Capping a saga that gripped Silicon Valley, the scandal-ridden blood testing company Theranos will shut down for good, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Here are nine things to know:
1. The biotech company built its reputation on the promise to revolutionize blood testing. The firm claimed its technology could use one drop of an individual's blood to test for a variety of diseases at a lower cost. The company, thanks to this revolutionary technology, was once valued at $9 billion.
2. However, the company began to unravel after Wall Street Journal investigative reporter John Carreyrou published an investigation alleging Theranos' devices were flawed and inaccurate.
3. The WSJ article prompted regulatory and quality control investigations into the company. Those investigations lead to federal fraud charges against Theranos, Elizabeth Holmes, the founder and then-CEO of the company, and Theranos' former president and COO, Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani.
4. Holmes settled the fraud charges brought against her and the company for lying to investors with the Securities and Exchange Commission in March. Ms. Holmes paid a civil fine of $500,000 and agreed not to serve as a director of any publicly listed company for 10 years.
5. Ms. Holmes and Mr. Balwani both face criminal charges.
6. The downfall of Ms. Holmes hastened the collapse of her company. Theranos was forced to lay off about 80 percent of the company's workforce in April to avoid bankruptcy.
7. In the wake of this high-profile scandal and the inability to secure a buyer, the company will cease to exist. Theranos CEO David Taylor, who took the helm in June, said the investment bank the company was working with reached out to more than 80 potential buyers, but none were interested.
8. Theranos was in default on a $100 million loan from Fortress Investment Group, which now has the right to take ownership of all of its assets.
9. Theranos hopes to reach a settlement with Fortress that would allow it to pay unsecured creditors its remaining cash, according to an email to shareholders.