Theranos, looking to right the ship, taps regulatory, compliance execs
Theranos said last week it hired 2 execs to oversee regulatory, quality and compliance standards as the company recovers from a long string of regulatory sanctions and investigations.
Former Thermo Fisher (NYSE:TMO) exec Dave Wurtz will come on as regulatory & quality veep, with former McKesson (NYSE:MCK) Corp assistant GC Daniel Guggenheim taking the role of chief compliance officer.
Theranos, once valued at $9 billion, was founded by Elizabeth Holmes in 2003 to develop a blood testing device that would deliver quicker results using only a drop of blood. The company came under pressure after the Wall Street Journal published a series of articles beginning October last year that suggested the devices were flawed.
Earlier in July, Holmes, once touted as the Steve Jobs of biotech for her innovative technology, was barred by a U.S. regulator from owning or operating a lab for at least 2 years. The ban, among other sanctions, came 6 months after the regulator sent a scathing letter to the company, saying its practices were jeopardizing patient health and safety.
Theranos is also facing a class action lawsuit filed in May accusing it of endangering customer health through “massive failures” that misrepresented test results. The company is also being investigated by other federal and state agencies.
Material from Reuters was used in this report.