Item 1A. Risk Factors
An investment in our common stock, or in securities convertible into or exchangeable for our common stock, involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks described below, together with all of the other information included in this Quarterly Report, as well as in our other filings with the SEC, in evaluating our business. If any of the following risks actually occur, our business, financial condition, operating results and future prospects could be materially and adversely affected. In that case, the trading price of our common stock may decline and you might lose all or part of your investment. The risks described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks that we currently do not know about or that we currently believe to be immaterial may also impair our business, financial condition, operating results, liquidity, and future prospects. Certain statements below are forward-looking statements. For additional information, see Item 2, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations of this Quarterly Report.
The risk factors set forth below marked with an asterisk (*) next to the title contain changes to the description of the risk factors previously disclosed in Part I, Item 1A of our Annual Report.
Summary of Risk Factors
An investment in our common stock, or in securities convertible into or exchangeable for our common stock, involves a high degree of risk. Below is a summary of material factors that make an investment in our securities speculative or risky. Importantly, this summary does not address all of the risks that we face. Additional discussion of the risks summarized in this risk factor summary, as well as other risks that we face, can be found below, after this summary.
Risks Related to Our Business and Our Industry
•We have incurred significant operating losses since inception and may not achieve sustained profitability.
•We currently rely on sales of insulin pump products to generate a significant portion of our revenue, and any factors that negatively impact sales of these products may adversely affect us.
•Public health threats, such as the COVID-19 global pandemic, have had a material adverse effect on our business.
•Our ability to maintain and grow our revenue depends on retaining a high percentage of our customer base.
•We operate in a very competitive industry.
•Competitive products or other technological developments may render our products obsolete or less desirable.
•The failure of our insulin pump and related products to achieve and maintain market acceptance could result in us achieving sales below our expectations.
•Failure to secure or retain adequate coverage or reimbursement for our products by third-party payors could adversely affect our business.
•We may face unexpected challenges in marketing and selling our products, and training new customers on the use of our products.
•We may fail to meet our sales forecasts if we are unable to maintain our existing sales, marketing, clinical and customer service infrastructure.
•If we are unable to maintain or expand our network of independent distributors, our sales may be negatively affected.
•The third parties on which we rely to assist us with our pre-clinical development or clinical trials may not perform as expected.
•Our failure to successfully complete clinical trials and development-stage testing could prevent us from obtaining regulatory approvals for or commercializing our products.
•If assumptions about the potential market for our products are inaccurate our business may be adversely affected.
•Our ability to achieve profitability has dependencies on our ability to reduce the per-unit cost of our products.
•Manufacturing risks may adversely affect our ability to manufacture products.
•We depend on a limited number of third-party suppliers for certain components and products.
•Any disruption at one of our facilities could adversely affect our business and operating results.
•We may not experience the anticipated operating efficiencies from the transition of our manufacturing and warehousing operations.
•If we do not enhance our product portfolio to meet the demands of our market, we may fail to effectively compete.
•Concerns regarding the safety and efficacy of our products could limit sales and cause negative effects to our business.
•We may enter into collaborations or partnerships with third parties that may not result in commercially viable products or the generation of significant revenues.
•We operate our business in regions subject to natural disasters and other catastrophic events.
•A security breach or other significant disruption to our information technology systems could materially disrupt our operations or result in the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information.”
•If we are found to have violated laws concerning the privacy and security of patient health information or other personal information, civil or criminal penalties could increase our liabilities and harm our business.
•We may be unable to retain and motivate our senior management or recruit additional qualified personnel.
•We may experience a variety of risks associated with international operations.
•Our failure to successfully manage the integration of acquisitions could have an adverse effect on our business.
Risks Related to Our Future Financings and Financial Results
•We may need to raise additional funds in the future and funds may not be available on commercially reasonable terms.
•Our operating results may fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter.
Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property and Potential Litigation
•Our ability to comprehensively protect our intellectual property and proprietary technology is uncertain.
•Patent litigation is not uncommon in the medical device industry, and we may be subject to such litigation.
•We may be subject to damages resulting from claims that we have wrongfully used or disclosed patient health information or trade secrets, or are in breach of non-competition or non-solicitation agreements.
•We may incur product liability losses, and insurance coverage may be inadequate or unavailable to cover these losses.
Risks Related to Our Legal and Regulatory Environment
•Our products and operations are subject to extensive governmental regulation, and regulatory approvals could be denied or delayed.
•New products or modifications to our existing products may require new regulatory approvals, or require us to cease marketing or recall modified products.
•If we or our third-party suppliers, contract manufacturers or service providers fail to comply with manufacturing regulations, it could impair our ability to market our products.
•A recall of our products, or the discovery of safety issues with our products, could have a negative impact on us.
•Our failure to comply with foreign, U.S. federal and state fraud and abuse laws could have an adverse impact on us.
•We may be liable if we engage in the promotion of the off-label use of our products.
•Legislative or regulatory healthcare reforms may result in downward pressure on the price of and decrease reimbursement for our products.
Risks Related to Our Common Stock
•The price of our common stock may continue to fluctuate significantly.
•Our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes may be limited.
•We may fail to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting.
•We may be at increased risk of securities class action litigation.
Risks Related to Our Convertible Senior Notes
•The Notes could adversely affect our financial condition.
•We may not have sufficient cash flow from our business to service the Notes.
•We may take actions which could limit our ability to make payments on the Notes.
•We may not be able to raise the funds necessary to repurchase or settle conversions of the Notes.
•Conversion of the Notes may dilute the ownership interest of existing stockholders.
•The Capped Call Transactions may affect the value of the Notes and our common stock.
•We are subject to counterparty risk with respect to the Capped Call Transactions.
Risks Related to Our Business and Our Industry
We have incurred significant operating losses since inception and cannot assure you that we will achieve sustained profitability.*
Since our inception in January 2006, we have incurred a significant net loss. As of June 30, 2021, we had an accumulated deficit of $651.2 million. To date, we have funded our operations primarily through cash collected from product sales, private and public offerings of our equity securities, and debt financing. We have devoted substantially all of our resources to the design, development and commercialization of our products, the scaling of our manufacturing and business operations, and the research and development of our current products and products under development.
We began commercial sales of our first product, t:slim, in August 2012 and our current flagship pump platform, t:slim X2, in October 2016. The t:slim X2 insulin pump now represents 100% of new pump shipments. Until the third quarter of 2018 we were selling our products only in the United States and have since launched our products in select international geographies.
Since the first quarter of 2013, we have been able to manufacture and sell our insulin pump products at a cost and in volumes sufficient to allow us to achieve a positive overall gross margin. For the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, our gross profit was $194.2 million and $89.8 million, respectively. Although we have achieved a positive overall gross margin and have substantially reduced our operating loss, we still operate at a net loss on an annual basis and expect that we may continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
To implement our business strategy and achieve consistent profitability, we need to, among other things, increase sales of our products and the gross profit associated with those sales, maintain an appropriate customer service, training and support infrastructure, fund ongoing R&D activities, create additional efficiencies in our manufacturing processes while adding to our capacity, and obtain regulatory clearance or approval to commercialize our products currently under development both domestically and internationally. We expect our expenses will continue to increase as we pursue these objectives and make investments in our business. Additional increases in our expenses without commensurate increases in sales could significantly increase our operating losses.
The extent of our future operating losses and the timing of our profitability are highly uncertain in light of a number of factors, including the timing of the launch of new products and product features by us and our competitors, market acceptance of our products and competitive products by people with insulin-dependent diabetes, their caregivers and healthcare providers, the timing of regulatory approval of our products and the products of our competitors, the actual efficiencies gained in our manufacturing processes, and the scope and duration of the impacts caused by the COVID-19 global pandemic. Any additional operating losses will have an adverse effect on our stockholders’ equity, and we cannot assure you that we will be able to sustain profitability.
We currently rely on sales of insulin pump products to generate a significant portion of our revenue, and any factors that negatively impact sales of these products may adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.*
We generate nearly all of our revenue from the sale of t:slim X2 insulin pumps and the related insulin cartridges and infusion sets. Sales of these products may be negatively impacted by many factors, including:
•market acceptance of the insulin pumps and related products manufactured and sold by our key competitors, including Medtronic;
•the potential that breakthroughs for the monitoring, treatment or prevention of diabetes may render our insulin pumps obsolete or less desirable;
•adverse regulatory or legal actions relating to our products, or similar products or technologies of our competitors;
•failure of our Tandem Device Updater to accurately and timely provide customers with remote access to new product features and functionality as anticipated, or our failure to obtain regulatory approval for any such updates;
•changes in reimbursement rates or policies relating to insulin pumps or similar products or technologies by third-party payors;
•our inability to enter into contracts with third-party payors on a timely basis and on acceptable terms;
•problems arising from the expansion of our manufacturing capabilities and commercial operations, or destruction, loss, or temporary shutdown of our manufacturing facilities;
•concerns regarding the perceived safety or reliability of any of our products, or any component thereof; and
•claims that any of our products, or any component thereof, infringes on patent rights or other intellectual property rights of third parties.
In addition, sales of any of our current or future insulin pump products with CGM integration are subject to the continuation of our applicable agreements with Dexcom, Abbott, or other third parties which, under some circumstances, may be subject to termination, with or without cause, on relatively short notice. Sales of our current or future products may also be negatively impacted in the event of any regulatory or legal actions relating to CGM products that are compatible with our pumps, or in the event of any disruption to the availability of the applicable CGM-related supplies, such as sensors or transmitters, in a given market in which our products are sold. Sales of our products may also be adversely impacted if the CGM products that are compatible with our pumps are not viewed as superior to competing CGM products in markets where our products are sold, or if the price of these products is not competitive with similar products available in the market.
Because we currently rely on sales of our t:slim X2 insulin pump and related products to generate a significant majority of our revenue, any factors that negatively impact sales of these products (or negatively impact the products or components integrated with these products), or result in sales of these products increasing at a lower rate than expected, could adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results. We believe the COVID-19 global pandemic has had, and that it may continue to have, an adverse impact on sales of our products. For instance, we have seen examples of customers delaying their purchasing decisions or physicians pausing prescriptions for our products. It could also have the effect of magnifying the negative impact of any of the factors described above.
Public health threats, such as the COVID-19 global pandemic, have had and could continue to have a material adverse effect on our operations, the operations of our business partners, and the global economy as a whole.*
Public health threats and other highly communicable diseases and outbreaks could adversely impact our operations, the operations of our customers, suppliers, distributors and other business partners, as well as the healthcare system in general. For example, the COVID-19 global pandemic, which is currently affecting numerous countries throughout the world, resulted in a rapid and sustained rise in unemployment rates and decreases in global economic activity. While economic activity in the United States began to increase during the second quarter of 2021, the overall scope of the COVID-19 global pandemic and its impacts continue to fluctuate, and in some instances worsen, in various regions worldwide. The overall negative impact from the COVID-19 global pandemic is difficult to estimate; however, we anticipate that our sales and operating results will continue to be adversely impacted in future periods and subject to unpredictable variability even if travel and social distancing restrictions are lifted. In addition, the rise in unemployment and decreases in economic activity in various regions worldwide due to the COVID-19 global pandemic may negatively impact the affordability of our products for certain customers, which could reduce demand for our products. Further, certain development activities originally planned to occur during 2020, such as human factors studies associated with our product development efforts and activities to support the manufacturing scale-up for new products, were modified or delayed due to impacts of the COVID-19 global pandemic, which has impacted our development timelines and regulatory strategies and also could have a negative impact on our product commercialization efforts and the future demand for our products.
