Week-end update: Breaking–Theranos lab director suing Hulu, Disney for defamation; ‘green shoots’ for SonderMind, Cognito, Vital, MedArrive; 3 in Asia; Telstra Australia’s new CTO

March 24, 2023 | by

Key Theranos prosecution witness suing Disney and Hulu for misrepresentation and defamation. It’s not only the FTC but also Adam Rosendorff, MD, the former lab director for Theranos who quit in late 2014, who is fighting against misrepresentation, in this case a fictionalized portrayal of the lab director character. l’affaire Theranos was lightly fictionalized in the docudrama ‘The Dropout” that ran on Hulu in 2022. Dr. Rosendorff is suing both Hulu, its corporate parent, Disney, plus other listed producers, in a New York State Supreme Court lawsuit (link and PDF) for defamation. The summons was filed in New York County (Manhattan) Thursday.

While his name was not used, the lab director named ‘Mark Roessler’ in “The Dropout” was portrayed, according to the summons, as unethical and unfit. He was “shown as covering up Theranos’ fraudulent scheme, thereby endangering patients’ lives … and as otherwise unfit to practice medicine,” “falsely portrayed as a perjurer, a criminal, and of being completely unfit to practice his profession.” In the docudrama, Roessler orders the destruction of damaging lab results, falsifies records, and engages in dishonest behavior. The reality was that Dr. Rosendorff testified against both Elizabeth Holmes and Sunny Balwani in their trials as an invaluable prosecution witness, detailing the failures of the lab tests in his testimony and affidavits [TTA 1 Oct and 6 Oct 2021]. He quit Theranos on these issues and more after 18 months when Holmes and Balwani refused to correct them. “Both the media and defendants’ reckless disregard is sufficient evidence of the malice which a public figure must show to establish claims for defamation.”

Being a whistleblower ain’t for sissies. Being tagged as part of Theranos’ demise and years in endless legal proceedings broke him professionally and fractured him mentally, as revealed after Holmes’ conviction. It became grist for yet more defense appeals that failed [TTA 20 Oct, 26 Oct 2022]. Reuters, New York Post

A (remainder) sale, partnership, and funding roundup–a few green shoots of spring

SonderMind buys out the remains of Mindstrong. The deal is for the remainder of Mindstrong’s tech assets and about 20 related staff. Price was not disclosed. Mindstrong ceased operations as of 10 March and announced they would lay off 100+ employees including the CEO and CFO no later than 15 April according to their filed WARN notice. It raised over $160 million since 2014 including a $100 million Series C in 2020. SonderMind is also in virtual mental health, assessing potential patients, matching them with a therapist in their state, who will see the patient virtually or in-person. According to SonderMind, Mindstrong’s tech will add to personalized care journeys, clinical notes templates, and improved measurement-based services.  SonderMind has had its own series of layoffs, with a 15% cut late in 2022. The deflation of telemental health continues. Mobihealthnews, Digital Health Business & Technology

Neurotech company Cognito Therapeutics raised $73 million in a Series B. It was led by FoundersX Ventures, adding new investors Starbloom Capital, Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation, WS Investment Company, and IAG Capital. Total funding is now $93 million. Cognito has developed an external neuromodulation device for neurologically degenerative diseases. It uses sensory stimulation to evoke gamma oscillations, which are believed to play a part in memory operations. It is concentrating on improving cognition and memory in Alzheimer’s Disease early-to-mid-stage patients. Cognito is being investigated as part of the HOPE study for Alzheimer’s Disease.  It received FDA Breakthrough Device Designation in 2021 and has completed a Phase 2 trial. Mobihealthnews, Business Wire release

Vital, a patient experience software developer, raised $24.7 million in a Series B. The funding was led by Transformation Capital, with support from Threshold Ventures, strategic health system investors and Vital CEO/Mint.com creator Aaron Patzer. Total funding is now over $40 million. Vital provides real-time patient updates and messaging services for patients and families admitted to hospitals and EDs, as well as follow-ups such as appointments. Business Wire release

