Elizabeth Holmes is in prison for defrauding investors through her blood test company, Theranos. Meanwhile, the partner is starting one of his.
Billy Evans, who has two children with Mrs. Holmes, is trying to raise money for a company that describes itself as “the future of diagnoses” and “a radically new approach to health tests”, according to the marketing materials reviewed by the New York Times.
If that sounds familiar, it is because Theranos aimed to revolutionize diagnostic tests. Silicon Valley’s new company captured the attention of the world by claiming, falsely as it turned out, having developed a blood test device that could execute a series of complex laboratory tests of a mere finger puncture.
Mr. Evans’s company is called Haemanthus, which is a flower also known as the blood lily. He plans to start with the tests of pets for diseases before progressing to humans, according to two investors launched in the company that spoke on condition of the concern of the anonymity that they had agreed to keep the plans secret. The marketing materials of Mr. Evans, which establish the hope of raising more than $ 50 million, say that the ultimate goal is nothing less than “optimization of human health.”
A provisional photograph to the possible investors of the Start-UP prototype has more than a physical similarity that happens with the infamous blood test machine of Theranos, several known as Edison or Minilab. The device that Mr. Evans is developing is a rectangular gadget with A, a digital screen and what the investor materials describe as tunable lasers inside.
Haemanthus says that his device will test blood, as well as saliva and urine.
Marketing documents tested with the photo say that “there is no regulatory supervision: the USDA confirmed in writing.”
It is not clear what the company means with that. A spokesman for the United States Department of Agriculture, Seth W. Christensen, said he could not confirm whether the agency had corresponded to Haemathus. “The USDA regulates the diagnosis of fat,” including blood tests, said Christensen.
Mr. Evans responded in an interview: “When you are in stealth, you are trying to be stealthy. They will not find any beginning associated with the name of Haemathus.” Mr. Evans sent a partial publishing document of the USDA that said: “It does not seem that the proposed product is within the regulatory jurisdiction” of the Veterinary Biological Center, which is part of the USDA
Mr. Evans, the 33 -year -old heir of a fortune of the California hotel who with Mrs. Holmes, while the federal authorities were investigating it, has not publicly discussed the new company. The documents indicate that approximately 10 employees have already gathered. He describes his employment on social networks simply as working for a “new stealth company.”
James W. Breyer, the well -known risk capitalist and early investor on Facebook, said he had asked his team to put money and decide against him “for many of the same reasons why we passed twice in Theranians.”
“In the diagnosis, we have a hero for a long time that the difference between a convincing history and a great company lies in scientific defensibility and clinical utility,” he wrote in an email.
If the sequelae are the rigorous in the so -called disruptive world of technology, this is particularly bold. Theranos became one of the new most famous companies in Globe the last decade and attracted large investors (Rupert Murdoch, Larry Ellison) and a Board of Advisors that included Henry Kissinger.
Mrs. Holmes, or dressed in a black turtle neck that invited comparisons with Apple Steve Jobs, was stuffed in magazine covers and in the White House.
Few knew that Therannos technology could not diagnose hounds of conditions, he said he could. As reported on the Wall Street Journal, a best -selling book, a podcast, television series and later criminal procedures, Theranos was largely using third -party technology to execute rudimentary trials, when he performed some test. Patients received false diagnoses. The company collapsed ahead of the accusation of Mrs. Holmes for fraud.
Mrs. Holmes, who has always maintained that she is innocent, was sentenced for fraud in 2022 and sentenced to 11 years in prison. It is imprisoned in a federal prison in Bryan, Texas.
The idea of Mr. Evans for Haemanthus dates back to at least a year and a half, when he incorporated the company in Delaware, according to public corporate fillings. The documents presented in Delaware and Texas show that their offices have been in several directions in the modern neighborhood South Lamar de Austin, Texas, where Mr. Evans lives with his two children of Mrs. Holmes.
Haemanthus promised requesting $ 3.5 million in funds from friends and family and this spring reached other sponsors accommodated in Austin and the San Francisco Bay area for additional $ 15 million, according to investor materials.
The investment firm of billionaire Michael Dell rejected the effort, according to two people informed about the scope.
The only investor that could be identified in public records is Matthew E. Parkhurst, owner of a Mediterranean tapas bar in the center of Austin and other investments. Mr. Parkhurst did not respond to comments requests.
Much of the Haemherthus executive team comes from luminar, an autonomous car company that worked for two years, according to its LinkedIn profile.
Pet Health Care is the first market that Mr. Evans’ company aims to address. The implementation has so far received a patent.
According to the company’s marketing materials and patents, the Haemherthus device will use a laser to scan blood, saliva or urine of pets and analyze samples at the molecular level. In seconds, the marketing material said that Mr. Evans could identify and qualify biomarkers as glucose and hormones, and implement what the company calls deep learning models to detect cancer and infections.
Animal medicine has become a colossal industry as private capital companies have acquired and consolidated more and more independent veterinary practices.
Pet cancer evaluations are alone are a billionaire market. Edgemont Partners, an investment bank in health, describes is a “recession -proof industry.”
Haemanthus told investors that he had approximately two cash advisers, including veterinaries and diagnoses, thought he did not appoint them.
Haemathus’s materials say that the long -term objective is to develop a portable and portable version of the product for humans. “According to our experience and contributions of partners,” he says, that he will require three years and $ 70 million.
The presentation of the investor does not mention Mr. Evans with Mrs. Holmes.
Susan C. Beachy Contributed research.