The COVID-19 global pandemic, or other similar outbreaks or epidemics, may have an adverse effect on the overall productivity of our workforce, and we expect to continue to take appropriate measures to protect the health and safety of our employees and our business partners and reduce the risk of disruptions to our operations. For example, we continue to restrict employee travel and limit visitors to our facilities, and many of our employees who are able to perform their job function outside of our facilities remain in a remote work environment. For our field-based sales and clinical employees, we initially discontinued all in-person activities and began utilizing technology to remotely engage healthcare providers and customers. Where permitted, in-person activities for our field-based sales and clinical employees have resumed on a limited basis and are gradually increasing, though the scope and scale vary by geography and we still rely heavily on remote engagement. For our employees in manufacturing and warehousing positions involved in production and fulfillment operations, we have implemented health and safety protocols in compliance with applicable government orders and expert agency guidance. We temporarily increased our staffing in certain operations in order to mitigate potential risks associated with increases in unplanned employee absences or illness. Our adoption of these preventive measures has resulted in incremental costs that have negatively impacted our gross margin, and could impact future periods. In addition, for the duration of the COVID-19 global pandemic, some of our employees may be required to continue to operate within a remote work environment for extended periods of time due to illness, travel restrictions, government-imposed orders, school closures or for other reasons, any of which could result in reduced productivity of our workforce. As the COVID-19 global pandemic improves, we anticipate that more of our employees will return to working in our facilities under modified conditions. We are implementing protocols and safety measures and for the time being are continuing to limit the number of employees allowed in our facilities while planning for increased occupancy at a later date.
In addition to the foregoing impacts, disruptions from the COVID-19 global pandemic, or other similar outbreaks or epidemics, could result in delays in or the suspension of our manufacturing operations, research and product development activities, regulatory work streams, clinical development programs and other important commercial functions. In particular, if we or our third-party manufacturers are required to delay or suspend our manufacturing operations, we may encounter severe product shortages, which would adversely affect our results of operations and harm our reputation. We are also dependent upon our third-party suppliers for many of our product components and for our manufacturing-related equipment, and the COVID-19 global pandemic could have a material adverse impact on the operations of one or more of our suppliers, which could prevent them from delivering products to us or supporting our requirements for manufacturing-related equipment on a timely basis, or at all. For example, we continue to focus on increasing our cartridge inventory to targeted levels, but there can be no assurance that we or our third-party cartridge manufacturer will be able to manufacture cartridges in the quantities we require to meet product demand. In addition, at various times since 2020 our primary infusion set manufacturer experienced certain inventory constraints. There can be no assurance our supplier will be able to provide infusion sets in the quantities we require to meet customer demand. Additionally, global shortages of semiconductors and copper could limit our insulin pump manufacturing capacity in the future. If we experience these or similar manufacturing challenges in the future, it could have a negative impact on product sales and harm our reputation.
The full extent of the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic on our business and operations is highly uncertain and subject to change, and will continue to depend on a number of factors, including the scope and duration of the pandemic. Further spread or escalation of the COVID-19 global pandemic, a resurgence of the pandemic in the United States, or even the threat or perception that this could occur, or any protracted duration of decreased economic activity, could have a material adverse impact on our business, operations and financial results and could negatively impact or disrupt our plans to have employees return to our facilities.
Our ability to maintain and grow our revenue depends in part on retaining a high percentage of our customer base.*
A key to maintaining and growing our revenue is the retention of a high percentage of our customers due to the potentially significant revenue generated from ongoing purchases of disposable infusion sets, insulin cartridges and other supplies. In addition, our pumps are designed and tested to remain effective for at least four years and a customer may consider purchasing another product from us when the time comes to replace the pump. We have developed retention programs aimed at our customers, their caregivers and healthcare providers, which include training specific to our products, ongoing support by our sales and clinical employees, and technical support and customer service. Demand for our products from our existing customers could decline or could fail to increase as anticipated or projected as a result of a number of factors, including the introduction of competitive products, breakthroughs for the monitoring, treatment or prevention of diabetes, changes in reimbursement rates or policies, manufacturing problems, perceived safety or reliability issues with our products or components or the products of our competitors, the failure to secure regulatory clearance or approvals for products or product features in a timely manner or at all, product development or commercialization delays, the impacts and disruptions caused by the COVID-19 global pandemic, or for other reasons.
Further, the COVID-19 global pandemic has resulted in substantial restrictions on our engagement efforts with customers and healthcare providers, including the cancellation or postponement of company-sponsored educational events, as well as third-party conferences, trade shows and similar events. The impact continues even as some third-party conferences, trade shows and events are being held remotely from time to time, which restricts our engagement with customers and healthcare providers. These restrictions have negatively impacted, and are likely to continue negatively impacting, our ability to promote our new products and features to customers and healthcare providers, which could adversely impact our product sales and customer retention rates, as well as the strength of our brand.
The failure to retain a high percentage of our customers and increase sales to these customers consistent with our forecasts would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.
We operate in a very competitive industry and if we fail to compete successfully against our existing or potential competitors, or if the competitive environment harms our business partners, our financial condition and operating results may be negatively affected.*
The medical device industry is intensely competitive, subject to rapid change and highly sensitive to the introduction of new products, treatment techniques or technologies, as well as other activities of industry participants. We believe our products compete, and will continue to compete, directly with a number of traditional insulin pumps, as well as other methods for the treatment of diabetes, including multiple daily injection (MDI) therapy.
Our primary competitors are major medical device companies that are publicly traded companies or divisions or subsidiaries of publicly traded companies, including Insulet and Medtronic. In addition, Eli Lilly has announced a collaboration to commercialize an insulin pump currently under development by a third party. There are also a number of other companies developing and marketing their own insulin delivery systems and/or related software applications, including insulin pumps and Bluetooth-enabled insulin pens to support MDI therapy. While these industry changes are significant, it is difficult to know how they will impact our business or the competitive landscape in which we operate. Our key competitors, most notably Medtronic, enjoy several competitive advantages over us, including:
•greater financial and human resources for sales and marketing, product development, customer service and clinical resources;
•greater ability to respond to competitive pressures, regulatory uncertainty, or challenges within the financial markets;
•established relationships with healthcare providers, third-party payors and regulatory agencies;
•established reputation and name recognition among healthcare providers and other key opinion leaders in the medical industry generally and the diabetes industry in particular;
•larger and more established distribution networks;
•greater ability to cross-sell products or provide incentives to healthcare providers to use their products; and
•more experience in conducting R&D, manufacturing, clinical trials, and obtaining regulatory approval or clearance.
In some instances, our competitors offer products that include features that we do not currently offer. For instance, Insulet offers an insulin pump with a tubeless delivery system that does not utilize an infusion set and Medtronic recently completed the acquisition of a connected insulin pen delivery device. Additionally, Medtronic recently announced the launch in select European countries of an infusion set that can be worn for up to seven days.
In addition, the competitive environment in which we operate has resulted and may continue to result in competitive pressures on our manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, collaboration partners and other business constituents. For example, we have entered into development agreements with Dexcom, which provide us non-exclusive licenses to integrate various generations of Dexcom CGM technology with our insulin pump products. Abbott also offers glucose sensors which compete with Dexcom CGMs. In June 2020, we entered into an agreement with Abbott to develop and commercialize integrated diabetes solutions using Abbott’s glucose sensor. There can be no assurance that our collaborations with Dexcom and Abbott will be successful or that we will not experience delays, business disputes, or other unanticipated challenges. Competitive pressures within our industry, as well as the impacts and disruptions associated with the COVID-19 global pandemic, could negatively impact the financial condition of our business partners and impact their ability to fulfill contractual obligations to us, which could negatively impact our product sales, result in delays in obtaining regulatory approvals for new products, harm our reputation, and result in harm to our financial condition and operating results.
For these and other reasons, we may not be able to compete successfully against our current or potential future competitors, which could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition and operating results.
Competitive products or other technological developments and breakthroughs for the monitoring, treatment or prevention of diabetes may render our products obsolete or less desirable.
Our ability to grow our business and achieve our strategic objectives will depend, among other things, on our ability to develop and commercialize products for the treatment of diabetes that offer distinct features and functionality, are easy-to-use, provide superior treatment outcomes, receive adequate coverage and reimbursement from third-party payors, and are otherwise more appealing than available alternatives. Our primary competitors, as well as a number of other companies and medical researchers are pursuing new delivery devices, delivery technologies, sensing technologies, treatment techniques, procedures, drugs and other therapies for the monitoring, treatment and prevention of diabetes. Any breakthroughs in diabetes monitoring, treatment or prevention could reduce the potential market for our products or render our products obsolete altogether, which would significantly reduce our sales or cause our sales to grow at a slower rate than we currently expect. In addition, even the perception that new products may be introduced, or that technological or treatment advancements could occur, could cause consumers to delay the purchase of our products.
Because the insulin-dependent diabetes market is large and growing, we anticipate companies will continue to dedicate significant resources to developing competitive products and technologies. The introduction by competitors of products that are or claim to be superior to our products may create market confusion that may make it difficult to differentiate the benefits of our products over competitive products. In addition, some of our competitors employ aggressive pricing strategies, including the use of discounts, rebates, low cost product upgrades or other financial incentives that could adversely affect sales of our products. If a competitor develops a product that competes with or is perceived to be superior to our products, or if competitors continue to utilize strategies that place downward pressure on pricing within our industry, our sales may decline, our operating margins could be reduced and we may fail to meet our financial projections, which would materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.
Moreover, we have designed our hardware products to resemble modern consumer electronic devices to address certain embarrassment and functionality concerns consumers have raised with respect to traditional pumps. Similarly, our newer mobile software applications are being designed to incorporate features and functions that are common to other consumer-oriented applications. These consumer industries are themselves highly competitive, and characterized by continuous new product introductions, rapid developments in technology, and subjective and changing consumer preferences. If, in the future, consumers cease to view our products as contemporary or convenient as compared to then-existing consumer technology, our products may become less desirable.
