Elizabeth Holmes guilty verdict: Theranos case highlights the importance of peer review for biotech entrepreneurs, scientists say
Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes and her lawyer leave the courthouse in San Jose, California, on 3 January.Elizabeth Holmes, the infamous biotech chief executive who promised to revolutionize blood testing, has been found guilty of fraud. The Theranos founder intentionally deceived investors, a US federal jury concluded yesterday after a nearly four-month trial. Holmes probably faces up to 20 years in prison and a hefty fine. She has not yet been sentenced.
for exaggerating claims. “It’s an example of how a supposedly huge company with a US$9-billion valuation went down the drain because of a series of mistakes.”Holmes founded Theranos in 2003 at the age of 19, shortly before dropping out of Stanford University in California. Her goal was to build a company that would make blood tests available directly to consumers. She wanted to eliminate the large needles and tubes of blood required to operate standard diagnostic devices.
On 3 January, a federal court in San Jose, California, found Holmes guilty on 4 of the 11 charges brought against her by prosecutors: 3 for wire fraud — a scheme intended to obtain money under false pretences using a method of remote communication such as e-mail — against investors and one for conspiracy to commit wire fraud against investors.