxwell said. Since Theranos was a private company, Holmes was allowed to stay on as CEO but had to give up financial and voting control of the company, in addition to paying a $500,000 fine and returning $18.9 million in Theranos . By Taylor Dunn, Victoria Thompson, and Rebecca Jarvis March 12, 2019, 9:43 AM 8:43 Elizabeth Holmes, CEO of Theranos, attends a panel discussion during.Read More After Theranos failed to address concerns that it exaggerated the capabilities of the miniLab, Walgreens withdrew from their partnership. It is alleged the defendants were aware of the unreliability and inaccuracy of their products, but concealed that information. Most of us who worked there are anxious for it to be over. Millions more homes will be exposed to hurricane winds because ofclimate change, NASA and SpaceX postpone launch of Crew-6 mission. [42][43] At that time, the Cleveland Clinic announced that it would work to verify Theranos technology. Photo: Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes departs the San Jose federal courthouse on February 10, 2020 [photo by Marlize van Romburgh]. Theranos raised about $1.3 billion in funding ($1.4 billion including debt financing) over the course of its history, per Crunchbase data. Opening arguments in her hotly anticipated trial are expected to begin this week. Now, years removed from the business, the employee wants Holmes and Balwani held accountable. Elizabeth was very obsessed with Apple. [139][141] The company moved to the former headquarters of Facebook in June 2012. Senators Bill Frist and Sam Nunn. It appears that she did many bad things, but I think her intentions initially were certainly not that, he said. [39], Theranos claimed that the allegations were "factually and scientifically erroneous. "This is what happens when you work to change things," Holmes told host Jim Cramer. Micah Nies, a former Theranos employee, with his twin sons. The results would then be compared to medical data available on the Internet, with the Edison running supplementary blood tests that were more targeted based on the results of the comparison. "Even several years later. ", "Theranos Patent for Point of Care System", "The Narrative Frays for Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes", "Theranos' Scandal Exposes the Problem With Tech's Hype Cycle", "Theranos Chief Yields to Calls for Proof of Blood Test's Reliability", "Theranos Has Still Not Begun a Promised Validation Study", "Evaluation of direct-to-consumer low-volume lab tests in healthy adults", "Elizabeth Holmes, Founder of Theranos, Falls From Highest Perch Off Forbes List", "Expecting Data From Theranos, Lab Experts Get New Product", "Theranos Presents Data On New Blood Test Machine, Remains Mum On Previous Technology", "Elizabeth Holmes's First Public Presentation of Theranos Data Falls Short", "Kilroy Realty Corp. buys Theranos headquarters in Palo Alto", "Theranos Founder Faces a Test of Technology, and Reputation", "Theranos adds Kovacevich to all-star board", "Quiet Theranos adds former Wells chief Kovacevich, 'Mad Dog' Mattis to power-packed board", "Theranos Adds Startlingly Well-Qualified Medical Board", "Theranos just made a crucial move that could help its reputation", "Heavy Hitters Join Theranos Advisory Board", "Theranos shuffles leadership; president retires", "Theranos Executive Sunny Balwani to Depart Amid Regulatory Probes", "Theranos COO departs as embattled startup adds to board", "Embattled Blood Lab Theranos Makes a Bid to Regain Confidence", "Theranos Dissolves High-Profile Board of Counselors", "Theranos Investor Riley Bechtel Steps Down From Board", "Theranos: Testing times lie ahead for secretive blood-testing firm", "Theranos raises $45M to help patients track drug reactions", "Theranos growing close to home in Palo Alto", "The Fall Of Theranos And The Future Of Science In Silicon Valley", "This Woman's Revolutionary Idea Made Her A Billionaire And Could Change Medicine", "Bain & Company's Global Private Equity Report 2018", "Why A Scandal Like Elizabeth Holmes Theranos Is Bound To Happen Again", "Theranos Finalizes Shareholder Recapitalization", "Theranos Cost Business and Government Leaders More Than $600 Million", "How One Company Scammed Silicon Valley. "All these people involved, they're all gone and nothing even lined up and so I pulled this all together, all this information together, printed it all out. When Gibbons alerted Theranos to her husbands death, the company reportedly responded by asking her to return his laptop and any other confidential materials. [138] By December 2004, the company had