Israeli imaging startup Nanox saw its stock plummet Tuesday after leaders announced another setback in the rollout of its novel imaging system.
Chairman and CEO Ran Poliakine said the delay stems from a third-party supplier of a key ceramic tube in the Nanox.ARC technology. COVID-19 only exacerbated the issue, and the company is currently working with two alternative suppliers to address this need, he said during a corporate earnings call May 11.
Nanox had hoped to begin distributing its first 1,000 systems—a new take on legacy X-ray technology, carrying a smaller footprint and price tag—during next year’s first quarter. But officials said they now hope to hit this “shipping milestone” before 2023 rolls around.
“We believe that the manufacture and shipment of at least 1,000 multi-source systems will be accomplished in 2022,” Poliakine said in a statement.
This is the second such recent delay for Nanox after originally planning to distribute the first handful of imaging systems in late 2021. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration postponed that timeline back in February when it asked for additional info. But Nanox resolved any outstanding issues and scored clearance for the single-source version of its tech in April.
Meanwhile, the startup hopes to submit a 510(k) premarket notification to the FDA for its multi-source Nanox.ARC and corresponding cloud-based storage system soon. Poliakine said, despite the third-party sourcing setback, they’re also still planning to deploy 15,000 imaging units by the end of 2024.
Nanox also shared financial results for the first quarter that ended March 31, reporting a $12.7 million net loss, with no revenue generated, compared to $7.4 million the same period in 2020. The firm’s stock plunged almost 21% during premarket trading, and was down nearly 19% late Tuesday, at $21.30 per share. You can find the firm’s full financial results here, and read a transcript of the call here.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.