Walgreens scraps its partnership with Theranos, effective immediately

REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

Walgreens has ended its partnership with Theranos.

The move by the pharmacy chain follows a long-playing ordeal involving the blood-testing technology at the center of Theranos' business.

All 40 of Theranos' wellness centers at Walgreens stores in Arizona will shut down, according to a statement posted on Walgreens' website.

The pharmacy ended Theranos laboratory testing services at its location in Palo Alto, California in January, meaning that Walgreens will no longer offer Theranos services at any of its stores, the statement said.

The Arizona wellness centers were reportedly Theranos' primary source of revenue, The Wall Street Journal reported.

In a statement to Business Insider, Theranos spokesperson Brooke Buchanan said “Quality and safety are our top priorities and we are working closely with government officials to ensure that we not only comply with all federal regulations but exceed them."

Theranos last month voided two years' worth of blood tests from its flagship Edison machines, forcing the company to issue "tens of thousands" of corrected tests as a result.

Walgreens officials had apparently become "frustrated at not getting more details and documentation from Theranos" after that, according to sources cited by The Journal. Some of the affected results included "samples collected from patients at Walgreens pharmacies."

Here's more from Walgreens:

“In light of the voiding of a number of test results, and as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has rejected Theranos’ plan of correction and considers sanctions, we have carefully considered our relationship with Theranos and believe it is in our customers’ best interests to terminate our partnership,” spokesperson Brad Fluegel said.

Here's Theranos' full statement:

“Quality and safety are our top priorities and we are working closely with government officials to ensure that we not only comply with all federal regulations but exceed them. We are disappointed that Walgreens has chosen to terminate our relationship and remain fully committed to our mission to provide patients access to affordable health information and look forward to continuing to serve customers in Arizona and California through our retail locations.”

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