Theranos
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HBO’s 'The Inventor' explores how Theranos happened, but not why
From the beginning of The Inventor, HBO's upcoming documentary about the failed blood testing startup Theranos, director Alex Gibney ties the story of founder Elizabeth Holmes to another notable tinkerer: Thomas Edison. Like Holmes, he tried to "fake it till he made it," throughout his career. After buying the rights to an early incandescent bulb design, he spent years claiming he'd solved the light bulb problem, long before he finally created one that lasted over 1,200 hours. Unlike the Theranos founder, though, he succeeded before his failures caught up with him.
HBO documentary on Theranos' rise and fall premieres March 18th
You may be familiar with the gist of Theranos' rapid rise and equally rapid decline, but HBO is betting that you don't know the whole story. The broadcaster is premiering a documentary on the former medical technology darling, The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley, on March 18th. It's directed by Going Clear's Alex Gibney and aims to shine a new light on Elizabeth Holmes' company using "insider footage" as well as interviews with people directly involved in the saga, including whistleblower employees and the Wall Street Journal reporter who uncovered the scandal.
Theranos is shutting its doors for good
Theranos has been hanging by a thread ever since an explosive report came out a couple of years ago detailing the erratic quality of its blood test results. Now, the embattled company has finally waved the white flag. According to The Wall Street Journal, the publication that brought the company's dubious practices to light, Theranos is formally dissolving. The blood-testing firm's acting chief and general counsel David Taylor sent an email to shareholders explaining that it has no choice but to shut its doors due to its deal with the Fortress Investment Group.
Elizabeth Holmes steps down as Theranos CEO as DOJ levels charges
CNBC is reporting that Elizabeth Holmes has stepped down from her position as CEO of Theranos and the Department of Justice has indicted her on alleged wire fraud. Both the company and Holmes have been embroiled in scandal following reports that the blood tests it claimed to be working on weren't actually effective. Earlier this year, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Holmes and Theranos with fraud.
Theranos’ video game stars the reporter who exposed the company
Last week, Business Insider reported that employees of the troubled startup Theranos had created a Space Invaders-style video game featuring the Wall Street Journal's John Carreyrou as a target. Carreyrou began reporting on the company in 2015 and revealed that Theranos was misleading investors about its technology. Theranos and CEO Elizabeth Holmes said the company could test just a small drop of blood for a number of diseases -- claims the company was never able to back up and eventually led to massive financial troubles, employee layoffs and fraud charges from the SEC. Today, Business Insider shared a video of employees playing the video game at the company.
SEC charges Theranos and CEO Elizabeth Holmes with ‘massive fraud’
The SEC has charged Theranos, Elizabeth Holmes and Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani with fraud relating to the startup's fundraising activities. The company, as well as CEO Holmes and former president Balwani are said to have raised more than $700 million from investors through "an elaborate, years-long fraud." This involved making "false statements about the company's technology, business and financial performance."
Theranos avoids bankruptcy thanks to a last-minute loan
Theranos has come a long way from the days when it was a darling in the biotech industry. The Wall Street Journal's sources have claimed that the blood-testing firm has avoided bankruptcy by securing a $100 million loan from Fortress Investment Group. The move should keep Theranos afloat "through 2018," founder Elizabeth Holmes reportedly said in an email. Naturally, though, there are strings attached -- Fortress wants to see a return on its investment.
Theranos settles Walgreens lawsuit with 'no finding of liability'
Theranos, the lab testing and equipment company, has had a bad couple of years. The company has been accused of all sorts of wrongdoing, including fake test results and false claims of "innovative" laboratory equipment. Last November, drugstore Walgreens sued the beleaguered corporation for a reported $140 million, the details of which were sealed behind several non-disclosure agreements. Today, however, Theranos has announced a "confidential settlement agreement" with Walgreens that apparently "resolves all claims among those parties."
Theranos' financial troubles are starting to pile up
Theranos has been having an awful time of it lately, mostly of its own making, with several lawsuits in place, including ones from Walgreens and hedge-fund Partner Fund Management (PFM). The company that promised investors a revolutionary blood-testing technique and custom analysis machinery has just settled the latter suit for an undisclosed sum. The original lawsuit sought recovery of a $96.1 million investment plus damages. A particularly large settlement could have a significant impact on the beleaguered company, of course, which told investors that it only had $200 million in cash as of the end of last year. The Wall Street Journal reports that Theranos has already spent $5 million on other recent settlements.
Theranos settlement means it could have a lab again in 2019
Theranos has been headed toward disaster for a while through its questonable blood testing methods, but it might have just avoided the worst possible outcome. The biotech outfit has reached a settlement with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that should end the legal and regulatory fights between the two. In return for Theranos dropping appeals of both its 2-year lab ban and sanctions on its Newark lab, CMS has decided against revoking Theranos' Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) certificates and reducing the civil financial penalty to $30,000. Theranos is voluntarily giving up the certificates, as it's not running labs that would need them.
Theranos is laying off another 155 employees
Just three months after the company laid off 340 employees, Theranos' workforce is being slashed again. The company announced today that it will part ways with another 155 employees, leaving the current Theranos headcount at 220.
