--- description: Federal health officials are considering imposing an over two year ban on the blood-testing firm after an inspection of a California lab. title: Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes May Face 2-Year Lab Ban image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt32d921eb297ee0d1/69888efb0b72e3e6566e8ef7/gettyimages-495430016.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Companies](/tag/companies/) ## Companies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes May Face 2-Year Lab Ban, Feds Say by [Daniel White](/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 13, 2016 8:17 PM CUT  Elizabeth Holmes (L) and Alan Murray speak at the Fortune Global Forum at the Fairmont Hotel on November 2, 2015 in San Francisco, California. Elizabeth Holmes (L) and Alan Murray speak at the Fortune Global Forum at the Fairmont Hotel on November 2, 2015 in San Francisco, California.Photo by Kimberly White/Getty Images for Fortune by [Daniel White](/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 13, 2016 8:17 PM CUT Federal health officials are considering [banning Elizabeth Holmes](http://www.wsj.com/articles/regulators-propose-banning-theranos-founder-elizabeth-holmes-for-at-least-two-years-1460570869 "undefined"), founder of the blood-testing start-up Theranos, from conducting lab work for at least two years. A letter from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, obtained by the Wall Street _Journal_, announced plans March 18 to sanction Theranos for failing to fix major problems at its California laboratory. The company, valued at $9 billion during a 2014 funding round, has a proprietary blood testing method that is at the center of the controversy, [after the accuracy of the tests came into question](http://fortune.com/2016/02/02/theranos-blood-test-elizabeth-holmes/ "undefined"). Theranos was allowed a response, under federal law, which health officials are reviewing, according to the _Journal_ report. If sanctions are enacted, the appeals process could last months. Federal regulators completed an inspection of the California lab in November and reported infractions in five major categories that violate federal law overseeing clinical labs. Under the sanctions, the company’s lab in California would have its license revoked and Theranos owners [Holmes](http://time.com/3822734/elizabeth-holmes-2015-time-100/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined") and Sunny Balwani would be prohibited from owning or running another lab for two years, including the company’s Arizona lab. Theranos spokeswoman Brooke Buchanan issued a statement to the Journal, saying: “Due to the comprehensive nature of the corrective measures we’ve taken over the past several months, which has been affirmed by several experts, we are hopeful that CMS won’t impose sanctions, but if they do, we will work with CMS to address all of their concerns.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4292785/theranos-elizabeth-holmes-lab-ban/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4292785/theranos-elizabeth-holmes-lab-ban/"},"headline":"Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes May Face 2-Year Lab Ban, Feds Say","datePublished":"2016-04-13T20:17:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T16:43:05.141Z","description":"An inspection of the company's California lab in November raised red flags","url":"https://time.com/4292785/theranos-elizabeth-holmes-lab-ban/","keywords":["Companies","Startups"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt32d921eb297ee0d1/69888efb0b72e3e6566e8ef7/gettyimages-495430016.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Daniel White","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/daniel-white/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt32d921eb297ee0d1/69888efb0b72e3e6566e8ef7/gettyimages-495430016.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"gettyimages-495430016.jpg","caption":"Elizabeth Holmes (L) and Alan Murray speak at the Fortune Global Forum at the Fairmont Hotel on November 2, 2015 in San Francisco, California.","creditText":"Photo by Kimberly White/Getty Images for Fortune","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/companies/","name":"Companies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4292785/theranos-elizabeth-holmes-lab-ban/","name":"Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes May Face 2-Year Lab Ban, Feds Say"}}]}] ```