The failure of our insulin pump and related products to achieve and maintain market acceptance could result in us achieving sales below our expectations, which would cause our business, financial condition and operating results to be materially and adversely affected.*
Our current business and growth strategy is highly dependent on our insulin pump and related products achieving and maintaining market acceptance. In order for us to sell our products to people with insulin-dependent diabetes, we must convince them, their caregivers and healthcare providers that our products are an attractive alternative to competitive products for the treatment of diabetes, including traditional insulin pump products and MDI therapies, as well as alternative diabetes monitoring, treatment or prevention methodologies. Market acceptance and adoption of our products depends on educating people with diabetes, as well as their caregivers and healthcare providers, about the distinct features, ease-of-use, beneficial treatment outcomes, and other perceived benefits of our products as compared to competitive products. If we are not successful in convincing existing and potential customers of the benefits of our products, or if we are not able to achieve the support of caregivers and healthcare providers for our products, our sales may decline or we may achieve sales below our expectations.
Market acceptance of our products could be negatively impacted by many factors, including:
•the failure of our products to achieve and maintain wide acceptance among people with insulin-dependent diabetes, their caregivers, healthcare providers, third-party payors and key opinion leaders in the diabetes treatment community;
•lack of evidence supporting the safety, ease-of-use or other perceived benefits of our products over competitive products or other currently available insulin treatment methodologies;
•perceived risks or uncertainties associated with the use of our products, or components thereof, or of similar products or technologies of our competitors;
•adverse regulatory or legal actions relating to our insulin pump products or similar products or technologies; and
•results of clinical studies relating to our existing products or products under development or similar competitive products.
In addition, the rapid evolution of technology and treatment options within our industry may cause consumers to delay the purchase of our products in anticipation of advancements or breakthroughs, or the perception that advancements or breakthroughs could occur, in our products or the products offered by our competitors. It is also possible that consumers interested in purchasing any of our future products currently under development may delay the purchase of one of our current products. We anticipate that customers may continue to delay their purchasing decisions, or physicians may continue to pause prescriptions of our products, as a result of the COVID-19 global pandemic.
If our insulin pump products do not achieve and maintain widespread market acceptance, we may fail to achieve sales consistent with our projections, in which case our business, financial condition and operating results could be materially and adversely affected.
Failure to secure or retain adequate coverage or reimbursement for our current products and our potential future products by third-party payors could adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.*
A substantial portion of the purchase price of an insulin pump is typically paid for by third-party payors, including private insurance companies, preferred provider organizations and other managed care providers. Future sales of our current and future products will be limited unless our customers can rely on third-party payors to pay for all or part of the associated purchase cost. Access to adequate coverage and reimbursement for our current and future products by third-party payors, both domestically and internationally, is essential to the acceptance of our products by customers.
As guidelines in setting their coverage and reimbursement policies, many third-party payors in the United States use coverage decisions and payment amounts determined by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which administers the U.S. Medicare program. Medicare periodically reviews its reimbursement practices for diabetes-related products, and there is uncertainty as to the future Medicare reimbursement rate for our products. Effective January 1, 2020, in addition to the existing reimbursement code for insulin pumps, CMS established additional reimbursement codes for insulin pumps with AID and CGM integration and associated supplies. In light of complexities surrounding use and payment of the codes, CMS subsequently determined the new codes will not be valid for Medicare submission at this time. It is also possible that CMS may continue to review and modify the current coverage and reimbursement of diabetes-related products in connection with anticipated changes to the regulatory approval process for insulin pumps and related products, software applications and services. In addition, third-party payors that do not follow the CMS guidelines may adopt different coverage and reimbursement policies for our current and future products. Further, it is possible that some third-party payors will not offer any coverage for our current or future products. For instance, it is possible that third-party payors may adopt policies in the future that designate one or more of our competitors as their preferred, in-network durable medical equipment provider of insulin pumps and that such policies would discourage or prohibit the payors’ members from purchasing our products, which would adversely impact our ability to sell our products.
We currently have contracts establishing reimbursement for our insulin pump products with a number of national and regional third-party payors in the United States. While we may enter into additional contracts both domestically and internationally with third-party payors and add coverage for future products under our current agreements, we cannot guarantee that we will succeed in doing so or that the reimbursement contracts that we are able to negotiate will enable us to sell our products on a profitable basis. In particular, we have limited experience securing reimbursement in international markets. Government involvement in funding healthcare may limit access to or reimbursement for the Company’s products. In addition, existing contracts with third-party payors generally include numerous quality and compliance related requirements, including audit rights, and can be modified or terminated by the third-party payor without cause and with little or no notice to us. Our compliance with the administrative procedures or requirements may result in increased costs for us and delays in processing approvals by those third-party payors for customers to obtain coverage for our products, and any payor audits of our compliance obligations may result in requests for refunds or other costs. Failure to secure or retain adequate coverage or reimbursement for our current and future products by third-party payors, or delays in processing approvals by those payors, could result in the loss of sales, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.
Further, the healthcare industry in the United States is increasingly focused on cost containment as government and private insurers seek to control healthcare costs by imposing lower payment rates and negotiating reduced contract rates with third-party payors. If third-party payors deny coverage or reduce their current levels of payment, or if our production costs increase faster than increases in reimbursement levels, we may be unable to sell our products on a profitable basis.
We may face unexpected challenges in marketing and selling our products, and training new customers on the use of our products, which could harm our ability to achieve our sales forecasts.*
We have limited experience marketing and selling our newer products as well as training new customers on their use, particularly in international markets. In addition, the vast majority of our existing customers are individuals with type 1 diabetes, and we have limited experience marketing and selling our products to customers with type 2 diabetes.
In addition, due to the current COVID-19 global pandemic, starting in March 2020 we temporarily discontinued in-person activities for our field-based sales and clinical employees and are utilizing technology to remotely engage healthcare providers and customers. While we have authorized limited in-person activities to resume, many restrictions persist that have been imposed by state and local governmental authorities or expert agencies, as well as by the health systems and professional organizations with which we interact. The scope and duration of these restrictions on our field-based employees remains highly uncertain, and it is difficult to predict the extent of any adverse impacts on the demand for our products resulting from these restrictions.
Our financial condition and operating results are and will continue to be highly dependent on our ability to adequately promote, market and sell our insulin pump and related products, and the ability of our diabetes educators to train new customers on the use of our products. If our sales and marketing representatives or diabetes educators continue to be restricted in their ability to interact with healthcare providers and customers, our sales could decrease or may not increase at levels that are in line with our forecasts.
If we are unable to maintain our existing sales, marketing, clinical and customer service infrastructure, we may fail to increase our sales to meet our forecasts.*
A key element of our business strategy involves our sales, marketing, clinical and customer service personnel driving adoption of our products. We have significantly increased the number of sales, marketing, clinical and customer service personnel employed by us since we commenced commercial sales. However, we have faced considerable challenges in growing and managing these resources, including with respect to recruiting, training and assimilation of sales territories. We expect to continue to face significant challenges as we seek to further increase the number of our sales, clinical and customer service personnel in order to optimize the coverage of our existing sales territories, as well as expand the number and scope of our existing sales territories. These challenges may be even greater in connection with our commercial expansion outside of the United States, where we have limited experience. Unexpected turnover among our sales, marketing, clinical and customer service personnel, or unanticipated challenges in recruiting additional personnel, would have a negative impact on our ability to achieve our sales projections. Further, if a sales, marketing or clinical representative was to depart and be retained by one of our competitors, we may fail to prevent him or her from helping competitors solicit business from our existing customers, which could adversely affect our sales. Similarly, if we are not able to recruit and retain a network of diabetes educators and customer service personnel, we may not be able to successfully train and service new customers, which could delay new sales and harm our reputation. These risks may be greater now than in the past due to current general labor shortages in the United States, and in particular in our office locations in San Diego, California and Boise, Idaho.
We expect the oversight of our sales, marketing, clinical and customer service personnel will continue to place significant burdens on our management team, which may be compounded as we manage remote employees during the COVID-19 global pandemic and as we work towards returning personnel to our facilities. If we are unable to retain our personnel in line with our strategic plans, we may not be able to effectively commercialize our existing products or products under development, or enhance the strength of our brand, either of which could result in the failure of our sales to increase in line with our projections or cause sales to decline.
Our sales and marketing efforts are dependent on independent distributors who are free to market products that compete with our products. If we are unable to maintain or expand our network of independent distributors, our sales may be negatively affected.
We believe a majority of our sales will continue to be to independent distributors for the foreseeable future, and it is possible that the percentage of our sales to independent distributors could increase, particularly in light of our reliance on independent distributors outside of the United States. For example, our dependence upon independent distributors domestically could increase if third-party payors decide to contract with independent distributors directly in lieu of contracting with us to supply our products to their members directly. Our dependence upon independent distributors could also increase if customers prefer to purchase all of their diabetes supplies through a single source, instead of purchasing pump-related products through us and other diabetes supplies through other suppliers. None of our independent distributors domestically has been required to sell our products exclusively and each of them may freely sell the products of our competitors. If we are unable to maintain or expand our network of independent distributors, our sales may be negatively affected.
For the year ended December 31, 2020, our two largest independent distributors in the United States collectively comprised approximately 29% of our worldwide sales, and our three largest independent international distributors collectively comprised approximately 53% of our international sales. If any of our key independent distributors were to cease to distribute our products or reduce their promotion of our products as compared to the products of our competitors, our sales could be adversely affected. In that case, we may need to seek alternative independent distributors or increase our reliance on our other independent distributors or our direct sales representatives, which may not prevent our sales from being adversely affected. Additionally, to the extent we enter into additional arrangements with independent distributors to perform sales, marketing or distribution services, the terms of the arrangements could result in our product margins being lower than if we directly marketed and sold our products.
If the third parties on which we increasingly rely to assist us with our current and anticipated pre-clinical development or clinical trials do not perform as expected, we may not be able to obtain regulatory clearance or approval or commercialize our products.
As our clinical infrastructure expands, we expect to increasingly rely on third parties, such as contract research organizations, medical institutions, clinical investigators and contract laboratories to conduct some of our current and anticipated pre-clinical investigations and clinical trials. If we are not able to reach mutually acceptable agreements with these third parties on a timely basis, these third parties do not successfully carry out their commitments or regulatory obligations or meet expected deadlines, or the quality or accuracy of the data they obtain is compromised due to the failure to adhere to agreed-upon clinical protocols or regulatory requirements or for other reasons, our pre-clinical development activities or clinical trials may be extended, delayed, suspended or terminated, and we may not be able to obtain regulatory clearance or approval for, or successfully commercialize, our products on a timely basis, if at all, and our business, operating results and prospects may be adversely affected.
We are increasingly dependent on clinical investigators and clinical sites to enroll participants in our current and anticipated clinical trials and human factors studies, and the failure to successfully complete those trials and studies could prevent us from obtaining regulatory approvals for or commercializing our products.*
As part of our product development efforts, we expect to increasingly rely on clinical investigators and clinical sites to enroll participants in our clinical trials or users in our human factors testing and other third parties to manage such trials and testing and to perform related data collection and analysis. However, we may not be able to control the amount and timing of resources that clinical sites may devote to our clinical trials or other studies. If these clinical investigators and clinical sites fail to enroll a sufficient number of patients, fail to ensure compliance by patients with clinical protocols, or fail to comply with regulatory requirements, we may be unable to successfully complete our clinical trials or other studies, which could prevent us from obtaining regulatory approvals for our products and commercializing our products, which would have an adverse impact on our business.
