If the lie is big enough, and if you repeat it, maybe people will start believing it.
Someone posted a link to the June 2020 press release by SK Telecom as a proof that Nanox is not a fraud.
The press release states:
Nanox developed the innovative Nanox System, which is composed of the Nanox.Arc, a novel digital X-ray device.
Oops. Novel! Apparently, nobody told SK Telecom that a novel X-ray device cannot be cleared by the FDA, because clearance requires a substantial equivalence to an already legally marketed device. So being novel, the device is clearly (pun intended!) not equivalent to anything on the market already, and so cannot obtain a 510(k) clearance.
So, if SK Telecom did not lie about the novel thing, then Nanox regulatory strategy goes poof. Because Nanox has been telling investors that it plans to
submit an additional 510(k) application with respect to the multi-source Nanox.ARC, which, if
cleared, will be our commercial imaging system
But how exactly is Nanox device novel? Well, it is fake and non-functional. That's its novelty. The press release helpfully supplies its picture.
Only for angels (humans too heavy for this "body scanner")
The table clearly can't support a human being. The Arc is immobile and cannot move along the table (even though it is labeled BODY SCANNER on the side). The whole thing is powered by a 12V battery (to light up a few LEDs for the photographer and the greedy investors and advisors). There are no functioning x-ray sources or detectors in the device. Nanox says on its tech webpage that this is version 1.0 of the device, and claims:
Cold cathode tubes allow the use of a single high voltage power supply and a single high voltage supply line (connecting all the anodes in the system). Digitally controlling each tube enables the system to be significantly reduced and saves power supply cables, installation space, and so on.
Which could be true, indeed, if 12V is high voltage, if and those cold cathode tubes do not generate x-rays but simply multi-spectral light.
The press release also shows an animation gif of the levitating scan, that must generate antigravitons. Nanox has not provided information as to which version of Nanox.Arc that is.
Roentgen discovered X-rays in 1895, Nanox discovered levitation in 2019.
Update: Apparently at least one radiologist agrees about Nanox.Arc.
This testimony was removed after briefly appearing in a longer video on Nanox' RSNA 2020 virtual booth on November 29, 2020 (days ahead of the live presentation).
Per Nanox prospectus:
In addition, we signed an agreement with a President of SK Telecom, Dr. Ilung Kim, dated December 16, 2019, for the provision of consulting services to us. Under the agreement, we granted Dr. Kim options to purchase 1,206,290 of our ordinary shares at an exercise price of $2.21 per ordinary share. 301,572 of the options vested as of the grant date and the remaining 904,718 options will vest in equal monthly installments over a period of three years from the vesting commencement date. In case of an initial public offering or certain other events, all unvested options will fully accelerate immediately prior to the closing of the initial public offering. The vested options are exercisable until the earlier of (a) the second anniversary of termination of the engagement between us and Dr. Kim or (b) the tenth anniversary from the date of grant.
So why did it disappear? High-cost of tubes, not ready for mass production, anything else?
Update March 30,2021:
Well, turns out Dr. Kim was a marketing SVP and GM of Samsung Memory from 1999 to 2008, according to a recent press release announcing his joining MCE's advisory board. Turns out, a Dr. Kim, vice president of marketing for the memory division at Samsung, agreed to plead guilty to a single count of price fixing in 2007. Dr. Kim was later sentenced to pay a fine of $250,000 and to "a period of incarceration of fourteen months." And who claims to be working as a Marketing Managers for MCE? Eli Reifman, the convicted felon. Both Lydia Edwards, who is President, USA at Nanox, and Bruce Edwards, who is Nanox’s VP of Business Development used to work with Mr. Reifman.
And one more thing: He was on the list of Nanox representatives at the November 2020 Berenberg "CEO" conference.
Thanks to Steve @ Yahoo and MuddyWaters' report for the hints.
Update March 31, 2021: The draft registration statement filed on January 14, 2021 had the date of Dr. Kim agreement as October 28, 2019. Apparently, Nanox had forgotten that the agreement with Dr. Kim had been modified on December 16, 2019 to allow for full vesting of the options prior to the IPO...
Update August 1, 2021: Dr. Kim, a convicted felon who swindled SK Telecom into investing in Nanox and therefore received the most generous consulting fee from Nanox, has "left" SK Telecom two months ago, and joined Nano-X Korea Ltd. full-time in July ("Responsible for Korean Fab Operation, X ray Tube R & D and AP area sales and marketing", per his linkedin profile). I first learned it from a June 30 MCE "article", which refers to him as a "former President SK Telecom." The promotional piece appears authored by Eli Reifman, a convicted felon who claims to be Marketing Manager at MCE. Reifman may still have an email address at Nanox (according to an email verification service), and may be affiliated with A-Labs (A-Labs supposedly denies it), which provided "consulting services" in connection "with various transactions, such as a private placement [and] ... initial public offering." For example, A-Labs touted nine months ago the Monolith, the "world's first full-screen smartphone designed by Eli Reifman, founder of Emblaze Ltd. in 2001 with R&D initiated in 2004 which is 3 years before Apple's steve jobs introduced the first iPhone in 2007."
