Walgreens demands $140m refund from busted bio biz Theranos

Troubled bio-upstart Theranos is facing a lawsuit from the US drug store chain Walgreens as it seeks to recoup the $140m it invested in the firm. Walgreens plowed cash in Theranos and set up blood testing centers in its stores that promised to diagnose a wide variety of ailments using a single drop of blood. After Theranos was …

[JustsomeBlokeinAz]

It only needs a drop of blood

kind of like a bad horror movie....burn it all or it comes back!

[Anonymous Coward]

My guess is

that Walgreens has repeatedly asked for its money back in private and Hollywood Holmes said no and the lawsuit is a result. Holmes should be in jail by now and probably will be once either everyone gets their money, or it becomes totally clear that they aren't going to get their money and they press charges. The weird chick is playing a very dangerous adult game of chicken here and will eventually lose. The only remaining question is the size of the splatter.

[Anonymous Coward]

When you owe the creditor $1M, you have a problem...

But when it's $140M you can bet the creditor is going to try everything short of necromancy before resorting to lobbing grenades in public (for fear of watching the remaining funds go up in a Viking legal funeral)

[Anonymous Coward]

Definition of Chutzpah

Theranos says it “will respond vigorously to Walgreens’ unfounded allegations, and will seek to hold Walgreens responsible for the damage it has caused to Theranos and its investors.”

[Commswonk]

Re: Definition of Chutzpah

Quite so.

We are disappointed that Walgreens filed this lawsuit. Over the years, Walgreens consistently failed to meet its commitments to Theranos," Theranos said in a statement.

"Through its mishandling of our partnership and now this lawsuit, Walgreens has caused Theranos and its investors significant harm.

Theranos seems to have lost sight of the fact that if someone puts $140million into your company your commitment to them is at that point greater then theirs to you.

Also called "the man who pays the piper calls the tune".

[Wzrd1]

Re: Definition of Chutzpah

Indeed, churn out vaporware, use competitors real hardware and software in place of the vaporware, albeit with standard sized samples (requiring new samples be acquired from the patient, resulting in a delay in diagnosis and care), it's obviously not the testing company's fault.

It's Walgreens for not flogging over another $140 million.

Or something.

[cd]

Re: Definition of Chutzpah

She'd be a perfect vice-president of a certain large nation, would fit right in. Perhaps she'll be nominated for Surgeon General if she has augmentation surgery.

[allthecoolshortnamesweretaken]

Theranos isn't a "troubled bio-upstart"; Theranos is a scam.

BTW, Wallgreens isn't the first investor to sue: NYT: Theranos Sued by Investor Who Accuses It of Securities Fraud.

See also The Verge: Walgreens is suing Theranos for $140 million (several links to related stories).

[Notas Badoff]

Does this game have those rules?

Hmm, how often do VCs get their money back? I thought startups burn it all down as quickly as they could. Didn't Walgreens know they were playing the VC game?

[404]

Unicorn farts seem to be expensive...

... got to admit though, she played them very well. Especially for medical vaporware... evidently no scientists around for VC's to consult with before throwing cash at them. Due diligence, that kind of thing.

Oh well.

[Anonymous Coward]

Basic due diligence missed!

A simple independent test of their services would have shown it to be a scam.

This would have avoided multi-million $$ investment in this snake oil company.

Why is no-one's head rolling at Walmart too?

[Jeffrey Nonken]

I have limited sympathy for Walgreens, who should have known better than to buy snake oil, but zero sympathy for Theranos.