In ‘Worst Case Scenario,’ Theranos Founder Could Face 2-Year Ban
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services offered harsh sanctions to the troubled blood-testing startup and its leadership in a March 18 letter, which The Wall Street Journal obtained. CMS is now reviewing Theranos' response as to why those punishments should not be imposed.
The Wall Street Journal:
Regulators Propose Banning Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes For At Least Two Years
Federal health regulators have proposed banning Theranos Inc. founder Elizabeth Holmes from the blood-testing business for at least two years after concluding that the company failed to fix what regulators have called major problems at its laboratory in California. In a letter dated March 18, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said it plans to revoke the California lab’s federal license and prohibit its owners, including Ms. Holmes and Theranos’s president, Sunny Balwani, from owning or running any other lab for at least two years. That would include the company’s only other lab, located in Arizona. (Carreyrou and Weaver, 4/13)
The New York Times:
Theranos Under Fire As U.S. Threatens Crippling Sanctions
Federal regulators have threatened a series of stiff sanctions against Theranos, the embattled blood-testing company, including closing down its flagship laboratory and potentially barring its chief executive from owning or operating its labs for two years. The sanctions, which have not been made final, were included in a strongly worded letter from officials from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. It is the latest blow to the credibility of Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes, its chief executive, who seemingly became a self-made billionaire by promising to upend the clinical testing industry. (Abelson and Pollack, 4/13)
The Los Angeles Times:
Federal Health Regulators Seek To Revoke License Of Theranos Blood-Testing Lab
Theranos has responded to the letter and is waiting for the agency to finish reviewing the privately held company's proposed solutions, Theranos spokeswoman Brooke Buchanan said. In the meantime, "CMS has not imposed any sanctions on Theranos or its executives," and the sanctions proposed by the agency in its letter were "the worst-case scenario," Buchanan said. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services declined to comment, noting that the letter was not intended to be made public. (Peltz, 4/13)
The Silicon Valley Business Journal:
Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes Faces 2-Year Ban From Blood-Testing Business
Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes could face a two-year ban from the blood-testing business after federal regulators concluded her company failed to fix major problems at its laboratory in Newark. (Schubarth, 4/13)
KQED:
Feds Seek Severe Sanctions Against Theranos
The Wall Street Journal was ahead of the game again, Wednesday, when it comes to reporting on Theranos. The Journal reported the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which had found the company’s Newark, California lab an actual danger to the public health, is not happy with Theranos’ proposed plan of correction. (Brooks, 4/13)