Holmes’s Push for Theranos Approval Drew Harsh Pfizer Response

Theranos Inc. founder Elizabeth Holmes’s push to win backing from Pfizer Inc. backfired in her blood-testing startup’s early years, with scientists at the pharmaceutical giant concluding she was “evasive” and “deflective” on questions about her technology.

Pfizer’s internal report was so harsh that lawyers for Holmes say it would be unfair for jurors in her criminal fraud trial to hear about it.

The jury in San Jose, California, was previously told that Holmes, in order to attract investors, fabricated studies by Pfizer and Schering-Plough Corp. to claim the companies “comprehensively validated” Theranos analyzers. In fact, according to prosecutors, ...