When Tyler Shultz tested the blood of Theranos employees for syphilis, he says he knew something was seriously wrong at the company.

The tests indicated that 20% of his co-workers had the sexually transmitted disease, which he said couldn't be possible.

The same tests were being performed on members of the public in pharmacies, he said.

"We were telling people who had syphilis they did not have syphilis and we were telling people who did not have syphilis they had syphilis," said Shultz. "Basically the tests did not work."

Shultz, who blew the whistle on Theranos and its leader, Elizabeth Holmes, spoke Friday to a full Bush Auditorium in Cornell Hall as part of the Orin Ethics Symposium at the University of Missouri. The talk was sponsored by the School of Accountancy and the Trulaske College of Business.

Shultz's grandfather, former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz, had introduced Shultz to Holmes. His grandfather was on the board of Theranos and a large investor in it. Holmes, in her "deep baritone voice," told him about the revolutionary blood-testing technology she had developed, a portable device that could test any number of diseases with single drop of blood pricked from one's finger.

"It was really hypnotic," Shultz said of the presentation. He accepted her invitation to join Theranos.

On his first day, Theranos launched with Walgreens. There was a screaming match between Holmes and a manager in the lab.

The blood collected in the pharmacies was being tested...

Read Full Story: https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMijwFodHRwczovL3d3dy5jb2x1bWJpY...