Here is an August 2020 Israeli article explaining (google translate):
The Emblaze consulting firm cuts millions of dollars in coupons in Nanox and INX offerings
Eli Reifman is not officially affiliated with A-Labs, one of the biggest beneficiaries in the Nanox IPO • The company is owned by Doron Cohen, former vice president of technology company Emblaze, along with Roni Lieberman, who briefly served as VP of product at Emblaze
Gali Weinreb 23.08.2020
Eli Reifman. Affair that began with his conviction in 2011 / Photo: Tamar Mitzpi, Globes
A-Labs, which served as a consultant for the Nanox IPO , is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the move. As recently revealed in "Globes", this is a company founded by the graduates of the technology company Emblaze by Eli Reifman , and according to market estimates, Reifman is significantly involved in it. A-Labs itself admittedly denied that Reifman was officially associated with her, but the company's CEO and founder, Doron Cohen, noted that Reifman is a friend and sometimes advises him in a friendly manner.
Under the consulting agreement between the companies, A-Labs received a 2.5% success fee from the issue amount - approximately $ 4 million, an additional payment of $ 1 million due to the issue itself, and another 160,457 options at an exercise price of $ 16 (compared to $ 18 per issue), equivalent to At the time of the IPO, another $ 300,000. A-Labs advises in a similar format to other Israeli companies, and it was recently announced that it is expected to pocket millions of additional dollars from the issuance of the crypto company INX in the USA ( see separate article ).
Reifman is not officially affiliated with A-Labs. The company is owned by Doron Cohen, formerly vice president of the technology company Emblaze, together with Roni Lieberman, who briefly served as VP of product at Emblaze. Its vice president of operations, Raviv Pablo, also previously worked at Emblaze.
Clues to the fact that Reifman is involved in the company can be found, for example, in the fact that Scratch Alter, who was defined in the court document as "Reifman's relative" in the matter of providing a guarantee for him, is the head of the life sciences department in the company. In addition, the company's offices are located in Kadima, where Reifman also lives.
Recent issues involving A-Labs have included issues of Israeli companies in Canada: Zoomd, which provides website search engine technology, and Else, which has developed a vegan baby food compound.
Eli Reifman is the founder of the technology company Emblaze, which has developed technology in the field of digital video. In the past, Reifman was considered a "child prodigy" in Israeli high-tech, however, he became involved in crime and accumulated debts in the gray market.
In 2011, Reifman was convicted of forgery and fraud and sentenced to four years in prison and compensation to the complainants against him. Following an appeal he filed, the Supreme Court dismissed his appeal and he went to jail, from which he was finally released a year and a half before the end of his full sentence.
Reifman founded Emblaze in 1994. The company was issued in London in 1996, and its value rose from $ 160 million at the time of the IPO to about $ 8 billion at its peak. Reifman sold tens of millions of dollars worth of shares in the company, and became one of the most prominent high-tech rich in the economy before the dot.com bubble burst.
Nanox Vision is a cancer-inducing initiative contradicting the ALARA principle and ImageWisely, as proclaimed in the joint June 2019 press release with SK Telecom:
nanox.vision is the global initiative led by nanox and world-leading healthcare players to drive the 1x1x1 vision of at least one medical screening for each person on the planet each year. The 1x1x1 Initiative is based on nanox's revolutionary MEMs X-ray source and encompassing ecosystem of partners to provide affordable, early detection for all.
Note that early detection has actually two separate components: 1) early diagnosis and 2) screening.
We believe [heat and complexity] key factors leading[sic] to the high cost and complexity of existing medical imaging systems, which in turn significantly limits the availability of medical imaging for early detection globally. According to a report from the Pan-American Health Organization and the World Health Organization (“WHO”) in 2012, approximately two-thirds of the world population did not have access to medical imaging, while many people with access to medical imaging face substantial wait times for scanning.
The use of X-rays and other physical waves such as ultrasound can resolve between 70% and 80% of diagnostic problems, but nearly two-thirds of the world's population has no access to diagnostic imaging[not the same as medical imaging, see above]
Nanox fails to mention WHIS-RAD, WHO's proposed solution. WHIS-RAD system was developed by the WHO in collaboration with radiographer experts. It was designed to provide high-quality images and to be safe to use, reliable, easy and simple to learn. Additionally, it is designed to operate where power is unreliable or unavailable for extended periods of time. So much for Nanox Vision!
WHIS-RAD (source: Red Cross, see link below)
"Providing low-cost, high-quality x-ray units was the goal behind development of the WHO's basic radiology system" (Alternatives to WHIS-RAD units fall short.)
WHO's purchasing guide states that the first imaging unit any hospital should buy is a general-radiography x-ray system like WHIS-RAD, which automatically eliminates both single-source and multiple-source Nanox.Arc, due to their low power and inability to do standard chest x-ray. So much for Nanox conquering the world!
Update March 26, 2021: Arsakaan @ Twitter reminded me again why Nanox should not be allowed to market/promote ANY medical device. Nanox is not just some investment fraud - with its incompetence, it endangers lives, even if it has no intention to ever shipping any working device. The snapshot from the current Nanox webpage still shows this overlay:
Of course, anyone remotely familiar with cancer screening should know that "cancer screening is looking for cancer BEFORE a person HAS ANY symptoms." That is, screening SYMPTOMATIC patients is non-sense. Moreover, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force does not recommend any plain X-ray, fluoroscopy, or tomosynthesis (what Nanox claims will be offering with the Nanox.Arc it intends to commercialize) as a screening tool today - only mammograms for breast cancer (only for women aged 50 to 74 years) and low-dose CT for lung cancer (only for adults aged 50 to 80 years who have a 20 pack-year smoking history and currently smoke or have quit within the past 15 years; screening should be discontinued once a person has not smoked for 15 years or develops a health problem that substantially limits life expectancy or the ability or willingness to have curative lung surgery). Nanox.Arc, as designed today, cannot do either mammograms or CT, of course. That is, Nanox.Arc is useless for screening purposes.
Update May 20, 2021: added a link to screening definition from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
