Digital x-ray imaging company Nanox announced plans to acquire two companies Tuesday, Zebra Medical Vision and USARAD Holdings.

Nanox said it entered into an agreement to acquire AI developer Zebra Medical Vision in an all-stock transaction for $100 million upfront and then another $100 million tied to performance. 

Nanox also signed a binding letter of intent to acquire teleradiology provider USARAD and its related company, Medical Diagnostics Web, for $30 million: $21 million of Nanox shares and $9 million in cash.

In addition to the acquisition, Nanox announced financial results for its second quarter ended June 30. The company reported a net loss of $13.6 million, compared with a net loss of $6.4 million for the same quarter in 2020.

Nanox reports the loss to increased research and development, marketing costs and administrative expenses as the company builds out its management team.

THE LARGER TREND

Nanox scored FDA clearance for its Nanox.ARC digital x-ray in April. The system combines an in-hospital scanning device, which received clearance, with a companion cloud software tool, which hasn’t yet been approved.

Nanox claimed its system would be less expensive and easier for hospitals to set up. But the company hit some major roadblocks in its path to approval.

The company had originally applied to the FDA in 2020, and in February 2021, the agency requested more information about their submission. According to an SEC filing, Nanox needed "to address certain deficiencies and questions, including requests that the Company provide additional support regarding the intended use of the Nanox.ARC and the comparability of the Nanox.ARC to the predicate device." 

And in September of last year, a report by Andrew Left's Citron Research, a stock analysis and commentary blog that aims to label overpriced or fraudulent stocks, called the company "Theranos 2.0."

"Nanox believes that the allegations in the report are completely without merit and strongly condemns the publishing of the false and misleading information contained in this report," the company said in a statement at the time. "The company is carefully reviewing the report and will provide additional information on the allegations as appropriate."

Nanox then gave a live, virtual demonstration of its imaging technology in December at the Radiology Society of North America's annual meeting.

In the company’s acquisition and second quarter results announcement, Nanox reiterated its plans to deploy 15,000 Nanox.ARC systems by the end of 2024.

ON THE RECORD

“The global shortage of trained radiologists represents a significant bottleneck in the imaging process. The Nanox.ARC, together with the acquisitions of Zebra Medical Vision and USARAD, if consummated, would allow us to support our systems with a large network of radiologists empowered with highly advanced AI algorithms,” Ran Poliakine, chairman and CEO of Nanox, said in a statement. “This end-to-end, globally connected medical imaging solution will allow for the rapid interpretation of medical images into actionable medical interventions and would also represent a significant step toward our vision of true population preventive healthcare.”