Sentence pronounced against CEO Holmes - Is the straw about to break the camel´s back?

Fri, 2016 / 10 / 21

In 2015 Elizabeth Holmes, founder and CEO of the biotechnological company Theranos was ranked first place on the Forbes List of the richest “Self-made-Women” with estimated assets of 4,5 Billion USD. The young businesswoman became successful with her idea to determine all clinically important measurements by one single drop of blood in order to replace common standard venous blood withdrawal. However before the beginning of this year bad news were starting to come up concerning Holmes´business model.

There was rumor that the exactness of Theranos´ measurements left a lot to be desired.

These news were followed by speculations about the company´s turnover adding up only to nearly 100 million USD and now yet another storm is brewing for the young entrepreneur.

According to a FierceBiotech Article, US health authorities communicated that an inspection of Theranos Laboratory in Newark, CA has revealed deficits and thus the CILA Certificate was about to be withdrawn. This decision would mean radical consequences for Holmes because in this case she would not be authorized to own or run an equivalent laboratory for the period of 2 years.

Concerning to the authors, the company would have to deal with civil action as well as withdrawal of financial resources coming from Medicare- and Medicaid funds. Holmes already signalized to take on full responsibility and to start immediate counteraction including the close-down of the affected laboratory in California and to rebuild with newest quality standards. Also, an investment in experienced leadership at Theranos is planned.

Regarding the future of the former comet on the biotechnological Startup-heaven, many questions remain unresolved especially since information emerged, that competing products by companies like Quest Diagnostics and LabCorp provide much more precise measurements.

It has to be awaited what influence the current federal investigation concerning Theranos will have on the development of the company.

In conclusion we can state that Holmes´ current ranking on the Forbes list and the Theranos perspectives resemble only one single fact – both have hit rock bottom.

Further information can be found on: http://www.fiercebiotech.com/medical-devices/theranos-founder-and-ceo-holmes-banned-from-ca-lab-operations-for-2-years?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal&mrkid=695240&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTXpJeVptUTRNRFEzWWpKayIsInQiOiJTdjNoWkZ5R0ZVeGoxeEt2alF0VXdKODZ3dVwvdmtIUmdndktCanFXTUp3akp1UjMyNzB6bE0yMUhTbW16OENIMm1VTkFIWk5QYllud1JoZ25CTExJRDQ3a1V4dENydDVTRzhLSDRpM3R0QVE9In0%3D