Theranos Blew It. But It Didn’t Ruin Biotech Startups for Everyone
IN THE LATE 1990s, Elizabeth Holmes was in middle school. Her scandal-beset company Theranos—which promised to use amazing advances in a hybrid scientific field of microfluidics to detect multiple conditions from a single drop of blood—didn’t exist.
But at the University of Washington, bioengineer Paul Yager was using microfluidics to develop paper-based assays that he hoped would detect pathogens with just a nasal swab. And like Holmes did later, he also saw the potential in making these tests directly accessible to patients. He was ahead of his time.
But at the University of Washington, bioengineer Paul Yager was using microfluidics to develop paper-based assays that he hoped would detect pathogens with just a nasal swab. And like Holmes did later, he also saw the potential in making these tests directly accessible to patients. He was ahead of his time.