Theranos Inc. had $200 million of cash on hand at the end of 2016, less than a quarter of the funding it raised from investors and partners, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. The number was disclosed in a conference call with investors last month. Investors also were told the firm didn’t generate any material revenue in 2015 and 2016 and hasn’t set aside funds for any potential liability that could arise from its pending legal challenges. The firm has yet to receive regulatory approval for a new business line it said it is pursuing. The financial predicament facing Theranos shows how vulnerable it is to any adverse judgments from multiple lawsuits, as well as civil and criminal investigations and pending federal regulatory actions against it. A large, unplanned expense could cripple the firm, which once sought to upend the medical lab business by offering cheap tests done on small samples of blood. Theranos investor Partner Fund Management and the blood-diagnostics company’s former retail partner Walgreen Co., a unit of Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc., have both sued the company. They seek to recover a total of around $240 million from Theranos. Partner Fund alleges that Theranos made misleading statements in connection with its investment and Walgreens alleges it breached a contract.
