Function Health buys full-body scanning company Ezra

Blood testing startup Function Health on Monday announced the acquisition of full-body MRI scanning company Ezra and launched a brand new, 22-minute scan for $499. 

Function offers a $499 annual subscription where members complete greater than 160 blood tests and track their results over time. The corporate said adding Ezra’s scanning technology to its platform will allow its users to screen for more conditions and access a more complete picture of their health.

“It makes a lot sense,” Jonathan Swerdlin, the co-founder and CEO of Function, said in an interview. “What labs aren’t covering, scans can see, and what scans couldn’t touch on, labs cover.”

Function and Ezra declined to reveal the financial details of the acquisition. 

Before Monday’s announcement, Ezra’s most cost-effective offering was a 30-minute scan that cost participants $1,495. 

Ezra, founded in 2018, offers a variety of full-body MRI scans that may also help patients detect cancer and other conditions. The corporate partners with existing imaging facilities across greater than 70 locations within the U.S., based on its website. 

Full-body MRI scans have surged in popularity in recent times after celebrities like Kim Kardashian began posting about them on social media. Health workers have mixed feelings concerning the screenings, partly because they’re expensive, can lead to unnecessary care and may cause patients to fret.

Ezra’s primary competitor is Prenuvo, one other full-body MRI scanning startup. In February, Prenuvo announced that it closed a $120 million funding round, and it also launched a brand new blood test to offer insights into patients’ hormonal, cardiovascular, metabolic and immune health. 

Ezra has raised a complete of $44 million from investors, while Function has raised a complete of $53 million as of June 2024. Function is reportedly in search of greater than $200 million in fresh capital at a valuation of around $2 billion, based on a February report from Bloomberg.

Emi Gal, the founder and CEO of Ezra, said he has known Function’s Swerdlin for years, and that the 2 began chatting last 12 months about potentially collaborating through a business partnership. Over time, though, he said it became clear that an acquisition ultimately made more sense.   

“I’m pinching myself,” Gal said in an interview. “That is just an outstanding end result.”

The corporate was in a position to shorten its latest scan time to 22 minutes by leveraging artificial intelligence that was cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in January, Gal said. The AI, in addition to Function’s “financial prowess,” helped reduce the worth of the scan to $499, he added.

The brand new 22-minute scan will likely be available to Function members starting on Monday. Function doesn’t publicly disclose what number of patients subscribe to its platform, but Swerdlin said it’s within the “lots of of hundreds.” 

Dr. Mark Hyman, co-founder and the chief medical officer of Function, said acquiring Ezra was a natural a part of Function’s evolution.  

“What was once the domain of the rich is now accessible to everybody, including comprehensive imaging,” Hyman said in an interview. “It truly makes a difference for people and saves lives.”