Adam Elsesser
Analyst · JPMorgan
Thank you, Dan. Good afternoon and thank you for joining Penumbra's First Quarter 2019 Conference Call. Our total revenues for the first quarter were $128.4 million, an increase of 25.1% as reported and 27.2% in constant currency from the first quarter last year. We had operating income in the quarter of $11.2 million compared to $4 million for the same period last year. 2019 began with great momentum across our entire business. We saw strong sequential revenue growth over the fourth quarter of 2018. This growth is being driven by our ability to treat a growing number of patients in large patient end markets and our ability to continuously innovate within our existing areas such as stroke and vascular thrombectomy, as well as within new areas. I will share a few updates and developments from the first quarter, focusing on these themes. Beginning with our patient end markets, our primary discussion with investors, over the past 4 years, has been on ischemic stroke. We have detailed the impact of the disease on patients across the world. We also outlined our views on how we saw the future opportunity in terms of the addressable patients, the expected growth of patients treated and the likely role of aspiration in the procedure. 4 years later, we are here talking about a larger addressable patient population, faster growth in patients treated and the validation of aspiration as the preferred frontline mechanism for stroke thrombectomy. There has been great progress, and we believe the foundation is set for continued growth. We are now on the process of introducing a second meaningful patient end market for Penumbra. Recently, investors have taken notice of the results in our vascular business. We have learned a lot over the past few years about the disease states and the potential of our technology. This has given us greater confidence and visibility on the future opportunity. I would compare this to how we felt about stroke 4 years ago. Coincidentally, our vascular business is at a similar level of annual revenue as our neuro business was 4 years ago, but it is growing at an even faster rate. We have learned enough to say that the number of patients with clot in their bodies that we can help in the United States has the potential to expand significantly beyond the current 150,000 addressable patients that we have initially focused on. It is helpful to note that our Indigo System is currently used in about 10% of those patients currently being treated by interventional methods. We are at the very early stages of this patient opportunity. I would now like to turn our focus to the next theme, innovation. Starting with stroke, in March, COMPASS was published in The Lancet, one of the world's most prestigious medical journals. As you may recall, the COMPASS trial was a landmark study in the ischemic stroke. The publication confirmed that direct aspiration is just as effective as stent retriever thrombectomy. It also reported higher numerical revascularization rates and faster revascularization times for direct aspiration. This study helps demonstrate the importance of aspiration for stroke patients. Penumbra has believed in this view, and we have been working diligently with physicians to continuously improve the technology since our first FDA-cleared aspiration system for ischemic stroke over a decade ago. While the COMPASS study is validating, we are not done innovating in stroke. The ambition to keep improving is what defines Penumbra. Last fall, when we launched Penumbra JET Engine, we mentioned that it was the first step in a multiphase effort to continue making the procedure better and better. We believe that our newest technologies that will progressively come this year and next year will each alone serve significant improvements and together will fundamentally reshape the way we think about the procedure for stroke patients. In the first quarter, we also made progress innovating in new areas. In March, we received FDA clearance for our REAL Immersive System. As you may recall, about two years ago, we formed a joint venture to try to do something better than traditional rehab for the millions of people who suffer disability from strokes and other neuro conditions. Rehab is typically administered by physical and occupational therapists who try to help patients recover as much function as possible. These professionals do heroic work in their communities for these patients. Our work in this area began with a belief that we can design and build technology, with the potential to accelerate and improve their visibility to help their patients. The REAL System is a fully mobilized system that creates a full presence immersive virtual-reality experience. With the FDA clearance, we will begin the journey to potentially help millions of stroke rehab patients. We are very busy with the next phase of this work, and we will plan to provide an update on how we see the commercial opportunity later this year. Creating the REAL System demonstrates the very best of Penumbra. In a very short time, our dedicated team took an idea, built an entirely new team and then created a sophisticated platform that could help millions of people. This is a result of Penumbra's unique and lasting culture of innovation. I'll now turn the call over to Sri to review the financials.