If important assumptions about the potential market for our products are inaccurate, or if we have failed to understand what people with insulin-dependent diabetes are seeking in an insulin pump, our business and operating results may be adversely affected.*
Our business strategy was developed based on a number of important assumptions about the diabetes industry in general, and the insulin-dependent diabetes market in particular, any one or more of which may prove to be inaccurate or may change over time. For example, we believe that the benefits of insulin pump therapy as compared to other common insulin treatment alternatives will continue to drive growth in the market for insulin pump therapy. In addition, we believe the incidence of diabetes in the United States and worldwide is increasing. Further, our view is that diabetes management can vary greatly from person to person, creating multiple market segments based on clinical needs and personal preferences. However, each of these assumptions may prove to be inaccurate and limited sources exist to compare treatment alternatives and obtain reliable market data. The actual incidence of diabetes, and the actual demand for our products or competitive products, could differ materially from our projections if our assumptions are incorrect. In addition, our strategy of focusing exclusively on the insulin-dependent diabetes market may limit our ability to increase sales or achieve profitability.
Another key element of our business strategy is utilizing market research to understand what people with diabetes are seeking to improve in their diabetes therapy management. This strategy underlies our entire product design, marketing and customer support approach and is the basis on which we developed our current products and are pursuing the development of new products. However, our market research is based on interviews, focus groups and online surveys involving people with insulin-dependent diabetes, their caregivers and healthcare providers, which represent only a small percentage of the overall insulin-dependent diabetes market. As a result, the responses we receive may not be reflective of the broader market and may not provide us accurate insight into the desires of people with insulin-dependent diabetes. In addition, understanding the meaning and significance of such market research responses necessarily requires that analysis be conducted and conclusions be drawn. We may not be able perform an analysis that yields meaningful results, or the conclusions we draw from the analysis could be misleading or incorrect. Moreover, even if our market research has allowed us to better understand the features and functionality consumers are seeking in an insulin pump to improve management of their diabetes therapy, there can be no assurance that consumers will actually purchase our products or that our competitors will not develop products with similar features.
We expect to face complexities frequently encountered by companies in competitive and rapidly evolving markets, which may make it difficult to evaluate our business and forecast our future sales and operating results.*
We operate in a competitive and rapidly evolving market. Important industry changes, such as the FDA approval and launch of new products by our competitors, as well as changes specific to our business, such as the timing of our launch of new products currently in development, increasing reliance on digital health products and connected devices, and our potential expansion of commercial sales in international markets, combine to make it more difficult for us to predict our future sales and operating results, as well as our expected timeframe to achieve profitability. The significant uncertainty resulting from the COVID-19 global pandemic has made, and may continue to make, it more difficult for us to accurately forecast our financial results and achieve sustained profitability. In assessing our business prospects, you should consider these factors as well as the various risks and difficulties frequently encountered by companies in competitive and rapidly evolving markets, particularly those companies that manufacture and sell medical devices.
These risks include our ability to:
•implement and execute our business strategy;
•manage and improve the productivity of our sales, marketing, clinical and customer service infrastructure to grow sales of our existing and proposed products, and enhance our ability to provide service and support to our customers;
•achieve and maintain market acceptance of our products and increase awareness of our brand among people with insulin-dependent diabetes, their caregivers and healthcare providers;
•comply with a broad range of regulatory requirements within a highly regulated industry;
•enhance our manufacturing capabilities, increase production of products efficiently while maintaining quality standards, and adapt our manufacturing facilities to the production of new products;
•respond effectively to competitive pressures and developments;
•enhance our existing products and develop proposed products;
•manage cybersecurity and other technological risks associated with our expanding portfolio of digital health products, and align these products to a dynamic threat landscape.
•obtain and maintain regulatory clearance or approval to enhance our existing products and commercialize proposed products;
•perform clinical trials and other studies with respect to our existing products and proposed products; and
•attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel in various areas of our business.
As a result of these or other risks, we may not be able to execute key components of our business strategy, and our business, financial condition and operating results may suffer.
Our ability to achieve profitability will depend, in part, on our ability to reduce the per-unit cost of our products while also increasing production volume.*
We believe our ability to reduce the per-unit cost of our insulin pumps and related products will have a significant impact on our ability to achieve profitability. Our cost of sales includes raw materials and component parts, labor costs, product training expenses, freight, reserves for expected warranty costs, royalties, scrap and charges for excess and obsolete inventories. It also includes manufacturing overhead costs, including expenses relating to quality assurance, manufacturing engineering, material procurement and inventory control, facilities, equipment, information technology and operations supervision and management. Our warranty reserve requires a significant amount of judgment and is primarily estimated based on historical experience. Recently released versions of our pump may not incur warranty costs in a manner similar to previously released pumps and the launch of our mobile app also may result in unanticipated changes in historical trends.
In response to the COVID-19 global pandemic, we have taken steps to prioritize the health and safety of our employees and customers, while working to maintain a continuous supply of products, training and customer support. For example, we have implemented preventative safety measures for our employees involved in production and fulfillment operations as well as for any field-based employees. For employees in other functions, we have adopted measures designed to help employees remain effective in a work-from-home environment and we are implementing safety measures and protocols as employees transition back into our facilities. We also temporarily increased our staffing in certain operations in order to mitigate potential risks associated with increases in unplanned employee absences or illness. Each of these measures has resulted in unanticipated expenses that will negatively impact our gross margin and may adversely impact our ability to achieve profitability. We may also incur additional incremental expenses to help us support our ongoing operations during a period of unpredictable variability in the demand for our products, including throughout the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic.
If we are unable to increase our production volumes while sustaining or reducing our overall cost of sales, including through arrangements such as volume purchase discounts, negotiation of pricing and cost reductions with our suppliers, more efficient training programs for customers, improved warranty performance or fluctuations in warranty estimates, it will be difficult to reduce our per-unit costs and our ability to achieve profitability will be constrained.
In addition, the per-unit cost of our products is significantly impacted by our overall production volumes, and any factors that prevent our products from achieving market acceptance, cause our production volumes to decline, alter our product mix, result in our sales growing at a slower rate than we expect, or result in the closure of our manufacturing facilities, would significantly impact our expected per-unit costs, which would adversely impact our gross margins. Further, we may not achieve anticipated improvements in manufacturing efficiency as we undertake actions to expand our manufacturing capacity. If we are unable to effectively manage our overall costs while increasing our production volumes and lowering our per-unit costs, we may not be able to achieve or sustain profitability, which would have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and operating results.
Manufacturing risks may adversely affect our ability to manufacture products, which could negatively impact our sales and operating margins.*
Our business strategy depends on our ability to manufacture our current and proposed products in sufficient quantities and on a timely basis to meet consumer demand, while adhering to product quality standards, complying with regulatory requirements and managing manufacturing costs. We are subject to numerous risks related to our manufacturing capabilities, including:
•quality or reliability defects in product components that we source from third-party suppliers;
•our inability to secure product components in a timely manner due to shipping delays at ports of entry or exit, the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic, or other issues, in sufficient quantities and on commercially reasonable terms;
•difficulty identifying and qualifying alternative suppliers for components in a timely manner;
•implementing and maintaining acceptable quality systems while experiencing rapid growth;
•our failure to increase production of products to meet demand;
•our inability to modify production lines and expand manufacturing facilities to enable us to efficiently produce future products or implement changes in current products in response to consumer demand or regulatory requirements;
•our inability to manufacture multiple products simultaneously while utilizing common manufacturing equipment;
•government-mandated or voluntary closures of, or operational limitations impacting, our manufacturing facilities; and
•potential damage to or destruction of our manufacturing equipment or manufacturing facilities.
As demand for our products increases, and as the number of our commercial products expands, we will have to invest additional resources to purchase components, hire and train employees, and enhance our manufacturing processes and quality systems. We may also increase our utilization of third parties to perform contracted manufacturing services for us, and we may need to acquire additional custom designed equipment to support the expansion of our manufacturing capacity. In addition, although we expect some of our products under development to share product features and components with our current products, manufacturing of these products may require modification of our production lines, hiring of specialized employees, identification of new suppliers for specific components, qualifying and implementing additional equipment and procedures, obtaining new regulatory approvals, or developing new manufacturing technologies. Ultimately, it may not be possible for us to manufacture these products at a cost or in quantities sufficient to make these products commercially viable.
In response to the COVID-19 global pandemic, in early 2020 we initiated discussions with our key suppliers regarding their abilities to fulfill existing orders and we have continued to regularly assess their capacity. At various times, our primary infusion set manufacturer experienced certain inventory constraints which resulted in us requesting some customers to accept substitutions of similar products to prevent delays in order fulfillment. Additionally, at various times our cartridge inventory was below our targeted stocking levels. We have acquired finished goods and raw material inventory for our products in order to meet targeted stocking levels in the near-term. Currently, we do not anticipate a significant disruption in our ability to manufacture insulin pumps and cartridges, nor do we anticipate our third-party manufacturers will be unable to provide sufficient quantities to meet product demand, however we continue to monitor factors that could negatively impact our longer-term supply chain, such as global shortages of semiconductors and copper that are needed to manufacture our insulin pumps and accessories. If we experience these or similar manufacturing challenges in the future, it could have a negative impact on product sales and harm our reputation.
If we and our suppliers fail to increase our production capacity to meet consumer demand while also maintaining product quality standards, obtaining and maintaining regulatory approvals, and efficiently managing costs, our sales and operating margins could be negatively impacted, which would have an adverse impact on our financial condition and operating results.
We depend on a limited number of third-party suppliers for certain components and products, and the loss of any of these suppliers, their inability to provide us with an adequate supply of components or products, or our ability to adequately forecast customer demand, could harm our business.*
We currently rely, and expect to continue to rely, on third-party suppliers to supply components of our current products and our potential future products, including our disposable cartridges. For example, we rely on plastic injection molding companies to provide plastic molded components, electronic manufacturing suppliers to provide electronic assemblies, and machining companies to provide machined mechanical components. We also purchase all of our infusion sets and pump accessories from third-party suppliers. For our business strategy to be successful, our suppliers must be able to provide us with components and products in sufficient quantities, in compliance with regulatory requirements and quality control standards, in accordance with agreed-upon specifications, at acceptable costs and on a timely basis.
Although we have long-term supply agreements with many of our suppliers, these agreements do not include long-term capacity commitments. Under most of our supply agreements, we make purchases on a purchase order basis and have no obligation to buy any given quantity of components or products until we place written orders, and our suppliers have no obligation to manufacture for us or sell to us any given quantity of components or products until they accept an order. In addition, our suppliers may encounter problems that limit their ability to manufacture components or products for us, including financial difficulties, damage to their manufacturing equipment or facilities, inability to obtain raw materials or other components, or problems with their own suppliers. As a result, our ability to purchase adequate quantities of our components or products may be limited. If we fail to obtain sufficient quantities of high-quality components to meet demand on a timely basis, we could lose customer orders, our reputation may be harmed, and our business could suffer.
