Theranos Expands Clinics Outside of California

Theranos Inc., the California-based firm that can perform laboratory tests with nearly microscopic samples of blood, has opened new retail sites in Arizona. The two new sites are located within Walgreens pharmacy sites in Phoenix and Scottsdale, tripling the number operated by the two firms. Theranos opened its first location at a Walgreens near its Palo Alto headquarters in September, allowing customers to have draws performed on-site. Although Theranos has announced a pact with the nation’s largest pharmacy chain to operate sites, both companies have been closed-mouth about their specific plans for expansion. Theranos Chief Executive Officer Elizabeth Holmes noted that the company plans to have a testing site within five miles of every resident of Phoenix, a city of 1.5 million that sprawls over 518 square miles, larger in area than Los Angeles. Theranos uses proprietary technology to perform laboratory tests using just a few drops of blood that can be drawn with minimal physical discomfort. It is aiming at a consumer market that includes children and adults who are leery of needles. Its retail testing rates are fixed at 50 percent below what Medicare reimburses for the tests. Takeaway: Theranos is expanding in a way that suggests it […]