A renowned Harvard geneticist and MacArthur 'genius' were among the 75 scientist advisors for embattled $600 million poop-testing startup uBiome. But 'they were pretty much there for show.'
- uBiome is a San Francisco startup that specializes in tests for the microbiome, a set of bacteria in your body tied to human health.
- The FBI raided uBiome's offices in late April, reportedly over its billing practices. Insiders say problems at the company extended beyond that, including shortcuts taken on the science.
- A list of 75 prominent scientists, doctors and other experts were affiliated with the company through its advisory boards, lending intellectual heft to uBiome's scientific efforts.
- uBiome valued and prioritized building those prestigious relationships, especially last year, when the company added nearly 40 advisory board members.
- The relationships lacked substance, sources told Business Insider. One scientist formerly affiliated with the company described it as "no contact once the paperwork was done."
- uBiome said in a statement that its advisory boards "serve as a valuable resource to our team of researchers as we advance the science of the microbiome. We look forward to continuing to leverage the talents and insights of this diverse and highly talented group moving forward."
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On paper, San Francisco health startup uBiome had some of the brightest minds from the world's top institutions as a resource.
Among the 75 advisors the startup touted were George Church, a renowned Harvard geneticist; MacArthur "genius" Joseph DeRisi; and Dr. David Agus, the famous doctor to Steve Jobs. The experts lent scientific heft to uBiome's tests, and received uBiome shares in exchange for serving on its advisory board.
uBiome specializes in tests for the microbiome, a collection of bacteria in your body that scientists increasingly believe could reveal secrets about human health. The buzzy Silicon Valley startup raised $105 million from investors, achieving a valuation of $600 million, according to PitchBook, and sold tests looking at the gut, vaginal and other microbiomes.
In late April, the FBI raided uBiome's offices, reportedly over the startup's billing practices. Insiders have told Business Insider that problems at the company extended beyond that, including corners cut on the science.
But behind that vast list, which stretched to as many as 75 experts and was touted in slides shown to investors, those relationships with heavy-hitters lacked substance, seven sources, including current and formerly affiliated experts and a former employee, told Business Insider. Business Insider is not identifying some experts who spoke with us in order to allow them to speak freely without fear of professional repercussions.
"They were pretty much there for show," a source familiar with the matter said.
"I have not been to any meetings," one scientist on the advisory board told Business Insider. To the scientist's knowledge, "the board has never met as a board." The scientist added, "Nor have I visited the company or met individually with them."
But that overall lack of involvement didn't strike the scientist as unusual, the person said, because startups can have more sporadic, ad hoc interactions with experts, calling on them only if they need something specific.
uBiome said in a statement that "The uBiome Medical and Scientific Advisory Boards serve as a valuable resource to our team of researchers as we advance the science of the microbiome. We look forward to continuing to leverage the talents and insights of this diverse and highly talented group moving forward."
DeRisi, who resigned from the advisory board after the FBI raid, did not return Business Insider's inquiries. Agus said he had not been involved with uBiome for some time.
Read more: Silicon Valley startup uBiome raised $105 million on the promise of exploring a 'forgotten organ.' After an FBI raid, ex-employees say it cut corners in its quest for growth.
Advisory board accelerated last year, growing by nearly 40 experts
Jessica Richman and Zachary Apte founded uBiome in 2012, pitching it as a "citizen science" project that would get the public involved in research about the microbiome. A third founder, Will Ludington, is no longer involved with the company.
Apte and Richman were co-CEOs of uBiome and were placed on leave following the FBI raid. General Counsel John Rakow was named interim CEO.
A spokesperson for Richman said she "adhered to high standards on issues of corporate governance, including the enlistment of highly-qualified individuals to serve in advisory positions," and added "any suggestion to the contrary has no basis in fact." Apte didn't return Business Insider's request for comment.
By 2018, the startup had launched a direct-to-consumer microbiome test, Explorer, as well as its SmartGut test for the gut microbiome and SmartJane test for women's health issues like sexually-transmitted infections. With accolades like being named as one of the most innovative companies in healthcare by Fast Company, uBiome was growing its operations and gaining plenty of momentum.
At the start of 2018, building up a board of expert advisors became more of a priority at the startup, according to a former employee. About 12 employees were put in charge of recruiting experts, and they reached out to more than 200 people, weathering plenty of rejections in the process, the former employee said.
The company added nearly 40 experts to its advisory boards in 2018, issuing a separate press release for each one, and later hired a dedicated employee to manage those relationships.
The startup valued recruiting big prestigious names, two sources familiar with the effort told Business Insider.
In one case, about 10 days before the launch of the SmartJane test, uBiome founder Richman hastily pushed to add 10 new female advisors, as much of the board was male, the former employee said.
Read more: A microbiome-testing company that has raised $105 million has suspended its two main tests and put its co-CEOs on leave following an FBI raid
'Very little direct contact'
George Church, the Harvard geneticist, joined uBiome's advisory board in 2016. He got involved with the startup through the Personal Genome Project, a genome-sequencing study based out of his lab, because the microbiome-testing startup offered some free tests to PGP participants.
After joining, he said, there was "very little direct contact" with uBiome. He also said that advisory board involvement at companies can vary considerably.
"Some just want occasional 5 minute key question, others (typically in which I am a founder) want monthly multi-hour involvement," he wrote to Business Insider in an email. Church confirmed that he's still a member of the advisory board.
In the fall of 2018, uBiome sought to get advisory board members more involved by hiring an employee in charge of "clinical engagement." The employee increased engagement by 15% and also added 25 members to the advisory board, according to his LinkedIn profile.
After about five months on the job, that employee was laid off, two sources told Business Insider.
One former advisor's name lingered on the website for two-and-a-half years
A more involved early advisory board member was Jonathan Eisen, a professor at UC Davis who researches microbes and microbial communities. Eisen began speaking with uBiome about a year after it launched.
Eisen and others had been publicly critical of uBiome's research efforts, because the group had not put its work involving human subjects through an Institutional Review Board that provides research oversight. The startup did so later, in April 2013, according to its website.
uBiome asked Eisen to get involved as an advisor, and he did, feeling that it could use guidance from the scientific community about how to communicate with the public about its work. For a time, uBiome would send press releases, potential blog posts and other communications by him, and the startup was receptive to his feedback, Eisen said.
"Most of the stuff they were sending me was unreasonable; some of it, the science was a little off - but that's why they asked me to be an advisor," he told Business Insider.
Eisen said he would later grow uncomfortable with the involvement, and, in fall 2016, told uBiome he had to leave because of conflicts of interest with other projects.
Just under a year later, Eisen kept hearing that he was still listed as an advisor on uBiome's website. He reached out to uBiome several times in total asking the startup to remove his name, with no luck, including after citing a health problem he was having, Eisen said.
This wasn't just a matter of accuracy. As a scientist, Eisen must file conflict of interest reports about anything that could affect his work to UC Davis. Evidence contradicting those could affect his ability to get grants as well as his scientific reputation.
After the FBI raid, he reached out again. This time, uBiome took his name down.
Lydia Ramsey contributed reporting.
