Theranos throws in the towel on clinical labs, officially pivots to devices

Founder and CEO of Theranos, Elizabeth Holmes, at TEDMED 2014. (credit: TEDMED)

In a move that seemed inevitable and long overdue, Theranos CEO and Founder Elizabeth Holmes announced today in an open letter that the company is shuttering its clinical work for good.

“After many months spent assessing our strengths and addressing our weaknesses, we have moved to structure our company around the model best aligned with our core values and mission,” Holmes wrote.

As part of the restructuring, the disgraced blood testing company will lay off about 340 employees, based in Arizona, California, and Pennsylvania. It will close its labs and all of its remaining Wellness Centers. Moving forward, Theranos will focus on selling its diagnostic device, the miniLab, which it debuted at a scientific conference at the beginning of August.