It’s been a tough 12 months for Theranos and its founder, Elizabeth Holmes. With Theranos, Holmes set out to create a company that, if successful, would significantly lower the cost of lab tests. Holmes claimed that the company had the technology (called, Edison) to perform up to 70 tests with just a few drops of blood and provide results quickly. However, she is having trouble supporting her claims and is in jeopardy of losing her right to own or operate a lab for up to two years, and other sanctions.

This is not just bad news for Holmes and Theranos employees and investors; it’s bad news for all of us who pay high lab and doctor’s fees for routine lab tests. I’m hoping Holmes can meet federal requirements and other information requests before it’s too late and she loses her labs and her company. But if she doesn’t, I hope that some other company quickly comes along and picks up where Theranos left off. I’m thinking 23andme and Alphabet (Google).

Why 23andme And Google?

The company 23andme uses home-based saliva collection kits (eww) to provide over 60 genetic reports about your health, traits and ancestry. Why not add blood collection kits to the mix, 23andme? Also, like Theranos, 23andme has a rocky relationship with federal regulators; however, it hasn’t given up on having its kits approved as a medical device. And, also like Theranos, 23andme has big money support. Google, Genentech and a few billionaires are investing tens of millions of dollars in the company.

But first things first, the Theranos and 23andme technology has to work and meet federal and state health and safety standards. Maybe Alphabet (formerly Google) can help. The co-founder of 23andme, Anne Wojcicki, was married to Google co-founder, Sergey Brin, so he’s already very familiar with 23andme. Also, Alphabet is already engaged in what it calls its health efforts—working on glucose-sensing contact lenses and longevity.

Conclusion

Theranos may never be able to provide low-cost lab tests using its own technology, but maybe with a little help from friends like 23andme and Alphabet, the technology can be perfected. And, of course, there’s always Apple who’s already ankle deep in health tracking technology and is working with 23andme to develop a module for its ResearchKit platform.