The numbers are out and Insulet has doubled revenue since the same quarter last year. This is good news!
http://www.massdevice.com/news/insulet-doubles-q2-sales-cuts-net-losses
For the accountants in the audience, here’s the more detailed info: http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/08-04-2009/0005071777&EDATE=
The financial data looks very good! The conference call had some interesting news on the product development front:
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Next generation pod. They’re making progress – no other specifics, other than they expect the manufacturing costs for the smaller pod to be less.
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CGM integration. The integrated system is on track to be filed as a PMA supplement to the CGM system by the end of the year. What’s interesting is that a lot of us have presumed Dexcom integration, but that might not be the case. The CEO and CFO mentioned that they are proceeding with their development deals with both Dexcom and Abbott, and they refused to state which horse is in the lead for the FDA filing.
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Future competition. This was a very hot topic.
(a) No other disposable/patch insulin pump on the market yet, and they will address the competition when it actually materializes.
(b) Insulet understands the challenges of disposable/patch insulin pumps better than anyone else, so they are best positioned in the market. About a dozen other companies are looking into disposable pumps, and from what Insulet knows about what the competition is doing, they have already considered (and rejected) every other option out there.
© The company that keeps the product the easiest to use will be best positioned for success. Being able to bolus from the pod and multiple pieces to patch pumps create manufacturing cost problems and detract from the user experience. Pump users become frustrated with multiple pieces and the problems introduced by them. [Personal note: I completely agree, and I think Insulet needs to push this aspect a lot harder vis-a-vis tubed pumps in its current marketing. My Medtronic pump sitting in my closet required a reservoir, an infusion set, an insertion device for the infusion set, and those two extra pieces for the syringe in case I needed an insulin refill. You could even consider the infusion set to be two separate pieces since it separates. Keeping track of all of those pieces was a pain, especially with my amount of business travel. For a customer making the transition from multiple injections to pump therapy, I would think multiple parts would be even more intimidating.]
Anyway, that’s what I found interesting from the call.
Thank you Eric and Jaybear for keeping us current on the financial front!
From the call, Insulet is a strong adherent to simplicity because (a) complexity drives up manufacturing costs and therefore patient costs, (b) malfunctions are less likely with simpler equipment, and © users gravitate toward simplicity over complexity. The belief is that one of the reasons the OmniPod has posted gains is because it is a simple system. Based upon that information, I am almost certain that the new pods will lack buttons.
To the extent that the competition might offer a patch or pod with buttons, Insulet will address the competition as it materializes.
After reading a transcript of the analysts conference call, I tend to agree that simpler is better. As Jaybear said, Insulet has already considered and rejected every interation of patch pump being looked at by other companies. A removable reservoir sounds good, but I don’t see a big benefit for myself. I don’t use saunas or hot tubs. Even when the reservoir is removed, you still have the base stuck to your body. I can foresee many complications and failures with this concept. Bolusing from the pod would be nice, but it also encourages people not to carry the PDM, so they’re not testing as they should and they have less control over their boluses. Personally, I don’t have a problem keeping the PDM on me.
Thank you, the future looks good!
I agree Jim, I have never lost my PDM or left it anywhere thatI had to turn around and go back to get it. Next to my children, It is the most important thing in my life, so I always remember to take it with me. The day I begin forgetting where my wife and kids are, I’ll switch to a traditional tubed pump.
Now where did I leave my wallet!
Agreed. I think that concerns with forgetting the PDM are more imaginary than real. A significant part of Medtronic’s current defense against the OmniPod is that while the OmniPod does offer the convenience of tubeless pumping, the downside is that you might be far away from your PDM – and, I suppose, be force fed several pounds of candy and be unable to bolus.
Of course, Medtronic does not focus on the drag it is to carry around the ball and chain of its pump attached to you 24/7 – while you sleep, work, etc.
A solution is to always have an extra meter, needles and fast acting insulin…
I don’t carry an extra meter (probably should) but I do ALWAYS carry an insulin pen with me wherever I go. If I ever lost my PDM or had it accidentally damaged I would be OK.
hmmm…i’m not too convinced by the solo pdm. i watched the video and scoured the website; it mentions nothing about the pdm having an integrated meter. so while it may be more advanced than the omnipod one, i would hate having to carry a pdm AND a meter, along with all my other supplies.
seriously! how many times do people forget their meters or testing supplies???
I guess how much cheaper, smaller, and dependable can they make the POD I think that is what will determine who takes the market share
Thanks Wade