Theranos' highly publicized blood war continues, and the latest news could curdle a lot of blood. The hotshot Silicon Valley biotech start-up recently voided the results of its 2014 to 2015 blood tests conducted on Edison machines - the company's proprietary blood-testing equipment.
According to The Wall Street Journal report, Theranos told the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that it has released "tens of thousands of corrected" results to patients and doctors. Several results were voided while some were revised.
This suggests that some of the erroneous blood test results from Theranos may have compromised many of the patients' health decisions. If you have received a blood test result from Theranos in the last two years, you'd better call your doctor immediately.
"We've taken comprehensive corrective measures to address the issues CMS raised in their observations. As these matters are currently under review, we have no further comment at this time," a Theranos spokeswoman wrote in an email. Theranos executive Brooke Buchanan also declined to say the exact number of voided or revised blood test results.
The recent report just added to the bloody public relations war Theranos is currently losing. Theranos' Edison machines were deemed game changers in the field of medical technology.
Theranos conducts approximately 890,000 blood tests in its Newark, California lab per year. CMS' recent inspection discovered that the once highly praised Edison machines failed in meeting accuracy standards.
Theranos' recent move is its way of avoiding the severe sanctions CMS threatened it with following the agency's inspection on the startup's Newark laboratory.
In a March 18 letter from CMS, the health agency proposed plans to revoke the lab's federal license as well as to ban Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes and company president Sunny Balwani from owning or operating a medical lab for two years. On May 11, the company announced Balwani's retirement.
The war gets even bloodier as Theranos is currently also under two criminal investigations - one from the San Francisco's U.S. Attorney's Office and one from the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The two investigations are probing into claims that Theranos have misled regulators and investors regarding the potentials and performance of its hotshot Edison machines.