We generally use a small number of suppliers for our components and products, some of which are located outside the United States, including in China, Mexico and Costa Rica. Depending on a limited number of suppliers exposes us to risks, including limited control over costs such as tariffs, availability, quality and delivery schedules. Moreover, in some cases we do not have long-standing relationships with our manufacturers and may not be able to convince suppliers to continue to make components available to us unless there is demand for such components from their other customers. As a result, there is a risk that certain components could be discontinued and no longer available to us. We have in the past been, and we may in the future be, required to make significant “last time” purchases of component inventories that are being discontinued by the manufacturer to ensure supply continuity. If any one or more of our suppliers cease to provide us with sufficient quantities of components in a timely manner or on terms acceptable to us, we would have to seek alternative sources of supply. Because of factors such as the proprietary nature of our products, our quality control standards and applicable regulatory requirements, we cannot quickly engage additional or replacement suppliers for some of our critical components. These risks associated with the procurement of critical components from a limited number of suppliers may be increased as a result of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Failure of any of our suppliers to deliver products at the level our business requires could harm our reputation and limit our ability to meet our sales projections, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.
We place orders with our suppliers using our forecasts of customer demand, which are based on a number of assumptions and estimates, in advance of purchase commitments from our customers. As a result, we incur inventory and manufacturing costs in advance of anticipated sales, which sales ultimately may not materialize or may be lower than expected. If we overestimate customer demand, we may experience higher inventory carrying costs and increased excess or obsolete inventory, which would negatively impact our results of operations. By the same token, if we underestimate future demand we may be unable to meet future production requirements or our inventory of critical materials may be below our targeted stocking levels. We expect it will be particularly difficult to accurately forecast demand during the global pandemic and even for some time while travel and social-distancing restrictions are lifted.
We may also have difficulty obtaining components from other suppliers that are acceptable to the FDA or other regulatory agencies, and the failure of our suppliers to comply with regulatory requirements could expose us to regulatory action including warning letters, product recalls, termination of distribution, product seizures or civil penalties. Such a failure by our suppliers could also require us to cease using the components, seek alternative components or technologies, and modify our products to incorporate alternative components or technologies, which could necessitate additional regulatory approvals. Any disruption of this nature, or any increased expenses associated with any such disruption, could negatively impact our ability to manufacture our products on a timely basis, in sufficient quantities, or at all, which could harm our commercialization efforts and have a material adverse impact on our operating results.
Any disruption at one of our facilities could adversely affect our business and operating results.*
Although we operate in multiple locations, most of our current operations are still conducted in San Diego, California, including our final pump assembly, some manufacturing processes, and the majority of our research and development, management and administrative functions. In addition, the majority of our inventories of component supplies and finished goods is stored at two facilities in San Diego. Over the past year we substantially expanded various quality and customer and technical support activities in Boise, Idaho. We take precautions to safeguard our facilities, including by acquiring insurance, employing back-up generators, adopting health and safety protocols and utilizing off-site storage of computer data. However, vandalism, terrorism or a natural disaster, such as an earthquake, fire or flood, or other catastrophic event, could damage or destroy our manufacturing equipment or our inventories of component supplies and finished goods, cause substantial delays in our operations, result in the loss of key information, result in reduced sales, and cause us to incur additional expenses. Our insurance coverage may not be sufficient to provide coverage with respect to the damages incurred in any particular case, and our insurance carrier may deny coverage with respect to all or a portion of our claims. Regardless of the level of insurance coverage or other precautions taken, damage to our facilities may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.
We may not experience the anticipated operating efficiencies from the transition of our manufacturing and warehousing operations.*
At the beginning of 2018 we completed the transition of our manufacturing operations to a facility located on Barnes Canyon Road in San Diego, and during the fourth quarter of 2019 we commenced operations at a logistics warehouse in San Diego. We expect that both of these actions will allow for future capacity for product manufacturing and warehousing expansion. However, we may not experience the anticipated operating efficiencies at either facility as we continue to scale our business operations and add manufacturing requirements for products currently under development. In addition, beginning in 2020 we outsourced a portion of our cartridge manufacturing demand to an experienced third-party contract manufacturer and we expect to increase our reliance on this third party cartridge manufacturer over the next 24 months while reducing our own internal t:slim cartridge manufacturing capacity in our existing facility. We may consider outsourcing other aspects of our operations in the future. If we fail to achieve the operating efficiencies that we anticipate, our manufacturing and operating costs may be greater than expected, which would have a material adverse impact on our operating results. In addition, we or our third-party contract manufacturers may encounter problems during manufacturing for a variety of reasons, including failure to follow specific protocols and procedures, failure to comply with applicable regulations, equipment malfunction, component part supply constraints and environmental factors, any of which could delay or impede our ability to meet customer demand and have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and operating results. Further, because of the custom nature of our cartridge manufacturing process and product components, and the highly regulated nature of our products overall, in the event of any problems with a contract manufacturer, we may not be able to quickly establish additional or alternative arrangements.
We expect that the management and support of our facilities, increasing reliance on third-party contract manufacturers and the increase of our manufacturing volumes will place significant burdens on our management team, particularly in areas relating to operations, quality, regulatory, facilities and information technology. We may not be able to effectively manage our ongoing manufacturing operations and we may not achieve the operating efficiencies that we anticipate, either from our own facilities or from our use of contract manufacturing. Further, additional increases in demand for our products may require that we further expand our business operations, which may require that we obtain additional facilities, make additional investments in capital equipment or increase our utilization of third-party contract manufacturing.
If we do not enhance our product portfolio to meet the demands of our market, we may fail to effectively compete, which may impede our ability to become profitable.*
In order to increase our sales and market share in the insulin-dependent diabetes market, we must enhance and broaden our product portfolio in response to the evolving demands of people with insulin-dependent diabetes, their caregivers and healthcare providers, as well as competitive pressures and technologies. We may not be successful in developing, obtaining regulatory approval for, or marketing our proposed products when anticipated, or at all. In addition, notwithstanding our market research efforts, our future products may not be accepted by people with insulin-dependent diabetes, their caregivers, healthcare providers or third-party payors. The success of any proposed product offerings will depend on numerous factors, including our ability to:
•identify the product features and functionality that people with insulin-dependent diabetes, their caregivers and healthcare providers are seeking in an insulin pump, and successfully incorporate those features into our products;
•develop and introduce products in sufficient quantities and in a timely manner;
•offer products at a price that is competitive with other products then available;
•work with third-party payors to obtain reimbursement for our products;
•adequately protect our intellectual property and avoid infringing upon the intellectual property rights of third parties;
•demonstrate the safety and efficacy of proposed products; and
•obtain the necessary regulatory approvals for proposed products on a timely basis.
If we fail to generate demand by continuing to develop products that incorporate features and functionality requested by people with insulin-dependent diabetes, their caregivers or healthcare providers, or if we do not obtain regulatory clearance or approval for proposed products in time to meet market demand, we may be unable to compete and may fail to generate sales sufficient to achieve or maintain profitability. We have in the past experienced, and may in the future experience, delays in various phases of product development and commercialization, including during research and development, manufacturing, limited release testing, marketing and customer education efforts. We have also recently experienced delays in the regulatory review and approval process, including due to the impacts of the current global pandemic. Any delays in our anticipated regulatory submissions or approvals, or subsequent product launches, may significantly impede our ability to successfully compete in our markets. In particular, such delays could cause customers to delay or forego purchases of our products, or to purchase our competitors’ products. Even if we are able to successfully develop proposed products when anticipated, these products may not produce sales in excess of the costs of development, and they may be quickly rendered obsolete by changing consumer preferences or the introduction by our competitors of products embodying new technologies or features, or alternative methods for the treatment of diabetes.
Any concerns regarding the safety and efficacy of our products could limit sales and cause unforeseen negative effects to our business prospects and financial results.*
Studies to evaluate the safety or effectiveness of our latest products in a controlled setting are only recently available. As a result, people with insulin-dependent diabetes and healthcare providers may not be familiar with our studies and may be slower to adopt or recommend our products. Further, even with data from controlled studies third-party payors may not be willing to provide coverage or reimbursement for our products. We remain subject to regulatory and product liability risks, and these and other factors could slow the adoption of our products and result in our sales being lower than anticipated. In addition, future studies or clinical experience may indicate that treatment with our products is not superior to treatment with competitive products. Such results could slow the adoption of our products and significantly reduce our sales, which could prevent us from achieving our forecasted sales targets or achieving or sustaining profitability.
If the results of clinical studies or other experience, such as our monitoring or investigation of customer complaints, indicate that our products may cause or create an unacceptable risk of unexpected or serious complications or other unforeseen negative effects, we could be required to inform our customers of these risks or complications or, in more serious circumstances, we could be subject to mandatory product recalls, suspension or withdrawal of FDA clearance or approval, which could result in significant legal liability, harm to our reputation, and a decline in our product sales.
Any alleged illness or injury associated with any of our products or product recalls may negatively impact our financial results and business prospects depending on a number of factors, including the scope and seriousness of the problem, degree of publicity, reaction of our customers and healthcare professionals, competitive response, and consumer perceptions generally. Even if such an allegation or product liability claim lacks merit, cannot be substantiated, is unsuccessful or is not fully pursued, the negative publicity surrounding any assertion that our products caused illness, injury or death could adversely affect our reputation with customers, healthcare professionals, third-party payors, and existing and potential collaborators, and could adversely affect our operating results and cause a decline in our stock price. Furthermore, general concerns regarding the perceived safety or reliability of any of our products, or any component thereof, may have a similar adverse effect on us.
We may enter into collaborations, licensing arrangements, joint ventures, strategic alliances or partnerships with third parties that may not result in the development of commercially viable products or the generation of significant future revenues.
In the ordinary course of our business, we may enter into collaborations, licensing arrangements, joint ventures, strategic alliances or partnerships to develop proposed products or technologies, pursue new markets, or protect our intellectual property assets. We may also elect to amend or modify similar agreements that we already have in place. Proposing, negotiating and implementing collaborations, licensing arrangements, joint ventures, strategic alliances or partnerships may be a lengthy and complex process, and may subject us to business risks. For example, other companies, including those with substantially greater financial, marketing, sales, technology or other business resources, may compete with us for these opportunities, or may be the counterparty in any such arrangements. We may not be able to identify or complete any such collaboration in a timely manner, on a cost-effective basis, on acceptable terms or at all. In addition, we may not realize the anticipated benefits of any such collaborations that we do identify and complete. In particular, these collaborations may not result in the development of products or technologies that achieve commercial success or result in positive financial results, or may otherwise fail to have the intended impact on our business.
