Holmes’ defense attorney Lance Wade alleged that the issues in the lab were a result of Rosendorff’s “incompetence,” Mercury News reports.
“To the extent that failures in the lab are the result of incompetence of someone other than my client, it’s exculpatory for my client,” Holmes’ defense attorney Lance Wade said, Mercury News reports.
Rosendorff testified that he was under “tremendous pressure” to show that the Theranos blood-testing technology worked and was successful, CNBC reports. He said the pressure came from the top and went all the way through research and development.
Rosendorff reiterated some of his previous testimony in which he alleged that Holmes wanted to expand the use of Theranos’ Edison devices from the time of its launch in Walgreens stores through the rest of his tenure at the company, according to multiple media reports.
Defense attorney Wade cross-examined Rosendorff and attempted to connect him to the re-testing of 50,000 patients at a company he worked at after his stint at Theranos — and scrutinized his employment history elsewhere.
Prosecutor Bostic argued that Rosendorff’s work at other companies is not relevant to the lab work done at Theranos and that there is no connection between Rosendorff’s Theranos testimony and the federal investigation of uBiome.
Rosendorff previously testified that Holmes and former Theranos president Sunny Balwani knew about the inaccuracies of Theranos’ Edison devices prior to its launch in Walgreens stores. He said he left the company after a year and a half because he felt that the problems weren’t going to be addressed.
He is expected to wrap up his time on the witness stand today.
Holmes and Theranos were once believed to be the next shining stars of Silicon Valley. Holmes claimed her company would revolutionize blood testing with technology that could analyze tiny amounts of blood and inked retail partnerships with Walgreens and Safeway. Forbes in 2015 recognized Holmes as America’s richest self-made woman based on Theranos’ multibillion-dollar valuation at the time.
Investigative reporting soon dismantled Holmes’ technological claims, raising questions about whether she and others misled investors. The downward spiral culminated in the 2018 shutdown of the company, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission accusing Holmes and Balwani of what it described as a “massive fraud.”
Holmes, along with Balwani, faces 10 counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud over allegations that she knowingly misled investors by claiming Theranos technology could revolutionize blood testing. They have both pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Balwani’s trial is expected to follow the Holmes trial.
Read more Elizabeth Holmes trial updates here:
Former Celgene scientist says partnership with Theranos ended over poor test quality
Former defense chief James Mattis testifies in Elizabeth Holmes federal fraud trial
First Theranos patient takes the stand, defense begins to shift blame onto Sunny Balwani
Theranos whistleblower testifies to blood analyzer inaccuracies in Elizabeth Holmes fraud trial
First witnesses in Elizabeth Holmes federal fraud trial take the stand
Elizabeth Holmes trial opens, accused of ‘lying and cheating’
Jurors selected in Elizabeth Holmes’ Theranos fraud trial: start date set
Jury selection for Elizabeth Holmes fraud trial begins today