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Walgreens Sues Theranos

Walgreens is suing its erstwhile partner Theranos for $140 million in damages, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Walgreens and Theranos announced their partnership in September 2013 — though court records indicate their relationship stretches back to 2010 — and Theranos opened some 40 blood-draw sites within Walgreens, mostly in Arizona, with plans to expand, the Journal says. These sites were the main source of income for Theranos.

However, Walgreens ended its partnership with Theranos in June, after the blood-testing firm voided a large number of test results. It had previously threatened to terminate the relationship in February after a string of Wall Street Journal articles called Theranos's technology, proficiency testing, and testing procedures into question and regulators uncovered "condition-level deficiencies" at one of Theranos's labs.

Theranos has since shuttered its labs and wellness centers and is in the midst of re-inventing itself as a technology company.

In its suit, which is sealed, Walgreen alleges that Theranos breached the contract between the two companies, according to the Journal. The Journal adds that the pharmacy company is seeking to recoup its investment in the event that Theranos is liquidated.

Theranos tells the Journal it is "disappointed" by the lawsuit and that it will respond vigorously. "Over the years, Walgreens consistently failed to meet its commitments to Theranos. Through its mishandling of our partnership and now this lawsuit, Walgreens has caused Theranos and its investors significant harm," Theranos says in a statement.