Fresh off raising $120M, whole-body MRI radiology group Prenuvo expands in new market
Fresh off announcing it had raised $120 million in capital, whole-body MRI radiology group Prenuvo is expanding into a new market.
The Redwood City, California-based organization on Monday touted the opening of its first outpost in Nevada, at 350 S. Rampart Blvd., Las Vegas. It offers elective, 60-minute scans to healthy individuals for $2,499, hoping to help healthcare consumers root out cancer and other diseases before they become symptomatic.
Prenuvo now has 22 locations with another 19 in the works across both U.S. states and international markets such as Dubai, London, Toronto, Singapore and Sydney, Australia.
“We’re thrilled to join the Las Vegas community and offer residents a powerful tool to stay ahead of their health,” Founder and CEO Andrew Lacy said in a statement April 7. “Our goal is to make preventative healthcare as routine as a yearly check-up, and we are excited to bring this technology to the Las Vegas community.”
Prenuvo highlighted favorable stats in one of America’s fastest-growing metros, including 660,000 residents with 61% between the ages of 18 and 64. It also on Monday shared a video story from a woman named Sagan who reportedly discovered a brain aneurysm through one of its elective scans. Other currently open locations span New York City, Buffalo, N.Y., Redwood City, Calif., Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, Boca Raton, Fla., Chicago, Boston, Bethesda, Md., Atlanta, Vancouver and a partner location in Minneapolis.
Time magazine also published a piece on Wednesday exploring the growing fad of whole-body MRIs, with other competitors offering the service such as Ezra and SimonMed Imaging. Along with the positives, the article highlighted potential downsides such as giving someone a false sense of reassurance that they don’t need colonoscopies or other tests. The American College of Radiology currently does not recommend whole-body MRI, noting a lack of evidence the exam extends one’s life.
Radiologist Dan Durand, MD, Prenuvo’s president and chief medical officer, agrees their service should not replace regular cancer screenings. But he sees the exams as the future of healthcare.
“We’ll look back on whole-body MRIs the same way as your cellphone or computer,” he told Time.
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.