raised more than $6 million from investors at a valuation of $30 million. She now wanted to create a portable device that could run any blood test with just a drop or two of blood from the finger. "First they think you're crazy, then they fight you, then you change the world. He became an integral part of her early success introducing her to venture capitalists and joining her board of directors. Tyler Shultz, the grandson of George Shultz, one of Theranos' former board members, says CEO Elizabeth Holmes knew the company's devices couldn't perform all the blood tests she claimed they could. Holmes and Balwani were also charged with wire fraud and conspiracy, with Holmes being found guilty on four counts in January 2022 and sentenced that November to 11 years and 3 months in prison. The company was called Theranos, a combination of the words therapy and diagnosis. It was praised for being revolutionary and for creating a breakthrough that would change the medical industry forever. Any equity investments in the company were made worthless by the shutdown. Crunchbase Daily. Theranos Inc. (/ r. [96] Balwani did not settle with the SEC.[97]. 80 THERANOS employees in database. She also entranced high-powered investors, among them Rupert Murdoch, the Walton family, former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. The pair, who will be tried separately, each pleaded not guilty to nine counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Theranos officials said the funds had mischaracterized the exchange offer, which was discussed before the suit was filed. Inspection", "Theranos closes its last remaining blood-testing lab after it reportedly failed an inspection", "Theranos to fire 41 percent of workforce in second round of cuts", "Arizona AG plans to sue Theranos over blood-testing devices", "Theranos Investors Say They Were Pressured to Abandon Lawsuit", "Theranos Secretly Bought Outside Lab Gear, Ran Fake Tests: Court Filings", "Theranos Reaches Settlement with Partner Fund Management", "Theranos agrees to 2-year ban on clinical blood work", "Theranos, Arizona Attorney General Reach Agreement on Full Restitution to State Consumers", "With $4.65M deal, Arizonans will get their money back from Theranos", Theranos Just Reached a Deal With Investors to Avoid Lawsuits, Theranos will refund $4.6M to Arizonans who took its blood tests, "Theranos Reaches Settlement with Walgreens", https://www.cbinsights.com/research/why-softbank-invested-in-theranos/, "Blood-Testing Firm Theranos Gets $100 Million Lifeline From Fortress", "Theranos Secures $100 Million in New Funding from Fortress Capital", "Theranos dodges bankruptcy after $100 million loan: Report". Heres a closer look at Theranos investors and other business ties. Based in Palo Alto, CA, Theranos is a small health care company with only 100 employees and an annual revenue of $55.3M. The patent was unclear on how much blood the Edison would actually require to conduct these blood tests. "Those of us who left Theranos before it all crumbled down, we're on the other side of it now with good careers. His job was to solve problems but he said he soon realized the real problem was Theranos itself. An ex-neighbor- Tim Draper and one of her father's friends, Victor Palmieri, raised USD 6 million for Theranos by 2004. However, Theranos general counsel and new CEO David Taylor and a few support staffers remained on payroll for a few more days. [59][60], In May 2016 Theranos announced that it had voided two years of results from its Edison device. Holmes cultivated a board of directors with powerful men including former U.S. "Most are anxious for it to be over," said another former Theranos employee who may be called to testify. But all of that came crashing down after a series of explosive reports, starting in 2015, by The Wall Street Journal reporter John Carreyrou, who called into question the efficacy of Theranos technology. There are some people who probably had to go to therapy for this, and theres one person on the team who died from suicide, Maxwell said. [106] In December he was sentenced to 12 years and 11 months in prison and 3 years of probation. Ex-Theranos employees describe culture of secrecy at Elizabeth Holmes' startup: 'The Dropout' podcast ep. In the Theranos case, insufficient due diligence and fraudulent business practices led to the losses for investors. The idea was simply that she was going to make a microfluidic patch to sample blood, to test for infectious organisms, and then deliver antibiotics through the same microfluidic channels. Gardner said on The Dropout podcast.