Echo Lake Capital Demands Aclarion Director Resignation
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: 6 days ago
0mins
Should l Buy ACON?
Ephraim Fields of Echo Lake Capital sent a letter to David Neal, a member of the Board of Directors of Aclarion. The letter read, in part, "We believe we are one of the largest shareholders of Aclarion. We believe that on numerous occasions you have failed to fulfill your fiduciary responsibility to act in the best interests of shareholders and that your actions have directly contributed to the staggering losses suffered by shareholders. You were a board director of ACON when it went public in 2022 at split-adjusted price of $620,000 per share...the stock now trades at $3.12 per share, down over 99%. Even worse, while shareholders have suffered tremendous losses, you have repeatedly enriched yourself by taking excessive compensation from this tiny, unprofitable company. Since 2021 you have accepted over $240,000 in compensation from the company for board services. Even worse, last year you accepted a 20% pay increase. We can only wonder how you justify your compensation to ACON's long-suffering shareholders. While we find your compensation to be wildly excessive, we are also dismayed that despite being on the board of directors for over nine years, you currently own only 2 shares of ACON stock. Considering how few shares you own, we wonder how motivated you truly are to act in the best interests of ACON shareholders...We understand the significant financial benefits you derive from being on ACON's board, but we don't believe you possess the appropriate qualifications to serve on the board. Professionally for the past 20+ years you have been providing financial advice to high-net-worth individuals, which requires a very different skill set than advising ACON. You have no other public company board experience and you appear to have limited other relevant experience. You are not an MD, MBA or a CPA. Considering your lack of financial incentives to create shareholder value, your questionable skill set and your disappointing performance to date, we believe it is in shareholders' best interest if you resign immediately. We were disappointed you refused to respond to the private email we sent you last week, but we are not surprised since we believe you have little regard for ACON shareholders. ACON's stock now trades at a significant discount to its net cash, from which we infer that we are not the only investors who have no confidence in you. Finally, we believe there are many steps you and the board could easily implement that would create immediate and significant shareholder value and that any respectable board would have already implemented these steps. Unfortunately, rather than running ACON for the benefit of the shareholders you purport to represent, you appear more interested in using ACON as a vehicle to enrich yourself."
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Analyst Views on ACON
Wall Street analysts forecast ACON stock price to rise
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Moderate Buy
Current: 3.060
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Current: 3.060
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About ACON
Aclarion, Inc. is a healthcare technology company. The Company leverages magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and proprietary biomarkers to optimize clinical treatments. The Company has developed a software application called NOCISCAN. The product uses the existing MRS capabilities of many commercially available scanners to non-invasively analyze the chemical makeup of intervertebral discs in the spine. The software post-processes the MRS exam data and detects the presence of chemical biomarkers that Aclarion, in conjunction with spine researchers at University of California San Francisco (UCSF), have demonstrated to be associated with degenerative pain and structural integrity of the lumbar discs. After processing the MRS exam data, the Company sends the ordering clinician a report that details how to interpret the results of the MRS exam. The platform used to conduct a NOCISCAN involves a diagnostic report called a Nocigram that identifies discs as painful or not.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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- Early Revenue Sources: Aclarion is generating revenue from Nociscan scans in the UK, cash-pay usage, and clinical trials, particularly in London where insurance coverage reduces financial friction for physicians and patients, thereby supporting higher scan utilization and growth.
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See More
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- Strengthened Financial Position: Aclarion's recent financings provide a cash runway into 2028, ensuring that the company can complete its 300-patient CLARITY trial and achieve initial data readout without raising additional capital, thereby boosting shareholder confidence.
- Clinical Trial Progress: The company anticipates an initial internal readout of the CLARITY trial by the end of Q3 2026, with public disclosure of early interim results expected in Q4, which will provide critical data support for its technology in the chronic low back pain market.
- Optimized Capital Structure: Aclarion has terminated its ATM and allowed its ELOC to expire at the end of 2025, indicating that the company will not pursue new capital raises in the near term, further solidifying its clean capital structure.
- Software-Driven Innovation: As a new generation of software-native MedTech innovator, Aclarion's Nociscan platform delivers solutions entirely through the cloud, enabling rapid scalability and continuous algorithmic improvements, which are expected to significantly enhance its competitive position in the market.
