(San José) Fallen biotech star Elizabeth Holmes, on trial for fraud, assured jurors on Monday that she believed in her diagnostic technology based on feedback and encouragement from researchers, as she is accused of having covered up the problems to rip off investors.
The founder of the start-up Theranos risks spending decades in prison if convicted of fraud.
His blood diagnostic devices never worked as expected, but in 2014, before the scandal broke, his fortune was estimated at $ 3.6 billion by Forbes.
According to scientific feedback, “we were on the right track to accomplish our goals,” she said of a machine that combined robotics, software and sensors to analyze blood samples. .
Theranos was looking to make blood work easier and faster. Its technology was supposed to make it possible to carry out all kinds of complex diagnoses by taking only a few drops of blood.
The fourth version of the machine in development “could perform any blood test,” according to reports she had received, insisted Elizabeth Holmes.
His trial opened in September. The charismatic ex-leader spoke for the first time on Friday, describing herself as an innovator who spent her savings and left prestigious Stanford University to achieve her vision.
She started Theranos in 2003, at the age of 19, and successfully convinced renowned investors (like Rupert Murdoch and former statesman Jim Mattis) and partners that her idea could revolutionize the way the company works. health industry.