Walgreens has finally had enough of Theranos.
In a press release Sunday, the drugstore chain announced “it will be terminating its relationship and closing operations at all 40 Theranos Wellness Centers at its stores in Arizona, effective immediately.”
“In light of the voiding of a number of test results, and as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has rejected Theranos’ plan of correction and considers sanctions, we have carefully considered our relationship with Theranos and believe it is in our customers’ best interests to terminate our partnership,” said Walgreens Senior Vice President Brad Fluegel in the release.
Here’s the statement from Brooke Buchanan, Theranos’ vice president of communications (one can think of cushier jobs at this particular point in time), in response:
Quality and safety are our top priorities and we are working closely with government officials to ensure that we not only comply with all federal regulations but exceed them. We are disappointed that Walgreens has chosen to terminate our relationship and remain fully committed to our mission to provide patients access to affordable health information and look forward to continuing to serve customers in Arizona and California through our independent retail locations.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Walgreens executives decided to sever the relationship in January, after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which regulates the nation’s blood labs, found serious deficiencies at Theranos’ Newark, California facility. The federal agency later rejected Theranos’ submission of proof that it had corrected those problems, threatening to pull the lab’s license and ban founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes from operating a lab for two years. Theranos has since submitted a further plan of correction and is awaiting a final decision from CMS.
Source:: Future of You