Theranos Executive Sunny Balwani to Depart
May 11 2016 - 10:10PM
Dow Jones News
A top executive who helped build Theranos Inc. into a major
blood-testing laboratory is leaving the company amid regulatory
probes of the embattled Silicon Valley firm.
The departure of Sunny Balwani as Theranos President and Chief
Operating Officer comes amid a broader board reorganization
announced by the Palo Alto, Calif., firm. In a release late
Wednesday, Theranos said it is expanding its board, adding three
members to beef up its scientific and medical expertise.
The 51-year-old Mr. Balwani, a top associate of Theranos founder
Elizabeth Holmes, leaves in the wake of last month's news that the
Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. attorney in San
Francisco are investigating whether the company misled investors
and regulators about the state of its technology and operations.
Theranos said it is cooperating with the investigations.
Theranos also is attempting to persuade the Centers for Medicare
and Medicaid Services, the federal agency that oversees clinical
labs, not to shut down its northern California laboratory. Closure
of the lab would result in Ms. Holmes and Mr. Balwani being barred
from the blood-testing business for at least two years, under
federal regulations.
Mr. Balwani joined Theranos as its No. 2 executive in 2009, five
years after Ms. Holmes founded the company upon dropping out of
Stanford University as a 19-year-old sophomore.
"I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to contribute to
Theranos' mission to make healthcare accessible through its
technology and products," Mr. Balwani said in a statement. "I will
continue to be the company's biggest advocate and look forward to
seeing Theranos' innovations reach the world."
Since launching Theranos in 2003, Ms. Holmes has set out to
revolutionize the blood-testing industry. Before the company made
changes to its website earlier this year, the website cited
"breakthrough advancements" that made it possible to run "the full
range" of lab tests on a few drops of blood pricked from a
finger.
In October, The Wall Street Journal reported that Theranos did
the vast majority of more than 200 tests it offered to consumers on
traditional lab machines purchased from other companies. The
Journal also reported that some former employees doubted the
accuracy of a small number of tests run on the devices Theranos
invented, code-named Edison.
Theranos has declined to say how many tests or which ones it
runs on commercial machines. The company has said its technology
has the capability to handle a broad range of tests.
Write to John Carreyrou at john.carreyrou@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 11, 2016 21:55 ET (01:55 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024