Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreens Boots Alliance halted expansion of its partnership with Palo Alto, Calif.-based Theranos after a meeting between directors from both organizations Thursday, a Walgreens official told The Wall Street Journal.
The meeting was called after the blood-testing startup, which has been a Walgreens partner since 2013, came under fire when a WSJ report earlier this month alleged Theranos may have overstated its achievements. The company called the article factually and scientifically inaccurate, but decided to pause use of its proprietary technology for all but one blood test following unannounced FDA inspections.
Walgreens officials found out about Theranos pulling back its testingand the FDA inspections through articles in the WSJ, according to the report.
The companies are continuing discussions, but have halted plans to expand their partnership beyond the 41 Walgreens stores in Arizona and California, according to the report. A spokesperson from Walgreens did not provide WSJ with a comment on the partnership with Theranos.
However, people familiar with the matter told WSJ the pharmacy chain has formed a small team to investigate the claims made in the two articles, according to the report.
"We're trying to figure out where we are and what we do going forward. We need to understand the truth," a Walgreens official told WSJ.
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