At Harvard, author weaves cautionary tale for Silicon Valley
The Wall Street Journal investigative reporter whose new book chronicles the spectacular collapse of the blood-testing company Theranos and its alleged fraudulent activity told a Harvard audience that the fall is a cautionary tale for other high-tech firms aspiring to disrupt the health care industry. During a panel discussion at Harvard Law School on Monday, John Carreyrou said successful Silicon Valley executives these days often voice their desire to take aim at a health care system they view as dysfunctional and in need of bold new ideas. But Carreyrou cautioned that the “fake it till you make it” approach that has served many high-tech entrepreneurs — hyping unproven products and then debugging them as they go along — may be ill-suited for medicine. “It probably will be a breath of fresh air for Silicon Valley” to enter the health care realm, he said, “but hopefully everyone now will be cognizant of this...