Empower Clinics Inc (CSE:CBDT) (FRA:8EC) (OTCQB:EPWCF) announced that its ongoing expansion to triple the size of its KAI Medical Laboratory has officially hit the halfway mark.
KAI Lab, a diagnostics laboratory in Dallas, was acquired by Empower Clinics in October to advance the company's COVID-19 national testing program for enterprise clients, including movie and television studios and the travel industry. The facility experienced significant growth in its first quarter under Empower, the company said, as fourth-quarter COVID-19 test units exceeded 6,000, far surpassing the 1,300 total units prior to acquisition.
"Kai Medical is becoming a national brand with the potential to perform and enhance a variety of testing protocols in addition to COVID-19," CEO Steven McAuley said in a statement. "When our lab transformation is complete, the sky is truly the limit in terms of what Yoshi Tyler and her team will accomplish for the patients we treat and the markets we serve."
READ: Empower Clinics launches direct-to-consumer e-commerce solutions
Expansion work will continue through May to enable KAI LAB to hire additional staff to improve operational efficiency and meet anticipated demand over the coming weeks, the company said.
The planned expansion is on time and on budget, with all requisite contracts signed and architectural plans underway. An interior design team is working to maximize the space to support the lab, logistics, administration and customer support divisions as they continue to process the intake of many thousands of specimens per month.
Additionally, Empower reported that total patients rose to 5,567 in April 2021 versus 2,212 in April 2020. These numbers build on Empower's year-over-year growth of 460% announced last month.
Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.com
Follow him on Twitter @andrew_kessel