Additionally, we may not be in a position to exercise sole decision-making authority regarding a collaboration, licensing or other similar arrangement, which could create the potential risk of creating impasses on decisions. Further, our collaborators and business partners may have economic or business interests or goals that are, or that may become, inconsistent with our business interests or goals. It is possible that conflicts may arise with our collaborators and other business partners, such as conflicts concerning the achievement of performance milestones, or the interpretation of significant terms under any agreement, such as those related to financial obligations, termination rights or the ownership or control or other licenses of intellectual property rights. If any conflicts arise with our current or future collaborators, they may act in their self-interest, which may be adverse to our best interest, and they may breach their obligations to us. In addition, we have limited control over the amount and timing of resources that our current collaborators, such as Dexcom and Abbott, or any future collaborators devote to our arrangement with them or our future products. Disputes between us and our current, future or potential collaborators may result in litigation or arbitration which would increase our expenses and divert the attention of our management. Further, these transactions and arrangements are contractual in nature and may be terminated or dissolved under the terms of the applicable agreements and, in such event, we may not continue to have rights to the products relating to such transaction or arrangement or may need to purchase such rights at a premium.
For example, we have entered into multiple development and commercialization agreements with Dexcom, which provide us non-exclusive licenses to integrate various currently available and future generations of Dexcom’s CGM technology with our insulin pump products. Under certain circumstances, these agreements may be terminated by either party without cause or on short notice. Our current agreements with Dexcom do not grant us rights to integrate future generations of Dexcom CGM technology, other than G7 CGM devices, with any of our current or future products. Termination of any of our agreements with Dexcom would require us to redesign certain current products and products under development, and attempt to integrate an alternative CGM system into our insulin pump systems, which would require significant development and regulatory activities that could result in an interruption or substantial delay in the availability of the product to our customers. The termination of our existing commercial agreements with Dexcom would disrupt our ability to commercialize our existing products and our development of future products, which could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations, negatively impact our ability to compete and cause our stock price to decline.
We operate our business in regions subject to natural disasters and other catastrophic events, and any disruption to our business resulting from natural disasters will adversely affect our revenue and results of operations.*
We operate our business, and our third-party contract manufactures are located, in regions subject to natural disasters, including earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, fires and other catastrophic events. For example, a portion of our office facilities located in San Diego are in an area that is prone to flooding, which has occasionally temporarily disrupted our business operations. Any natural disaster could adversely affect our ability to conduct business and provide products and services to our customers, and the insurance we maintain may not be adequate to cover our losses resulting from any business interruption resulting from a natural disaster or other catastrophic events. Any future disruptions to our operations could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations in future periods.
A security breach or other significant disruption to our information technology systems, or failures of our pumps’ software to perform as we anticipate, could materially disrupt our operations or result in the loss, theft, misuse, unauthorized disclosure, or unauthorized access to sensitive information relating to our customers, suppliers, employees or other individuals, which could damage our relationships, expose us to litigation or regulatory proceedings, or harm our reputation, any of which could have an adverse and material effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.*
The efficient operation of our business depends on our information technology and communication systems, as well as those of our third-party business partners. We rely on such systems to effectively store, process and transit proprietary sales and marketing data, accounting and financial functions, manufacturing and quality records, inventory management, product development tasks, research and development data, customer service and technical support functions. Our information technology systems, including those that support our t:connect uploader software and cloud-based web application, our current and future mobile applications, our Tandem Source data management platform, as well as those involved in the operation of our Tandem Device Updater, are vulnerable to damage or interruption from a number of causes, including earthquakes, fires, floods and other natural disasters, terrorist attacks, attacks by computer viruses or hackers, malware, ransomware or other destructive software, cyber-attacks, power losses, and computer system or data network failures. Should any of those risks occur, it could adversely impact the availability, confidentiality and integrity of information assets contained in those systems.
Our business also involves the storage and transmission of a substantial amount of confidential, personal, or other sensitive information, including health information and other personal information relating to our customers, the personal information of our employees and other individuals, and our proprietary, financial, operational or strategic information. Should any of the foregoing risks occur, it could also result in the loss, theft, misuse, unauthorized disclosure, or unauthorized access of such sensitive information, which could lead to significant reputational or competitive harm, litigation involving us or our business partners, regulatory proceedings, or substantial liabilities, fines, penalties or expenses. As a result, we strive to maintain and regularly update reasonable security measures, and to respond quickly and effectively if and when data security incidents do occur. Like many businesses, we are subject to numerous data privacy and security risks, including threats arising from computer viruses or hackers, cyber-attacks and ransomware attacks, as well as the risk that one or more of our employees may fail to comply, whether knowingly or accidentally, with established security measures, or with internal policies relating to the use, storage or transmission of confidential or sensitive information. We are unable to predict the direct or indirect impact of any such incidents to our business. Further, many of our third-party service providers are subject to similar risks. Whether or not our security measures and those of our third-party service providers are ultimately successful, our expenditures on those measures could have an adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations, and divert management’s attention from pursuing our strategic objectives.
In addition to the risks regarding information technology systems and processing of sensitive information, our insulin pumps and other products rely on software, some of which is developed by third-party service providers, that could contain unanticipated vulnerabilities, which could make our products subject to computer viruses, cyber-attacks, or failures. These risks significantly increased when we received FDA clearance of our Tandem Device Updater, which enables customers to remotely update software on their insulin pumps and may be higher following the launch of our new mobile application in the second half of 2020. We may also face new risks relating to our information technology systems as we continue to commercialize our products outside of the United States and are subject to additional regulations relating to the use and protection of personal information and as we launch new mobile applications or new features to our existing applications.
The failure of our or our service providers’ information technology systems or our pumps’ software or other mobile applications to perform as we anticipate, or our failure to effectively implement new information technology systems and privacy policies and controls, could disrupt our entire operation or adversely affect our software products. For example, we market our Tandem Device Updater as having the unique capability to deploy software updates to our pumps, which may allow customers remote access to new and enhanced features. The failure of our Tandem Device Updater to provide software updates as we anticipate, including as a result of our inability to secure and maintain necessary regulatory approvals, the inability of our pumps to properly receive software updates, errors or viruses embedded within the software being transmitted, or the failure of our customers to properly utilize the system to complete the update, could result in decreased sales, increased warranty costs, and harm to our reputation, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.
We experienced a breach of our information technology systems in January 2020.*
On January 17, 2020, we learned that an unauthorized person gained access to an employee’s email account through a cyber-attack commonly known as “phishing.” We investigated the incident, and learned that a limited number of our employee email accounts may have been accessed by an unauthorized user in a similar manner between January 17, 2020 and January 20, 2020. Our investigation indicated that customer information, as well as proprietary Company information, may have been contained in one or more of the employee email accounts affected by the incident. Our investigation has not determined whether an unauthorized person viewed any such information. As a result of this incident, we are presently defending a class action lawsuit entitled Joseph Deluna et al. v. Tandem Diabetes Care, Inc., which is pending in the Superior Court of the State of California in the County of San Bernardino.
The risks posed by this lawsuit and any future related matters include civil monetary damages, attorney fees and costs, other legal penalties, reputational damage, loss of goodwill, and competitive harm.
If we are found to have violated laws concerning the privacy and security of patient health information or other personal information, we could be subject to civil or criminal penalties, which could increase our liabilities and harm our reputation or our business.*
There are a number of domestic and international laws protecting the privacy and security of personal information. These laws include the U.S. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and related regulations, U.S. state laws (such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)), Canada’s Personal Information and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) or the applicable provincial alternatives, the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), EU member states directives, or similar applicable laws. These laws place limits on how we may collect, use, share and store medical information and other personal information, and they impose obligations to protect that information against unauthorized access, use, loss, and disclosure. The putative class action lawsuit described above alleges violations of some of these laws.
If we, or any of our service providers who have access to the personal data for which we are responsible, are found to be in violation of the privacy or security requirements of HIPAA, PIPEDA, GDPR, or applicable foreign, U.S. state and Canadian provincial laws, we could be subject to civil or criminal penalties, which could increase our liabilities, harm our reputation and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results. In addition, entities operating in the healthcare industry have increasingly become targets for hackers. Although we utilize a variety of measures to secure the data that we control, even compliant entities can experience security breaches or have inadvertent failures despite employing reasonable practices and safeguards.
We may also face new risks relating to data privacy and security as the United States, individual U.S. states or Canadian provinces, E.U. member states, and other international jurisdictions adopt or implement new data privacy and security laws and regulations as we continue to commercialize our products worldwide. For example, amendments to privacy and security laws (such as the CCPA) may impose additional requirements on us and increase our regulatory and litigation risk. As we continue to expand, our business will need to adapt to meet these and other similar legal requirements.
We depend on the knowledge and skills of our senior management and other key employees, and if we are unable to retain and motivate them or recruit additional qualified personnel, our business may suffer.
We have benefited substantially from the leadership and performance of our senior management, as well as certain key employees. For example, key members of our management have experience successfully scaling an early stage medical device company to achieve profitability. Our success will depend on our ability to retain our current management and key employees, and to attract and retain qualified personnel in the future. Competition for senior management and key employees in our industry is intense and we cannot guarantee that we will be able to retain our personnel or attract new, qualified personnel. The loss of the services of certain members of our senior management or key employees could prevent or delay the implementation and completion of our strategic objectives, or divert management’s attention to seeking qualified replacements. Each member of senior management, as well as our key employees may terminate employment without notice and without cause or good reason. The members of our senior management are not subject to non-competition agreements. Accordingly, the adverse effect resulting from the loss of certain members of senior management could be compounded by our inability to prevent them from competing with us.
We depend upon key employees in a competitive market, and if we are unable to provide meaningful equity incentives to retain key personnel, it could adversely affect our ability to execute our business strategy.
We are highly dependent upon the members of our management team, as well as other key employees. In our industry, it is common to attract and retain executive talent and other employees with compensation packages that include a significant equity component. We have issued, and may continue to issue, additional equity incentives that we believe will enhance our ability to retain our current key employees and attract the necessary additional executive talent. It may be more difficult to continue to incentivize employees during a period of rapid growth in our overall headcount while limiting the utilization of the share reserve under our current stock incentive plans. However, even if we issue significant additional equity incentives, there can be no assurance that we will be able to attract and retain key executive talent. A loss of any of our key personnel, or our inability to hire new personnel, may have a material adverse effect on our ability to execute our business strategy.
We began commercialization of our products outside of the United States, which may result in a variety of risks associated with international operations that could materially adversely affect our business.*
During 2018, we began commercialization of the t:slim X2 insulin pump in select geographies outside of the United States. We have limited experience commercializing our products outside of the United States and expect that we will be subject to additional risks related to international business markets, including:
•different regulatory requirements for product approvals in foreign countries;
•differing U.S. and foreign medical device import and export rules;
•more restrictive privacy laws relating to personal information of end-users and employees, including GDPR and other EU member state directives;
•reduced protection for our intellectual property rights in foreign countries;
•unexpected changes in tariffs, trade barriers and regulatory requirements;
•different reimbursement systems;
•economic weakness, including inflation, or political instability in particular foreign economies and markets;
•compliance with tax, employment, immigration and labor laws for employees living or traveling abroad or with U.S. regulations that would apply to activities in such foreign jurisdictions, such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act;
•foreign taxes, including withholding of payroll taxes;
•foreign currency fluctuations, which could result in increased operating expenses and reduced revenues, and other obligations incident to doing business in another country; and
•business interruptions resulting from geopolitical actions, including war and terrorism, natural disasters, or incidence of disease, including as a result of the COVID-19 global pandemic.
