How investigative reporting exposed Theranos

Elizabeth Holmes, born in 1984, is an American businesswoman convicted of fraud in connection with Theranos, the health technology company she founded in 2003, whose valuation soared after claims about blood testing with very small samples. How did investigative reporting expose Theranos, and what can readers understand about its collapse?

2 articles, 1 book · about 43 min of reading and viewing

The reading path

1. Read
   

   Elizabeth Holmes and the collapse of Theranos · Wikipedia · 39 min read

   In the Theranos collapse, The Wall Street Journal's John Carreyrou began a secret, months-long investigation after a medical expert said Theranos's Edison blood testing device seemed suspicious. In October 2015, the Journal published Carreyrou's article, which detailed inaccurate Edison results and revealed that Theranos used commercially available machines manufactured by other companies for most of its testing. Elizabeth Holmes was recognized for forming "the most illustrious board in U.S. corporate history" over the next three years, while Theranos was known for its secrecy. Elizabeth Holmes was sentenced to 11+1⁄4 years in federal prison in November 2022 for the Theranos fraud. The judge also ordered Holmes and Balwani jointly to pay $452 million in restitution to the victims.

2. Read
   

   Book Review: Bad Blood by John Carreyrou · BookBrowse.com · 4 min read

   Elizabeth Holmes founded Theranos after dropping out of Stanford University at the age of 19 to pursue easier, less expensive blood tests. She raised $700 million to develop technology she asserted could run over 800 tests on a single drop of blood, with more accurate results than traditional lab testing in less than 30 minutes.

3. Book
   

   Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup · Bookshop.org

   Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup, by journalist John Carreyrou, covers Theranos's rise and fall under Elizabeth Holmes. It gives readers an account of how the startup headed by Holmes developed and collapsed.

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