MedArrive, an in-home care provider, is partnering with Ouma Health, for maternal-fetal care of women on Medicaid coverage. MedArrive deploys a field provider network for in-home care including testing, assessments, SDOH, and extension of provider services. The technology includes a fully integrated care management platform. Ouma Health is a maternal-fetal telehealth service including behavioral health. Release

And some Asia-Pacific updates…

In Vietnam, online pharmacy Medigo received $2 million in Series A funding, led by East Ventures, with participation from Pavilion Capital and Touchstone Partners. Intellect, a telemental health startup based out of Singapore, received undisclosed funding from global healthcare provider IHH Healthcare for its regional expansion. In India, EHR startup DocPlix raised Rs 5 crore ($600,000) in a pre-series A funding round led by Eris Lifesciences. Mobihealthnews

In Australia, Telstra Health’s new CTO is Farhoud Salimi. He joins in April from eHealth NSW where he held the position of Executive Director, Service Delivery (CTO) among others in a 15-year tenure. Mr. Salimi replaces Russel Duncan, who retired at the end of last year. Telstra release, Mobihealthnews

The Theranos Trials, ch. 2: bail tightened for Holmes, previewing the Balwani trial, and ‘The Dropout’

March 2, 2022 | by | 2 Comments

Ms. Holmes will have to pony up cash or property for her bail. Back in January, Judge Edward Davila of the US District Court ruled that Elizabeth Holmes would be free on a $500,000 bond secured by personal property. As is typical in federal cases of this type, this was based on her signature. The prosecution, perhaps being extra cautious on the possibility of flight during the time leading up to Holmes’ sentencing to 26 September, motioned Judge Davila to have it converted to cash or the equivalent in personal property. The defense agreed, perhaps mindful of the appeal deadline of 4 March with hearings in June.

Ms. Holmes does own property, though it is unknown what her remaining assets are since she never sold her Theranos holdings. Her partner and family can help her with the requirement. Mercury News (paywalled, but refresh)  The Trial, ch. 1

Meanwhile, Sunny Balwani’s trial in the same Federal District court and with Judge Davila starts next Wednesday 9 March with jury selection. Balwani was indicted in 2018 on the same charges as Holmes’ but his trial was severed from Holmes’ when her defense raised charges of abuse. Judge Davila is making moves to ensure the trial moves along and does not suffer from the juror problems experienced with the Holmes trial. Six alternate jurors will be seated versus five in the Holmes trial, where three jurors were lost at the start, raising the possibility of mistrial. Hours will be longer, 9am to 3pm Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays — including some Mondays and Thursdays. Concessions were made to Holmes with a young baby to attend to, which is not Balwani’s situation. Yahoo!News, KPIX5 San Francisco

And to those craving a true crime fiction take on l’affaire Theranos, Hulu is airing an eight-part series, entitled ‘The Dropout’, and starring Amanda Seyfried and a ‘wondrously vile’ Naveen Andrews. According to the WSJ review (free registration required) Seyfried gets the weird baritone and facial tics correctly (and correctly timed). But the reviewer notes that it’s hard to tell even from Seyfried’s excellent performance of a troubled girl/woman how she got so many older ‘sage’ men to believe in her Fraud Tech. Perhaps it was the fevered time in health tech, or as this Editor has said previously, fear of missing out or wanting to believe. We now have a generation of con artist millennials in the zeitgeist. The reviewer sums it well: “What the fraudsters also share is a counterfeit benevolence: Everyone is doing what they’re doing–and stealing what they’re stealing—for the benefit of mankind.” Yet there comes a time when the fever breaks, and the fraudsters get their comeuppance. For a lighter take, the NY Times article on clothing as reflective of character development on the show, Silicon Valley values, and Holmes’ ‘costuming’, is recommended.