====== Theranos ======

{{ :medical_technology_companies:theranos_logo.svg.png?200|}}

**Theranos** was an American biotechnology company based in [[:united_states:california:Palo Alto]], [[:united_states:California]].

===== History =====

==== Founding ====

Theranos was founded in 2003 by [[:Elizabeth Holmes]]. The company raised its first round of seed funding in June 2004 led by [[:Draper Fisher Jurvetson]] (since renamed to [[:Threshold]]).((Kunthara, S. (2021, September 14). //A Closer Look At Theranos’ Big-Name Investors, Partners And Board As Elizabeth Holmes’ Criminal Trial Begins.// Crunchbase News. https://web.archive.org/web/20230311190624/https://news.crunchbase.com/health-wellness-biotech/theranos-elizabeth-holmes-trial-investors-board/))

==== Development ====

In July 2015, the [[:Food and Drug Administration]] (FDA) approved one of the company's blood tests.((Pflanzer, L. R. (2019, March 19). //Controversial health startup Theranos has barely any medical experts on its board of directors.// Business Insider. http://archive.today/2019.09.02-030512/https://www.businessinsider.com/theranos-former-board-members-henry-kissinger-george-shultz-james-mattis-2019-3)) Then-Vice President [[:Joe Biden]] visited the company's lab, which had been staged for a photo op.((Theranos [@Theranos]. (2015, July 23). //“The @VP’s visit highlights our commitment to manufacturing in the U.S. and pioneering a new era of preventive health.”// [Tweet]. Twitter. http://archive.today/2023.03.11-184319/https://twitter.com/theranos/status/624383223884197888)) ((Harnes, A. (2022, July 30). //The Wild Way Elizabeth Holmes And Theranos Tricked Joe Biden.// MSN. http://archive.today/2023.03.11-184606/https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/the-wild-way-elizabeth-holmes-and-theranos-tricked-joe-biden/ar-AA108JxP))

==== Controversy ====

On October 16, 2015, //[[:Wall Street Journal]]// writer [[:John Carreyrou]] published an exposé titled "Hot Startup Theranos Has Struggled With Its Blood-Test Technology", raising questions about the effectiveness of Theranos' products.((Carreyrou, J. (2015, October 15). //Hot Startup Theranos Has Struggled With Its Blood-Test Technology.// Wall Street Journal. http://archive.today/2023.02.10-044718/https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/theranos-has-struggled-with-blood-tests-1444881901))

According to company whistleblower [[:Erika Cheung]], the machines were unable to provide accurate and consistent results, therefore data was often manipulated.((Khorram, Y. (2021, September 15). //Theranos whistleblower testifies blood-test machines were about as accurate as a coin toss.// CNBC. https://web.archive.org/web/20230308214335/https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/15/former-theranos-employee-erika-cheung-edison-machines-failed-tests.html))

===== Organization =====

==== Personnel ====

The company's board of directors included some very high profile names.((Pflanzer, L. R. (2019, March 19). //Controversial health startup Theranos has barely any medical experts on its board of directors.// Business Insider. http://archive.today/2019.09.02-030512/https://www.businessinsider.com/theranos-former-board-members-henry-kissinger-george-shultz-james-mattis-2019-3)) 

^ Name  ^ Position  ^ Notes  ^
| [[:Elizabeth Holmes]]  | Founder  | -  |
| [[:Sunny Balwani]]  | President and COO((Kunthara, S. (2021, September 14). //A Closer Look At Theranos’ Big-Name Investors, Partners And Board As Elizabeth Holmes’ Criminal Trial Begins.// Crunchbase News. https://web.archive.org/web/20230311190624/https://news.crunchbase.com/health-wellness-biotech/theranos-elizabeth-holmes-trial-investors-board/))  |
^  Board of Directors  ^^^
| [[:Riley Bechtel]]  | Director  | -  |
| [[:William Foerge]]  | Director  | Former Director of the [[:Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] (CDC)  |
| [[:William Frist]]  | Director  | Former [[:United States]] Senator  |
| [[:James Mattis]]  | Director  | Former Secretary of Defense  |
| [[:Henry Kissinger]]  | Director  | Former Secretary of State  |
| [[:Richard Kovacevich]]  | Director  | Former CEO of [[:Wells Fargo]]  |
| [[:Sam Nunn]]  | Director  | Founder of the [[:Nuclear Threat Initiative]]  |
| [[:William Perry]]  | Director  | Former Secretary of State  |
| [[:Gary Roughhead]]  | Director  | [[:United States Navy]] Admiral  |
| [[:George Shultz]]  | Director  | Former Secretary of State  |

==== Investors ====

Funding for Theranos came from investments from the following people and organizations:((Kunthara, S. (2021, September 14). //A Closer Look At Theranos’ Big-Name Investors, Partners And Board As Elizabeth Holmes’ Criminal Trial Begins.// Crunchbase News. https://web.archive.org/web/20230311190624/https://news.crunchbase.com/health-wellness-biotech/theranos-elizabeth-holmes-trial-investors-board/))

  * [[:Draper Fisher Jurvetson]] (now called [[:Threshold]])
  * [[:Larry Ellison]]
  * [[:Rupert Murdoch]]
  * [[:Tim Draper]]
  * [[:Walgreens]]

===== Products =====

Theranos promised the ability for people to receive blood tests quickly from a small finger-prick worth of blood. The blood would enter a cartridge, those cartridges would be put in a machine that would send data over the internet to perform on-the-spot testing.

==== Edison ====

{{medical_technology_companies:medical_technology_companies:theranos_edison.jpg?300}}

==== Minilab ====

{{medical_technology_companies:medical_technology_companies:theranos_minilab.jpg?400}}

===== To include ====

  * [[:Richard Fuisz]] & Lawsuit
  * [[:Ian Gibbons]]
 
===== External links =====

  * [[https://wiki.whiteroseintelligence.com/en/Theranos|White Rose Wiki]]
  * [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theranos|Wikipedia]]
  * [[https://wikispooks.com/wiki/Theranos|Wikispooks]]