Kim Blickenstaff
Analyst · Wedbush
Thank you, Susan. Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining us on today's third quarter earnings call. With me today is John Cajigas, our Chief Financial Officer. A lot has happened since our last call. Overall, our key accomplishments since the beginning of the year have strengthened our confidence for Tandem's future success. During the quarter in particular, we, number one, received FDA approval for t:slim X2 with Dexcom G5 CGM integration and launched almost immediately thereafter; number two, we successfully demonstrated the market differentiating Tandem Device Updater, which is a key element of our product development pipeline; three, we commenced pivotal study enrollment for our first automated insulin delivery product; and four, we began the commercial launch of our t:lock, our custom infusion connector. Not only will these achievements help Tandem drive both near and long-term revenue growth, but they're also essential to attaining profitability. We believe we are well positioned to achieve and support the skill necessary to reach our profitability goal in 2019. Growth is a top focus for our business, but equally so is closely managing our expenses. The other more recent development is a substantial shift in the competitive environment, which I'll discuss more in a moment. Starting with the t:slim X2 with G5 integration, we set a new standard in our industry last month by simultaneously offering our existing and future t:slim X2 customers the benefits of best-in-class CGM integration on our simple-to-use touchscreen insulin pump. The t:slim X2 with G5 is the first and only available insulin pump with Dexcom's G5 continuous glucose monitoring technology and the only pump approved to let users make treatment decisions without confirmatory finger sticks. As I mentioned, we essentially launched, immediately following our receipt of FDA approval, which is also a rarity in our industry, and we believe sets Tandem apart from our competitors. The response from the diabetes community has been fantastic. All new t:slim X2 pumps are now being shipped to customers with the G5 integration already implemented and over 12,000 other t:slim X2 pump users were offered the option to upgrade their pumps to add G5 integration for no charge using the Tandem Device Updater. Within the first month following approval, one-third of this t:slim X2 users updated their pump to include G5 integration. Of the people who updated their t:slim X2 pumps, approximately 85% said they were satisfied or extremely satisfied with the process and we continue to receive very favorable feedback from customers and prescribers who now have a tangible experience to share with others. This overwhelmingly positive feedback also validates the considerable human factors and software development work that our talented employees put into designing the Tandem Device Updater with the same user-centric philosophy as our pumps. We are also continuing to see upside from our infusion set strategy, including the launch of the t:lock custom infusion set connector, which began shipping to customers in early September. As a reminder, the t:lock Connector was designed to look and feel like the previous Luer-lock connector, while improving the customer experience of filling an infusion set with insulin. The launch of t:lock allows us to accomplish 2 important goals: to provide continuous improvement to our customers based on their feedback as well as address the business challenge that we've been facing throughout the past few years. John will discuss the financial impact in more detail. But overall, I'm happy to see the progress we've made so far this year in implementing our strategy to capture this lost revenue. As always, we are being mindful of our customers who may have personally accumulated inventory of Luer-lock cartridges or infusion sets and are doing our best to help facilitate a smooth transition for them. I'm sure many of your are already well aware, we've also seen recent changes on our competitive environment, the most prominent being Johnson & Johnson's announcement earlier this month that they've decided to exit from the insulin pump market and shut down their Animas business unit. As a major provider of insulin pumps in the U.S. Johnson & Johnson's decision really changes the landscape as options for people with diabetes have become increasingly limited in the past few years. Now Tandem and Medtronic are the only companies that offer durable insulin pumps in the United States. We believe that competition is a healthy dynamic that drives innovation, a high level of customer care and provides balance in the industry. It's important that people have an alternative to Medtronic and Tandem remains committed to our business, our customers and developing new innovations for people with diabetes. Overall, Animas' decision has really shaken the diabetes community. They report having about 90,000 customers worldwide, approximately half of them are estimated to be in the United States. Animas pump supplies will only be available for customers who purchase for the next 2 years. So between now and then, essentially, all of Animas' customers in the U.S. will likely be looking for a new home. Animas chose Medtronic to aid their customers in this transition. However, our inbound calls substantially increased in the days following their announcement and have remained high. Current or prospective Animas customers are now looking to understand their options based on where they are