Embattled diagnostics startup Theranos said it will return $4.65 million to Arizona residents for the blood testing services they received between 2013 and 2016.
“Everyone who paid for a test will receive a full refund, period,” Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said in a statement. Some 1.5 million blood tests were performed on 175,000 customers — and more than 10 percent were ultimately voided.
The deal, made with the Arizona attorney general’s office, is Theranos’s second for the week: The Silicon Valley company also told the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that it wouldn’t conduct any blood testing for at least two years, in exchange for pared-down penalties from federal health authorities.
As part of the new deal, Theranos also agreed to not operate a CLIA-certified lab in Arizona for two years, starting March 28, 2017. It will pay the attorney general’s office $200,000 in civil penalties, and $25,000 in legal fees.
Theranos, launched in 2003 by CEO Elizabeth Holmes, once had grand plans to revolutionize the diagnostics industry. The company claimed that its technology could run hundreds of lab tests with a single drop of blood. It partnered with Walgreens to create a network of Wellness Centers across Arizona and California, aiming to expand the direct-to-consumer diagnostics market.