Biotech is a fast-changing field where mistakes (or outright fraud) can land you in prison. Just ask Elizabeth Holmes. And yet it remains a potentially lucrative field. Just ask Holmes' romantic partner and the father of her two children, Billy Evans. In what NPR describes as a "striking" development, Evans has raised millions for a biotech startup that promises to diagnose illness by testing patients' blood, urine, and saliva. Holmes' former company, Theranos, made false promises about similar technology, which is why Holmes is now serving an 11-year sentence.
Evans' company is called Haemanthus, named for a flower known as the blood lily. The New York Times reports that Evans has been making the rounds with private investors, with the idea that its artificial-intelligence diagnostics will start with pets and progress to humans. Details remain scant, though the Times has this:
- "A photo provided to potential investors of the start-up's prototype bears more than a passing physical resemblance to Theranos's infamous blood-testing machine, variously known as the Edison or miniLab. The device that Mr. Evans's company is developing is a rectangular contraption with a door, a digital display screen and what the investor materials describe as tunable lasers inside."
After the NPR report came out, the company responded on social media, acknowledging the strange optics. "Yes, our CEO, Billy Evans, is Elizabeth Holmes' partner," a tweet reads. "Skepticism is rational. We must clear a higher bar ... This is not Theranos 2.0." Still, citing two anonymous sources, NPR reports that Holmes has been giving Evans advice about the venture from prison. (More Elizabeth Holmes stories.)
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