by Beth Mole – Jun 13, 2016
After months of visible discomfort, Walgreens Co. officially ended its partnership with blood testing company Theranos.
In a news release issued late Sunday, Walgreens announced the company had informed Theranos that it was calling off its nearly three-year-long relationship. Walgreens will close all 40 Theranos Wellness Centers in its drug stores “effective immediately.” The announcement comes after Theranos voided or corrected tens of thousands of tests and faces possible federal sanctions for repeated failures at one of its labs.
“In light of the voiding of a number of test results, and as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has rejected Theranos’ plan of correction and considers sanctions, we have carefully considered our relationship with Theranos and believe it is in our customers’ best interests to terminate our partnership,” Brad Fluegel, Walgreens’ senior vice president, said in the news release.
The Wall Street Journal reports that federal regulators may make a decision on sanctions within thenext two weeks. Those sanctions could include revoking the company’s license to perform medical tests and/or banning Theranos CEO and founder Elizabeth Holmes from the blood testing industry for at least two years.