In addition, entry into international markets may require significant financial resources, impose additional demands on our manufacturing, quality, regulatory, customer support and other general and administrative personnel, and could divert management’s attention from managing our core business. We have limited experience with regulatory environments and market practices internationally, and we may not be able to penetrate or successfully operate in new markets. If we are unable to expand internationally, manage the complexity of our global operations successfully or if we incur unanticipated expenses, we may not achieve the expected benefits of this expansion and our financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely impacted.
We may seek to grow our business through acquisitions of products or technologies, or investments in businesses, and the failure to successfully manage these acquisitions or investments, or the failure to integrate them with our existing business, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.*
From time to time, we may consider opportunities to acquire or invest in other companies, products or technologies that may enhance our product platform or technology, expand the breadth of our markets or customer base, or otherwise advance our business strategies. Potential and completed acquisitions and investments involve numerous risks, including:
•problems assimilating the acquired products or technologies;
•issues maintaining uniform standards, procedures, controls and policies;
•unanticipated costs, impairment charges or write-offs associated with acquisitions or investments;
•diversion of management’s attention from our existing business;
•risks associated with entering new markets in which we have limited or no experience; and
•increased legal and accounting costs relating to the acquisitions or to comply with regulatory requirements or other compliance matters.
We may experience one or more of these risks in connection with our acquisition of Sugarmate, which was completed in 2020. We do not know if we will be able to identify future acquisitions or investments we deem suitable, whether we will be able to successfully complete any such acquisitions or investments on favorable terms or at all, or whether we will be able to successfully integrate any acquired products or technologies into our business. Our potential inability to integrate any acquired products or technologies effectively may adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition.
Risks Related to Our Future Financings and Financial Results
We may need or otherwise determine to raise additional funds in the future and if we are unable to raise additional funds when necessary or desirable, we may not be able to achieve our strategic objectives.*
At June 30, 2021, we had $545.3 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments. Our management expects the continued growth of our business, including the expansion of our customer service infrastructure to support our growing base of customers, our plans to expand commercial sales of our products outside of the United States, the growth of our manufacturing and warehousing operations, increasing the size of our facility footprint due to increases in headcount and additional R&D activities, will continue to increase our expenses. In addition, the amount of our future product sales is difficult to predict and actual sales may not be in line with our forecasts. Accordingly, our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including:
•the revenue generated by sales of our insulin pump products, and the related insulin cartridges and infusion sets, and any other future products that we may develop and commercialize;
•the gross profits and gross margin we realize from the sales we generate;
•the costs associated with maintaining and expanding an appropriate sales, marketing, clinical and customer service infrastructure;
•the expenses we incur or other capital expenditures we make to maintain or enhance our manufacturing operations and distribution capabilities, including leasing additional property, hiring additional personnel, and purchasing additional equipment;
•the expenses associated with developing and commercializing our proposed products or technologies;
•the cost of obtaining and maintaining regulatory clearance or approval for our products and our manufacturing facilities;
•the cost of ongoing compliance with legal and regulatory requirements;
•the expenses we incur in connection with potential litigation or governmental investigations;
•expenses we may incur or other financial commitments we may make in connection with current and potential new acquisitions, investments, business or commercial collaborations, development agreements or licensing arrangements;
•anticipated or unanticipated capital expenditures;
•unanticipated general and administrative expenses; and
•impacts and disruptions resulting from geopolitical actions, including war and terrorism, natural disasters, or incidence of disease, including as a result of the impacts from the COVID-19 global pandemic.
As a result of these and other factors we may in the future seek additional capital from public or private offerings of our equity or debt securities, or from other sources. If we issue equity or debt securities to raise additional funds, our existing stockholders may experience dilution, we may incur significant financing or debt service costs, and the new equity or debt securities may have rights, preferences and privileges senior to those of our existing stockholders. In addition, if we raise additional funds through collaborations, licensing, joint ventures, strategic alliances, partnership arrangements or other similar arrangements, it may be necessary to relinquish valuable rights to our potential future products or proprietary technologies, or grant licenses on terms that are not favorable to us.
If we are unable to raise additional capital when necessary, we may not be able to maintain our existing sales, marketing, clinical and customer service infrastructure, enhance our current products or develop new products, take advantage of future opportunities, respond to competitive pressures, changes in supplier relationships, or unanticipated changes in customer demand. Any of these events could adversely affect our ability to achieve our strategic objectives, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.
Our operating results may fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter.*
There has been and may continue to be meaningful variability in our operating results from quarter to quarter, as well as within each quarter, especially around the time of anticipated new product launches or regulatory approvals by us or our competitors, and as a result of the commercial launch of our products in geographies outside of the United States. Our operating results, and the variability of these operating results, will be affected by numerous factors, including:
•our ability to commercialize and sell our current and future products and our ability to increase sales and gross profit from our products, including insulin pumps and the related insulin cartridges and infusion sets;
•the number and mix of our products sold in each quarter;
•acceptance of our products by people with insulin-dependent diabetes, their caregivers, healthcare providers and third-party payors;
•the pricing of our products and competitive products, including the use of discounts, rebates or other financial incentives by us or our competitors;
•the effect of third-party coverage and reimbursement policies;
•our ability to maintain our existing infrastructure;
•the amount of, and the timing of the payment for, insurance deductibles required to be paid by our customers and potential customers under their existing insurance plans;
•interruption in the manufacturing or distribution of our products;
•our ability to simultaneously manufacture multiple products that meet quality, reliability and regulatory requirements;
•seasonality and other factors affecting the timing of purchases of our products;
•timing of new product offerings, acquisitions, licenses or other significant events by us or our competitors;
•results of clinical research and trials on our existing and future products;
•the ability of our suppliers to timely provide us with an adequate supply of components that meet our requirements for product quality and reliability;
•regulatory clearance or approvals affecting our products or those of our competitors; and
•the timing of revenue and expense recognition associated with our product sales pursuant to applicable accounting standards.
In addition, we expect our operating expenses will continue to increase as we expand our business, which may exacerbate the quarterly fluctuations in our operating results. If our quarterly or annual operating results fall below the expectation of investors or securities analysts, the price of our common stock could decline substantially. Further, any quarterly or annual fluctuations in our operating results may, in turn, cause the price of our common stock to fluctuate substantially, and these price fluctuations could result in further pressure on our stock price. We believe quarterly comparisons of our financial results are not necessarily meaningful and should not be relied upon as an indication of our future performance.
Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property and Potential Litigation
Our ability to comprehensively protect our intellectual property and proprietary technology is uncertain.*
We rely primarily on patent, trademark and trade secret laws, as well as confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements, to protect our proprietary technologies. As of June 30, 2021, our patent portfolio consisted of approximately 110 issued U.S. patents and 74 pending U.S. patent applications. Of these, our issued U.S. patents expire between approximately 2021 and 2039. Our foreign patent portfolio consisted of approximately 32 issued patents and 19 pending patent applications in other countries throughout the world. Of these, our issued foreign patents expire between approximately 2025 and 2033. In addition, we also have 89 trademark registrations, including 19 U.S. trademark registrations and 70 foreign trademark registrations.
We have applied for patent protection relating to certain existing and proposed products and processes. If we fail to file a patent application timely in any jurisdiction, it could result in us forfeiting certain patent rights in that jurisdiction. Further, we cannot assure you that any of our patent applications will be granted in a timely manner or at all. The rights granted to us under our patents, and the rights we are seeking to have granted in our pending patent applications, may not provide us with any commercial advantage. In addition, those rights could be opposed, contested or circumvented by our competitors, or be declared invalid or unenforceable in judicial or administrative proceedings. The failure of our patents to adequately protect our technology might make it easier for our competitors to offer the same or similar products or technologies. Even if we are successful in receiving patent protection for certain products and processes, our competitors may be able to design around our patents or develop products that provide outcomes which are comparable to ours without infringing on our intellectual property rights. Due to differences between foreign and U.S. patent laws, our patented intellectual property rights may not receive the same degree of protection in foreign countries as they would in the United States. Even if patents are granted outside of the United States, effective enforcement in those countries may not be available.
We rely on our trademarks and trade names to distinguish our products from the products of our competitors, and have registered or applied to register many of these trademarks. We cannot assure you that our current or future trademark applications will be approved in a timely manner or at all. From time to time, third parties oppose our trademark applications, or otherwise challenge our use of trademarks. In the event that our trademarks are successfully challenged, we could be forced to rebrand our products, which could result in loss of brand recognition, and could require us to devote additional resources to marketing new brands. Further, we cannot assure you that competitors will not infringe upon our trademarks, or that we will have adequate resources to enforce our trademarks.
We have entered into confidentiality agreements and intellectual property assignment agreements with our officers, employees, temporary employees and consultants regarding our intellectual property and proprietary technology. We also enter into confidentiality agreements with potential collaborators and other counterparties, and the terms of our collaboration agreements typically contain provisions governing the ownership and control of intellectual property. In the event of unauthorized use or disclosure or other breaches of those agreements, we may not be provided with meaningful protection for our trade secrets or other proprietary information.
If a competitor infringes one of our patents, trademarks or other intellectual property rights, enforcing those patents, trademarks and other intellectual property rights may be difficult, expensive and time consuming. Patent law relating to the scope of claims in the industry in which we operate is subject to rapid change and constant evolution and, consequently, patent protection in our industry can be uncertain. Even if successful, litigation to defend our patents and trademarks against challenges or to enforce our intellectual property rights could divert management’s attention from managing our business. Moreover, we may not have sufficient resources or incentive to defend our patents or trademarks against challenges or to enforce our intellectual property rights. Litigation also puts our patents at risk of being invalidated or narrowly interpreted and our patent applications at risk of not issuing. Additionally, pursuing litigation may provoke third parties to assert counterclaims against us. We may not prevail in any lawsuits that we initiate and the damages or other remedies awarded, if any, may not be commercially valuable. The occurrence of any of these events may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.
Patent litigation in the medical device industry is not uncommon, and from time to time, we may be subject to litigation that could be costly, result in the diversion of management’s time and efforts, or require us to pay damages.*
Our success will depend in part on not infringing the patents or violating the other proprietary rights of third parties. Significant litigation regarding patent rights exists in our industry. Our competitors in both the United States and abroad, many of which have substantially greater resources and have made considerable investments in competing technologies, may have applied for or obtained or may in the future apply for and obtain, patents that will prevent, limit or otherwise interfere with our ability to make and sell our products. The large number of patents, the rapid rate of new patent issuances, and the complexities of the technology involved increase the risk of patent litigation.
