Theranos, the lab-testing company currently embroiled in questions about the legitimacy of its test methods, is reportedly preparing to shake up its board of directors.
According to a report from The New York Times, Theranos will announce that board members Henry A. Kissinger and George P. Shultz are among those who will exit.
Despite the changes — which come at a time when Theranos isoperating under increased scrutiny from the FDA — the board reportedly says in a statment that it continues to support Theranos CEO, Elizabeth Holmes.
The statement, cited by The Times, says in part: “We stand wholeheartedly behind the management, achievements, vision and commitment of this company.”
Theranos gained notoriety through its claims that it could perform medical tests by collecting blood samples with little more than a finger prick; the idea being that it could make clinical testing cheaper and faster than with the traditional method of using vials to draw blood in a doctor’s office.
Theranos’ finger prick method uses a so-called nanocontainer to collect blood samples. In anote to Theranos from the US Food and Drug Administration, the nanocontainers were deemed an “uncleared medical device.”
The note says that the nanocontainers never got regulatory approval, and that “design validation did not ensure the device conforms to defined user needs and intended uses.” The company earlier this month announced it would stop using its finger prick method on all except one of its tests.
Theranos has also been criticized for the dearth of medical experts on its board of directors. The $10 billion company’s board included George P. Shultz and Henry A. Kissinger — both of whom are former secretaries of state.
A retired Navy admiral and a former secretary of defense are also on the board, along with a former CEO of Wells Fargo and a former US senator who served on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Only two of the 12 people on Theranos’ board graduated from medical school, and according to Tech Insider’s Kevin Loria, one of them hasn’t practiced medicine in many years.
As reported by Business Insider