Pharmacy chain Walgreens is threatening to terminate its agreement with blood-testing firm Theranos, the Wall Street Journal reports.
A series of articles at the Journal and elsewhere have called into question the company's technology, proficiency testing, and testing procedures. Further, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services sent Theranos a letter late last month that described what the agency termed "condition-level deficiencies" at one of its testing labs as well as a deficiency that it said posed "immediate jeopardy to patient health and safety."
According to the Journal, much of Theranos' revenue comes from its 40 "wellness centers" at Walgreens stores in Arizona, and the companies had been planning to ramp that up nationwide, plans that have been paused as the pharmacy company reassesses its relationship with Theranos.
The Journal now reports that Walgreens has given Theranos 30 days to address the major issues uncovered by CMS inspectors.
Theranos previously said that it has addressed many of the issues raised by CMS during the inspection process and that the findings don't "reflect the current state of the lab."
"Should the Theranos-Walgreens partnership dissolve, that would effectively mean they'd cease to be a competitor to other labs," William Quirk, a laboratory-industry analyst at Piper Jaffray, tells the WSJ.