Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Bedeviled Theranos Brings On Compliance, Regulatory Executives
Blood-testing company Theranos Inc said on Thursday it hired two executives to oversee regulatory, quality and compliance standards, as the company tries to recover from a series of regulatory sanctions and investigations. The company named former Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc executive Dave Wurtz vice president, regulatory and quality. Daniel Guggenheim, who previously served as assistant general counsel at McKesson Corp, was appointed as chief compliance officer. (Tharakan and Grover, 7/21)
The company said the moves were the 鈥渓atest in a series of significant actions Theranos has taken to ensure that it meets the highest standards in its laboratories, medical products and operations.鈥 ... The company faces other threats, including a criminal probe by federal prosecutors of whether it misled investors and regulators, The Wall Street Journal has reported. Theranos also lost its main retail partner, the Walgreens drugstore chain, in June. The company has said it is working closely with regulators and is cooperating with all investigations. (Hufford, 7/21)
Theranos declined to offer specifics on how the new hires and the committee will tackle the multitude of problems the company faces -- such as the impending closure of its Newark lab. "Theranos is committed to meeting the highest standards in its compliance practices," Guggenheim wrote in a company news release. "I am eager to start to build on the foundation that Theranos is making to be a best-in-class health care company." (Kendall, 7/21)