within their pumps' warranty period. We believe the t:slim X2 will be highly attractive to Animas users, primarily because many Animas customers already use Dexcom CGM and we now offer the only Dexcom-integrated insulin pump. Also, we recently were able to demonstrate the power of the Tandem Device Updater to add new functionalities to customers' pumps as approved by the FDA, a feature Medtronic does not offer. And Animas customers have a history of selecting an alternative pump to Medtronic. This is meaningful, particularly in light of the increased physical size of Medtronic's 670G platform, the product's shortcoming and the center shortages they publicly reported. We'll be working hard to communicate the features and benefits of the t:slim X2 and demonstrate our number one rated customer service to people using an Animas pump as they look to make new pump purchasing decisions over the upcoming quarters. As I mentioned, updatability is a feature that is really beginning to differentiate t:slim X2 from the competition. Now that G5 integration is successfully launched, we're looking to our next major software release to roll out with the Tandem Device Updater. Based on our new products in development, we anticipate that this will be the t:slim X2 with predictive low glucose suspend along its approval by the FDA. As announced earlier this week, like G5 integration, we plan to offer t:slim X2 customers this release and any other updates approved by the FDA in 2018 for no cost. As a reminder, the t:slim X2 with PLGS is our first-generation automated insulin delivery system. It is designed to prevent hypoglycemia by suspending insulin delivery when low blood sugar is predicted based on the Dexcom G5 sensor values. We began enrollment for our PLGS pivotal study in August and are on track to complete it by the end of the year. After reports from the sites are finalized, we'll then submit a PMA to the FDA for this product. We continue to anticipate that this review timeline will benefit from the FDA's recent review of the t:slim X2 with G5 as the only different feature will be the PLGS algorithm. Accordingly, we'll be preparing to launch in the summer of 2018. Our second generation automated insulin delivery system is intended to reduce hypo and hyperglycemic events and improve the time a person is in the normal blood sugar range. This system includes the t:slim X2 pump with the [indiscernible] technology that we licensed from TypeZero as well as Dexcom's G6 sensor. We are participating in the NIH-funded International Diabetes Closed Loop Trial alongside TypeZero and Dexcom. There's been significant activity this year between all of the involved parties, including a series of IDEs with the FDA, a feasibility study in preparation for training and the pivotal study. We believe the three-month pivotal study will commence in the first half of 2018 and plan to use the data in the PMA submission to the FDA. Based on this trial timing and traditional FDA review times, we are targeting a launch of the TypeZero algorithm on our t:slim X2 platform in the first half of 2019. As you can see, we have near-term catalyst to drive sales for the t:slim X2 with G5, which was launched in advance of the strongest selling season, our launch of the t:lock infusion set connector and pump-renewal opportunities. Looking beyond 2017, we have our two automated insulin delivery products in development and are on track to file the CE Mark by the end of this year. We still anticipate commencing sales internationally in select geographies in 2018 and have prioritized our efforts to launch in Canada first. As for the exit of the Animas business, it is difficult to predict the impact of this decision on our business. Medtronic is in control of the customer was -- which puts us at a disadvantage. However, we believe the t:slim X2 is better aligned with the preferences of Animas users. We have a very competitive product offering and remain confident that our differentiated insulin pumps, the power of our Tandem Device Updater and our robust pipeline position us well to compete both in the near and long-term. We believe in patient choice and we'll be working hard to support Animas' patients as well to support our customers for years to come. Our position as a relatively small business is not yet profitable, is one that our competitors use heavily against us and regularly spread rumors that we are going out of business. In today's environment, it's marketing the fear rather than pump versus pump, since that's the front in which we've demonstrated the superiority of our products. We understand the challenges this presents and our growth expectations are in spite of this dynamic. We have a successful history of raising funds and have done so in a stair step approach over the past year and will always seek to appropriately capitalize the business. We expect to raise additional funds by mid-2018 and we'll be continuing to explore non-dilutive options alongside equity. Our employees have been amazingly resilient throughout the events over the past year, which underscores the passionate drive within our organization to improve the lives of people with diabetes. I'd like to thank them for all their efforts and contributions that have kept Tandem moving forward and making operational progress even in the face of headwinds. It's through an exceptional group of individuals and I'm very proud of all that's been accomplished. I'll now turn the call over to John to further discuss our results for the quarter and our financial guidance.