Elizabeth Holmes Continued Deployment Of Walgreens Despite Internal Concerns, Former Theranos Scientist Says

by



[ad_1]

Witness Surekha Gangakhedkar, a scientist who worked for Theranos for eight years before stepping down over concerns about the company’s capabilities, will continue her testimony on Tuesday when the high-profile trial resumes in a federal courtroom in San José.

Gangakhedkar said on Friday that Holmes was directly aware of the failures of its proprietary blood analyzer, but had moved forward with the rollout of its devices to Walgreens sites.

Gangakhedkar, who first joined Theranos in 2005 and said she reported to Holmes for a while, said she returned from nearly a month’s vacation to learn the company was planning to Soon to use her devices to test patient samples, despite what she said was unsolved. reliability issues. She said she felt obligated by Holmes to validate the tests for use by patients.

“I was very stressed and unhappy and concerned with how the launch plans or the launch were going,” said Gangakhedkar, who left the startup in September 2013, around the time Theranos issued a press release. on its long-term partnership with the pharmacy chain. “I was not comfortable with the plans they had in place so I made the decision to quit and not to continue working there.”
Former Theranos Lab Employee Details Concerns Over Company's Ability to Perform Blood Tests

Gangakhedkar, who was granted immunity from self-incrimination by Judge Edward Davila before testifying, said she spoke directly to Holmes about her decision to resign, including her concerns about plans to move from forward with the launch.

Holmes, Gangakhedkar said, responded by saying “that when she has a promise to deliver to the customer, she has little choice but to go ahead with the launch.”

This testimony strikes at the central questions of the trial: what Holmes knew, when she knew it, and whether she intended to deceive investors, patients and doctors. The government is trying to convince the jury that Holmes knowingly misled investors, patients and doctors about her company’s capabilities and proprietary blood testing technology because it found itself strapped for time and resources to make the technology work. The defense, for its part, argued that Holmes was an ambitious young CEO whose company failed, but that failure is not a crime.

Holmes faces a dozen federal fraud and conspiracy charges and faces up to 20 years in prison. She pleaded not guilty.

The Rise and Fall of Elizabeth Holmes: A Timeline

The conclusion of a partnership with Walgreens in 2013 gave the startup significant credibility. Together, the two have built “wellness centers” at select Walgreens establishments. He was the company’s only active partner directly with consumers before things fell apart after a Wall Street Journal investigation into Theranos’ technology and testing methods drew further scrutiny.

The launch of Walgreens coincided with a flurry of media coverage – a sort of unveiling for the company, which had spent about a decade under the radar. But while the two originally planned to make Theranos testing available at Walgreens stores nationwide, the services were only available at around 40 stores before Walgreens severed ties with the company in June 2016 after canceling two. years of blood tests.

(Walgreens sued Theranos for breach of contract, seeking to recover the $ 140 million it paid into the company. The lawsuit was settled in August 2017.)

Gangakhedkar said she printed documents relating to her work at the company because she was “worried about the launch,” even though it was in violation of her nondisclosure agreement. “In fact, I was afraid that things would not turn out well. And I was also afraid of being blamed,” adding that she had taken the documents to protect herself.

Gangakhedkar is the third former employee and the third prosecution witness to testify in Holmes’ long-awaited trial. The trial is expected to take place over several months on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Holmes’ defense attorney Lance Wade began his cross-examination of Gangakhedkar shortly before the end of the day on Friday.

Among those expected to testify soon is Daniel Edlin, a former senior project manager at Theranos who reported primarily directly to Holmes. According to a recent court document, Edlin’s responsibilities included managing the company’s relationship with Walgreens.

[ad_2]

Source link