Former Theranos employee Erika Cheung: Edison machines failed tests

SAN JOSE, CALIF. – Elizabeth Holmes was the founder and face of Theranos, but when it came to the company’s lab, she relied on its lab directors and highly trained scientists.

This is the picture his defense attorneys painted on Wednesday, in an attempt to discredit the testimony of former Theranos lab associate-turned-whistleblower Erika Cheung, who said Edison blood testing machines frequently failed. to quality control tests.

Lance Wade, a defense attorney for Holmes, reviewed the high qualifications of scientists who worked at Theranos, including: 52 scientists with doctorates and ten doctors.

Wearing a black and gray heeled gown, Cheung spent six hours at the booth witnessing the high failure rate and data manipulation with the Edison, the company’s mini blood lab machine.

“You would have about the same chance of knowing if your results are good or bad,” Cheung said. “It was worrying to see this degree of failure, it was not typical for a normal lab.”

Cheung, who worked at Theranos for less than a year, said his lab directors were Mark Pandori, who has a doctorate, and Adam Rosendorff, who has a medical degree. After leaving Theranos, Cheung became an advocate for ethics in the tech industry, starting a nonprofit called Ethics in Entrepreneurship with her former colleague and whistleblower Tyler Shultz.

Holmes arrived in court in a dark green gown with a matching mask, she was holding hands with her mother, Noel Holmes, who has attended all hearings since the trial began last week.

During a break, Holmes, who has pleaded not guilty to a dozen counts of wire fraud and conspiracy, was seen hugging his mother.

During cross-examination, Wade showed Cheung several validation reports for the tests that she said were problematic. He pointed to the signatures of people who approved the tests for laboratory use, including a laboratory director and a vice president. Holmes did not sign the document.

Cheung said that laboratory quality control tests routinely fail, so the company would use a “outlier removal” system to “pick” the best data points to pass. Cheung then confirmed to defense attorneys that quality control testing had not been performed on human blood samples.

Earlier today, Cheung said lab workers often manipulated the data in an attempt to keep the devices running. She told the court that she finally shared her concerns with Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, Holmes’ second in command and for a time her romantic partner.

“The feedback and reception I got from him was’ what makes you think you’re qualified to make these calls, you’re a recent UC Berkeley graduate, what do you know about lab diagnostics? You have no visibility in this business, ‘”recalls Cheung.

Balwani, who will be tried separately next year, also pleaded not guilty.

Cheung said she brought her concerns to Shultz and her grandfather, former U.S. Secretary of State and Theranos board member George Shultz.

“It was starting to get very uncomfortable and very stressful for me to work in the company,” said Cheung. “I was trying to tell as many people as possible about it, but it just didn’t reach people.”

Cheung’s testimony will continue on Friday.