See More
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- Market Opportunity Analysis: CEO Brent Ness highlighted that approximately 266 million people globally suffer from chronic low back pain, with Aclarion's market opportunity spanning spinal fusion surgeries, non-fusion procedures, and pain management, which are expected to increase scan volumes over time, driving revenue growth.
- Early Revenue Sources: Aclarion is generating revenue from Nociscan scans in the UK, cash-pay usage, and clinical trials, particularly in London where insurance coverage reduces financial friction for physicians and patients, thereby supporting higher scan utilization and growth.
- Clinical Trials and Reimbursement Pathway: Aclarion's Clarity trial aims to enroll 300 patients and features an early-stop design to accelerate discussions with insurers, with findings indicating that Nociscan reduces costs by about $1,700 per patient, strengthening the case for payer adoption.
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See More
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- Market Expansion Strategy: Aclarion has established an agreement with Source Healthcare in Los Angeles to introduce Nociscan, aiming to fill a critical gap in chronic low back pain treatment, thereby enhancing the company's market share in this sector.
- Clinical Validation Advantage: Nociscan, as a non-invasive alternative, objectively measures pain and structural integrity biomarkers in spinal discs through an MRI-like experience, providing clinical validation compared to anesthetic discography, further solidifying its application potential in pain management.
- Data Asset Development: By collaborating with a high-volume clinical practice, Aclarion will strengthen the evidence base for Nociscan, supporting its adoption in the broader pain management market, which is expected to drive payer and provider acceptance.
- Improved Success Rates: Research indicates that Nociscan has improved outcomes and reduced costs in the spinal fusion market, with a 97% surgical success rate, highlighting its potential value among chronic low back pain patients and further advancing the company's strategic position in the healthcare technology field.
See More
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- Extended Cash Runway: As of January 12, 2026, the company reported $21.6 million in cash with zero debt, extending its cash runway into 2028 based on current operating plans, ensuring operational capacity ahead of key milestones.
- Accelerated Clinical Validation: Aclarion aims to speed up patient enrollment in the CLARITY trial to approximately 25% by the end of Q2 2026, while also conducting several real-world evidence studies to expand market opportunities by over 30%.
- Technology Upgrade and Market Expansion: The company plans to launch Nociscan version 2.8 in Q1 to improve workflow integration and is actively engaging with multiple U.S. commercial payers to advance broader reimbursement for Nociscan, enhancing its competitive position in the market.
See More
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- Successful Financing: Aclarion has closed a $10.4 million common stock financing at $5.18 per share, significantly strengthening the company's balance sheet and ensuring the integrity of its capital structure for future growth.
- Increased Cash Reserves: As of January 12, 2026, Aclarion holds $21.6 million in cash with zero debt, extending its cash runway into 2028, which secures operational stability for the coming years.
- Accelerated Clinical Validation: The company aims to enroll approximately 25% of patients in the CLARITY trial by the end of Q2 2026, with initial results available internally after the three-month follow-up, expediting the clinical validation of Nociscan.
- Market Expansion Strategy: Aclarion plans to grow access to major MRI manufacturers, increasing the global market size by over 30%, while enhancing clinician education and awareness through participation in CME events to further penetrate the market with Nociscan.
See More
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- Labor Market Stability: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nonfarm payrolls increased by 50,000 in December 2025, remaining largely unchanged from November's downwardly revised gain of 56,000, although slightly below the expected 60,000, indicating resilience in the labor market and easing concerns about rising unemployment.
- Unemployment Rate Decline: The unemployment rate fell from a revised 4.5% in November to 4.4%, landing below expectations of 4.5%, suggesting improvements in the labor market that could support consumer confidence and spending.
- Wage Growth Acceleration: Average hourly earnings rose by 0.3% month-over-month, accelerating from November's 0.2% increase and matching forecasts, which may drive consumer spending and bolster economic growth.
- Housing Market Slowdown: Housing starts declined by 4.6% from the previous month to an annualized rate of 1.246 million units, while building permits fell by 0.2% to an annualized rate of 1.412 million, indicating a slowdown in the real estate market that could impact the overall pace of economic recovery.
See More
