A former Theranos Inc. lab worker testified Wednesday that she raised alarms about the blood-testing startup’s practices with colleagues, managers and even a top executive and a board member but was rebuffed at every turn, the Wall Street Journal reported. The testimony of the former employee, Erika Cheung, bolstered federal prosecutors’ case against Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, who is battling accusations that she defrauded patients and investors with promises that her technology could test for a range of health conditions using just a few drops of blood from a finger prick. Over two days of testimony, Cheung testified that Theranos’s highly publicized proprietary technology often didn’t work, and that the company cut corners to give the impression that its product was ready for wide-scale use by patients. She said she tried to tell as many people as she could about problems, including having a discussion with the company’s No. 2 executive, Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani. Rather than being receptive, she said, he questioned why she was qualified to raise concerns and whether she wanted to work at the company. (Subscription required.)
