Blood-testing firm Theranos is shutting down, the Wall Street Journal reports.
At its height, Theranos was valued at more than $9 billion, the Journal notes. But its claims that it could conduct a number of lab tests using a small amount of blood, began to collapse following a series of articles in the Journal that indicated the company's technology and lab practices might not be all they were cracked up to be. In early 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services sent the firm a letter about deficiencies in its lab testing procedures and then barred Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes from owning or operating a lab for two years.
Holmes has since been indicted by a US federal grand jury alongside former company president Ramesh Balwani for wire fraud, with prosecutors claiming they defrauded both investors and doctors. Holmes and Balwani pleaded not guilty.
And now, the Journal reports, the company is formally dissolving. This comes, it adds, after a failed attempt to sell the company. As 360Dx reports, Theranos is in default of its credit facility with the Fortress Investment Group and owes unsecured creditors about $60 million. It adds that the firm is negotiating a settlement with Fortress.
Most of Theranos employees had their last day August 31, the Journal adds.