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Theranos, the Silicon Valley blood test start-up that promised a lot but failed to deliver, closed its doors 15 years after its creation.
An email sent to shareholders said the company – which at the time had a valuation of nearly $ 10 billion and whose board of directors included former secretaries of state and current Secretary of Defense James Mattis – find no buyer and will be dissolved.
"I'm writing with tough news about the future of society," began CEO David Taylor's letter. Taylor succeeded Elizabeth Holmes, the company's founder, who is now facing criminal fraud charges in June. He joined Theranos as a general counsel in 2016, a year after Wall Street Journal reports challenged claims by Holmes – who had founded Theranos blood for several blood tests.
Taylor said the investment bank Jefferies "appealed on our behalf to more than 80 counterparties for the sale," but did not have a buyer.
"We are now out of time," said Taylor in the letter sent Tuesday, which was obtained by the Wall Street Journal. Theranos does not have enough money to continue to benefit from the loan terms granted by Fortress Investment Group last year, according to the letter. Approximately $ 5 million will be distributed to investors.
In March, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it had reached an agreement with Holmes over its charges that she and Theranos' former president, Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, had committed "massive fraud. "Worth $ 700 million. Holmes, who has not acknowledged the wrongdoing, was fined $ 500,000 and waived 18.9 million shares of the company.
Theranos' denouement came after reports claimed that he was not using his own technology in many blood tests. Theranos later had to cancel a million tests and some patients reported adverse effects related to the reliability of test results, the Journal reported. It was then forbidden for Holmes to hold a blood test laboratory, run a public company or sit on the board of directors for a decade.
In June, Holmes appeared in federal court in San Jose to face charges of criminal fraud and resigned as CEO of Theranos. She and Balwani have been charged with multiple charges of electronic fraud and conspiracy to commit computer fraud and face up to 20 years in prison.
The Newark website is no longer available. Calls to his phone number went unanswered on Wednesday. The newspaper reports that most of the company's employees worked their last day on August 31st.
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