Former Theranos Inc. patients will be allowed to testify at the criminal fraud trial of the defunct blood-testing startup’s founder, Elizabeth Holmes, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.
The decision by U.S. District Judge Edward Davila blocked a last-ditch attempt by Ms. Holmes to keep jurors from hearing the stories of patients who say they received inaccurate results from Theranos tests.
The ruling comes less than four weeks before the scheduled start of jury selection in the case. Ms. Holmes has pleaded not guilty to counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
The patient testimony could be a pivotal piece of the prosecution’s case that Ms. Holmes defrauded investors and patients in her attempt to create a revolutionary company that promised to test for a wide range of health conditions using only a few drops of blood from a finger prick.
Attorneys for Ms. Holmes didn’t respond to a request for comment on the ruling.