Walgreens to establish blood-testing capabilities at its stores via partnership with Theranos; tests are less invasive, more affordable than traditional tests, with only a few drops of blood needed from finger-stick, micro-sample

Cindy Allen

PALO ALTO, California, and DEERFIELD, Illinois , September 9, 2013 (press release) – Theranos, Inc. and Walgreens (WAG) (WAG) today announced a long-term partnership to bring access to Theranos’ new lab testing service through Walgreens pharmacies nationwide. As the service becomes available through Theranos Wellness Centers inside Walgreens stores, consumers will be able to access less invasive and more affordable clinician-directed lab testing, from a blood sample as small as a few drops, or 1/1,000 the size of a typical blood draw. The samples are either taken from a tiny finger stick or a micro-sample taken from traditional methods, eliminating the need for larger needles and numerous vials of blood required for most diagnostic lab testing.

Theranos and Walgreens are taking the first step in making this service available to consumers with the first Theranos Wellness Center location opening this month at Walgreens drugstore at 300 University Ave. in Palo Alto, Calif., in the heart of Silicon Valley. The companies plan to offer the service at Walgreens locations nationwide.

For the first time, Theranos is introducing CLIA-certified laboratory services with the ability to run its tests on micro-samples. Theranos’ proprietary laboratory infrastructure minimizes human error through extensive automation to produce high quality results. Test results are available to physicians in a matter of hours, enabling fast diagnoses to help informed treatment choices. Theranos tests are low cost – always 50 percent of Medicare reimbursement rates or less – and are reimbursed by major insurance carriers, Medicare, and Medicaid. Developed to be accessible to everyone, Theranos tests cost the same amount for everyone, regardless of insurance plan or whether they are uninsured.

“For the past 10 years, Theranos has worked relentlessly to reach a point at which we could help make actionable information accessible to physicians and patients at the time it matters most. Clinicians can now see their patients having received lab results from fresh samples in a matter of hours,” said Elizabeth Holmes, Chairman, CEO and Founder of Theranos. “This partnership will further our goal to bring high quality, affordable lab testing to people everywhere, with our new Wellness Centers in Walgreens retail locations closest to homes and workplaces.”

By minimizing the volume of blood required from patient draws, Theranos helps clinicians provide a new standard of care across all specialties and treatment areas. Kind, minimally invasive collection has the potential to benefit everyone, including oncology, pediatric and geriatric patient populations that require frequent blood draws. Theranos seamlessly integrates with existing practice workflows and offers a full spectrum of laboratory tests, from the most common panels to highly specialized tests. Collection for Theranos tests will be performed in Theranos Wellness Centers by licensed phlebotomists or appropriately state certified personnel.

“Theranos’ service offers affordable certified lab testing with quicker response times, and furthers our mission to provide a differentiated patient experience,” said Kermit Crawford, Walgreens president of pharmacy, health and wellness. “This is the next step in Walgreens' efforts to transform community pharmacy, giving our patients and customers convenient access to the comprehensive care they need, right in their communities.”

As the nation’s largest retail pharmacy chain with more than 8,100 neighborhood pharmacies, Walgreens has the infrastructure to help bring Theranos to consumers nationwide.

About Theranos

Headquartered in Palo Alto, Theranos, Inc. is working to shape the future of lab testing and the way health information is collected, analyzed, and communicated. Founded in 2003 by Elizabeth Holmes, Theranos is on a mission to make actionable health information accessible to people everywhere in the world at the time it matters, enabling early detection and intervention of disease, and empowering individuals with information to live the lives they want to live. www.theranos.com

About Walgreens

As the nation's largest drugstore chain with fiscal 2012 sales of $72 billion, Walgreens (www.walgreens.com) vision is to become America’s first choice for health and daily living. Each day, Walgreens provides more than 6 million customers the most convenient, multichannel access to consumer goods and services and trusted, cost-effective pharmacy, health and wellness services and advice in communities across America. Walgreens scope of pharmacy services includes retail, specialty, infusion, medical facility and mail service, along with respiratory services. These services improve health outcomes and lower costs for payers including employers, managed care organizations, health systems, pharmacy benefit managers and the public sector. The company operates 8,117 drugstores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Take Care Health Systems is a Walgreens subsidiary that is the largest and most comprehensive manager of worksite health and wellness centers and in-store convenient care clinics, with more than 700 locations throughout the country.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: Statements in this release that are not historical are forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "expect," “likely,” "outlook," “forecast,” "would," "could," "should," “can,” “will,” "project," "intend," "plan," "goal,” “target,” “continue," "sustain," “synergy,” "on track," "believe," "seek," "estimate," "anticipate," "may," “possible,” "assume," and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, assumptions and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, those relating to the speed, efficiency, cost, reliability and safety of lab testing services and results, the introduction of Theranos services at Walgreens locations including the timing, scope and financial ramifications thereof, and those described in Item 1A (Risk Factors) of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, each of which is incorporated herein by reference, and in other documents that we file or furnish with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those indicated or anticipated by such forward-looking statements. Accordingly, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. Except to the extent required by law, Walgreens does not undertake, and expressly disclaims, any duty or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement after the date of this report, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions or otherwise.

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