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Theranos
Theranos was an American biotechnology company based in Palo Alto, California.
History
Founding
Theranos was founded in 2003 by Elizabeth Holmes.
Development
In July 2015, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved one of the company's blood tests.1)
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.2)
According to company whistleblower Erika Cheung, the machines were unable to provide accurate and consistent results, therefore data was often manipulated.3)
Organization
Personnel
The company's board of directors included some very high profile names.4)
| Name | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Elizabeth Holmes | Founder | - |
| 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 |
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
Minilab
To include
Richard Fuisz & Lawsuit Sunny Ian Gibbons
External links
1)
, 4)
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
2)
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
3)
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