The Engadget Podcast Ep 20: I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down
It's the last episode of the year and host Terrence O'Brien is closing things out with managing editor Dana Wollman and reviews editor Cherlynn Low. After looking at the biggest winners of 2016 last week, the crew is taking on the biggest losers. That means exploding phones, shady medical startups and trolls galore. Plus the standings for Flame Wars are finalized ahead of CES, so get ready 'cause things might get real weird next week.
Theranos had an awful year, and it only has itself to blame
Theranos was -- is -- a blood-testing startup that promised to identify illnesses from a single drop of blood. Its innovative hardware, called Edison, could quickly spot diseases without the need for vials of blood. It was so revolutionary that pharmacy chain Walgreens partnered with the startup to offer "wellness centers" inside its stores. Except the biology and technology that underpinned Theranos' business was possibly junk, and the company spent the bulk of 2016 trying to convince everyone that it wasn't a massive con.
Trump defense secretary pick serves on Theranos' board
President-elect Trump's rapidly growing circle of advisers and cabinet members continues to raise eyebrows among the tech-savvy. The incoming leader has picked retired General James Mattis as his Secretary of Defense, and the Marine has been a devoted champion of Theranos -- you know, the blood testing firm facing both a criminal investigation and a slew of lawsuits over its technology claims. He's on the company's board of directors, but email obtained by the Washington Post shows that Mattis bent over backwards to support Theranos in the years when he was leading US Central Command.
Two more investors sue Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes for fraud
Two more investors have filed lawsuits (PDF) against Theranos, a few weeks after Walgreens sued the embattled startup for $140 million. This is the third one filed against the company, following the drugstore chain's and Partner Fund Management's (PFM), but the first that's seeking class-action status. The plaintiffs echo PFM's lawsuit from October, accusing Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes and former president Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani of spoon-feeding investors continuous lies, making false promises "built on false statements and omissions." They said the company's head honchos told the public they perfected a "revolutionary technology" vetted by experts and regulators that will change the world of lab testing, knowing full well that it'll reach investors' ears.
Walgreens sues Theranos for a reported $140 million
Walgreens is taking Theranos to court for $140 million, according to Wall Street Journal investigative reporter John Carreyrou and a motion filed today in Delaware district court. The details of the case are secret, as the companies both signed non-disclosure agreements that could be violated if Walgreens' actual complaint were made public.
Theranos faces lawsuit from a major investor
When Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes announced that the company was shifting its focus, she said her team is lucky to have investors who believe in its mission. But there's at least one major investor who doesn't, and it has already sued the controversial blood-testing provider. According to The Wall Street Journal, Partner Fund Management (PFM) LP is accusing the startup of convincing it to pour $100 million into the startup by feeding it a "series of lies." The San Francisco-based hedge fund firm filed the lawsuit in Delaware today and sent out a letter to its own investors.
Theranos is closing its labs and Wellness Centers
Theranos is making some big changes going forward, company chief Elizabeth Holmes has revealed in an open letter. While the embattled blood-testing firm isn't closing shop completely, it will shut down its clinical labs and Wellness Centers, as well as let 340 out of its 790 employees go. The layoffs will affect people who've been with the company for years, working for its establishments in Arizona, California and Pennsylvania. Going forward, Theranos will focus on the 95-pound device it debuted in August called "miniLab," which she said can detect diseases, including Zika, with a drop of your blood.
Theranos' Zika test is under FDA scrutiny
That didn't take long. Theranos pulled the emergency request for its Zika-testing miniLab following an FDA inspection that revealed shortcomings with patient protocol, according to The Wall Street Journal. WSJ's sources say that while the blood-testing company had data showing that the testing methods worked, the evidence collected was done without "implementing a patient-safety protocol approved by an institutional review board." Meaning, the experiments didn't have the type of oversight necessary to ensure that they were performed in stringent, controlled ways that would consistently provide accurate results and wouldn't harm the test subjects. The company says that it "recognized" that some of its data was gleaned before the needed protocols were in place. Theranos plans to appeal the Food and Drug Administration's ruling, of course, and collect the extra information requested by the FDA before trying the certification process again. Same goes for when the company attempts certification for its Ebola test as well. The miniLab itself was a way to sidestep founder Elizabeth Holmes' two-year ban from owning or running a lab or her own, precisely because the device was made for outside use. All of this raises the question of how long Jennifer Lawrence will have to wait for a final script for Theranos: The Movie. Seriously, this saga just keeps getting better.
Theranos intros new 'fingerprick' testing tech despite its woes
Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes has introduced a 95-pound testing device called "miniLab" at the American Association for Clinical Chemistry meeting in Philadelphia. The controversial blood testing company, which promised results with just a fingerprick, has been in hot water ever since The Wall Street Journal published a series of articles detailing its flawed results and other issues. In fact, it voided its past test results and lost its contract with Walgreens over the past few months. Holmes was also banned from owning a lab for two years. That's why the convention's the attendees were expecting a presentation clarifying the science behind its fingerprick-testing technique, according to Bloomberg.