From time to time, we may receive communications from third parties alleging our infringement of their intellectual property rights or offering a license to their intellectual property relating to products that we are currently developing. Any intellectual property-related discussions, disputes or litigation could force us to do one or more of the following:
•stop selling our products or using technology that allegedly infringes third-party intellectual property;
•prevent or limit our ability to sell a product that we are currently developing;
•incur significant legal expenses;
•pay substantial damages to the party whose intellectual property rights we are allegedly infringing;
•redesign those products that allegedly infringe third-party intellectual property; or
•attempt to obtain a license to the relevant intellectual property from third parties, which may not be available on reasonable terms or at all.
We do not currently maintain insurance to cover the expense or any liability that may arise from an intellectual property dispute with a third party. Any litigation or claim against us, even those without merit, or even preparing for a potential dispute or litigation before it arises, may cause us to incur substantial costs, and could place a significant strain on our financial resources and divert the attention of management from our core business. Any litigation or claim against us may also harm our reputation. Further, as we launch new products and increase our sales, and the number of participants in the diabetes market increases, we believe the possibility of our involvement in intellectual property disputes will increase.
We may be subject to damages resulting from claims that we, or our employees, have wrongfully used or disclosed alleged trade secrets of our competitors or are in breach of non-competition or non-solicitation agreements with our competitors.
Many of our employees were previously employed at other medical device companies, including those that are our direct competitors or could potentially become our direct competitors. In some cases, those employees joined our company recently. We may be subject to claims that we, or our employees, have inadvertently or otherwise used or disclosed trade secrets or other proprietary information of these former employers or competitors. In addition, we have been and may in the future be subject to allegations that we caused an employee to breach the terms of his or her non-competition or non-solicitation agreement. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. Even if we successfully defend against these claims, litigation could cause us to incur substantial costs, and could place a significant strain on our financial resources, divert the attention of management from our core business and harm our reputation. If our defense to those claims fails, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights or personnel. We cannot guarantee that this type of litigation will not continue, and any future litigation or the threat thereof may adversely affect our ability to hire additional direct sales representatives. A loss of key personnel or their work product could hamper or prevent our ability to commercialize proposed products, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.
We may incur product liability losses, and insurance coverage may be inadequate or unavailable to cover these losses.*
Our business exposes us to potential product liability claims that are inherent in the design, manufacture, testing, inspection, and sale of medical devices. We are subject to product liability lawsuits alleging that component failures, manufacturing flaws, manufacturing defects, negligence in manufacturing, design defects, negligence in design, or inadequate disclosure of product-related risks, warnings, or product-related information resulted in an unsafe condition, injury or death to customers. The risk of one or more product liability claims or lawsuits may be even greater after we launch new products with new features or enter new markets where we have no prior experience selling our products and rely on newly-hired staff or new independent distributors or contractors to provide new customer training and customer support. In addition, the misuse of our products or the failure of customers to adhere to operating guidelines could cause significant harm to customers, including death, which could result in product liability claims. We may also identify deficiencies in our products that we determine are immaterial and do not pose safety risks, and therefore decide not to initiate a voluntary recall. However, any such deficiency may be more significant than we expect and lead to product liability claims. Product liability lawsuits and claims, safety alerts or product recalls, with or without merit, could cause us to incur substantial costs, and could place a significant strain on our financial resources, divert the attention of management from our core business, harm our reputation and adversely affect our ability to attract and retain customers, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.
Although we maintain third-party product liability insurance coverage, it is possible that claims against us may exceed the coverage limits of our insurance policies. Even if any product liability loss is covered by an insurance policy, these policies typically have substantial deductibles for which we are responsible. In addition, we expect the cost of our product liability insurance will increase as our product sales increase and we may also increase the amount of our deductibles over time. Product liability claims in excess of applicable insurance coverage could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results. In addition, any product liability claim brought against us, with or without merit, could result in further increases of our product liability insurance premiums. Insurance coverage varies in cost and can be difficult to obtain, and we cannot guarantee that we will be able to obtain insurance coverage in the future on terms acceptable to us or at all. Our inability to obtain sufficient insurance coverage to protect against potential product liability claims could prevent or limit our commercialization of current products or products currently under development.
Risks Related to Our Legal and Regulatory Environment
Our products and operations are subject to extensive governmental regulation, and failure to comply with applicable requirements could cause our business to suffer.*
The medical device industry is regulated extensively in the United States by governmental authorities, principally the FDA and corresponding state regulatory agencies. The regulations are very complex and are subject to rapid change and varying interpretations. Regulatory restrictions or changes could limit our ability to carry on or expand our operations or result in higher than anticipated costs or lower than anticipated sales. The FDA and other U.S. governmental agencies and international regulatory authorities regulate numerous elements of our business, including:
•product design and development;
•pre-clinical and clinical testing and trials;
•product safety;
•establishment registration and product listing;
•labeling and storage;
•marketing, manufacturing, sales and distribution;
•pre-market clearance or approval;
•servicing and post-market surveillance;
•advertising and promotion; and
•recalls and field safety corrective actions.
Before we can market or sell a new regulated product or a significant modification to an existing product in the United States, we must obtain either clearance under Section 510(k) of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act or approval of a pre-market approval (PMA) application from the FDA, unless an exemption from pre-market review applies. In the 510(k) clearance process, the FDA must determine that a proposed device is “substantially equivalent” to a device legally on the market, known as a “predicate” device, with respect to intended use, technology and safety, and effectiveness, in order to clear the proposed device for marketing. Clinical data is sometimes required to support substantial equivalence. The PMA pathway requires an applicant to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of the device based on extensive data. The PMA process is typically required for devices that are deemed to pose the greatest risk, such as life-sustaining, life-supporting or implantable devices. Products that are approved through a PMA application generally need FDA approval before they can be modified. Similarly, some modifications made to products cleared through the 510(k) clearance process may require a new 510(k) submission. The process of obtaining regulatory clearances or approvals to market a medical device can be costly and time-consuming, and we may not be able to obtain these clearances or approvals on a timely basis or at all for our proposed products.
If the FDA or other regulatory authority requires a more rigorous examination for our future products or modifications to existing products than we had expected, our product introductions or modifications could be delayed or canceled, which could cause our sales to decline or to not increase in line with our forecasts.
The FDA or other regulatory authority can delay, limit or deny clearance or approval of one of our devices for many reasons, including:
•our inability to demonstrate that our products are safe and effective for their intended users;
•the data from our pre-clinical studies or clinical trials may be insufficient to support clearance or approval; and
•failure of the manufacturing process or facilities we use to meet applicable requirements.
In addition, the FDA or other regulatory authority may change its clearance and approval policies, adopt additional regulations or revise existing regulations, or take other actions which may prevent or delay approval or clearance of our products under development or impact our ability to modify our currently cleared or approved products on a timely basis. More recently, the FDA has stated that the review process for new submissions may take longer than normal due to the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic.
Any delay in, or failure to receive or maintain, clearance or approval for our products under development could prevent us from generating revenue from these products or achieving profitability. Moreover, customers may defer purchasing our existing products in anticipation of a new product launch. Additionally, the FDA and other regulatory authorities have broad enforcement powers, and regulatory enforcement or inquiries, or other increased scrutiny on us, could dissuade some customers from using our products and adversely affect our reputation and the perceived safety and efficacy of our products.
Failure to comply with applicable regulations could jeopardize our ability to sell our products and result in enforcement actions such as fines, civil penalties, injunctions, warning letters, recalls of products, delays in the introduction of products into the market, refusal of the FDA or other regulators to grant future clearances or approvals, delays by the FDA or other regulators in granting clearances or approvals, and the suspension or withdrawal of existing approvals by the FDA or other regulators. Any of these sanctions could result in higher than anticipated costs, lower than anticipated sales, and diversion of management time and resources, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial condition and operating results.
Further, we commenced commercial sales of our products in select international markets during the third quarter of 2018. As we expand our operations outside of the United States and launch new products, we will become subject to various additional regulatory and legal requirements in the international markets we enter. These additional legal and regulatory requirements may result in our incurring significant costs and expenditures. We have limited experience complying with applicable laws and regulations in international markets generally, and in particular when we enter new markets, and if we are not able to comply with any such requirements, our international expansion and business could be significantly harmed.
New products or modifications to our existing products may require new 510(k) clearances or PMAs, or may require us to cease marketing or recall the modified products until clearances are obtained.*
Any modification to a 510(k)-cleared device that could significantly affect its safety or effectiveness, or that would constitute a major change in its intended use, design, or manufacture, requires a new 510(k) clearance or, possibly, a PMA. The FDA requires every manufacturer to make this determination in the first instance, but the FDA may review any manufacturer’s decision. The FDA may not agree with our decisions regarding whether new clearances or approvals are necessary for changes that we have made to our products. If the FDA disagrees with our determination and requires us to submit new 510(k) notifications or PMAs for modifications to our previously cleared or approved products, for which we concluded that new clearances or approvals were not necessary, we may be required to cease marketing or to recall the modified product until we obtain clearance or approval, and we may be subject to significant regulatory fines or penalties.
Further, the FDA’s ongoing review of and potential changes to the 510(k) program may make it more difficult for us to modify our previously cleared products, either by imposing stricter requirements on when a new 510(k) for a modification to a previously cleared product must be submitted, or by applying more onerous review criteria to such submissions.
If we or our third-party suppliers, contract manufacturers and service providers fail to comply with the FDA’s good manufacturing practice regulations, this could impair our ability to market our products in a cost-effective and timely manner.*
We and our third-party suppliers, contract manufacturers and service providers are required to comply with the FDA’s Quality System Regulation (QSR), which covers the methods and documentation of the design, testing, production, control, quality assurance, labeling, packaging, sterilization, storage and shipping of our products. The FDA audits compliance with the QSR through periodic announced and unannounced inspections of manufacturing and other facilities which may occur at any time. We cannot assure you that our facilities or our contract manufacturer or third-party suppliers’ facilities would pass any quality system inspection or audit. If we or our suppliers, contract manufacturers and service providers have significant non-compliance issues or if any corrective action plan that we or our suppliers, contract manufacturers or service providers propose in response to observed deficiencies is not sufficient, the FDA could take enforcement action against us and the manufacturing or distribution of our devices could be interrupted and our operations disrupted.
If we, or our third-party suppliers, contract manufacturers and service providers, fail to adhere to QSR requirements, this could delay production of our products and lead to fines, difficulties in obtaining regulatory clearances, recalls, enforcement actions, including injunctive relief or consent decrees, or other consequences, which could, in turn, have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.
A recall or suspension of our products, or the discovery of serious safety issues with our products, could have a significant negative impact on us.*
The FDA and equivalent foreign regulatory authorities have the authority to require the recall or suspension, either temporarily or permanently, of commercialized products in the event of material deficiencies or defects in quality systems, product design or manufacture or in the event that a product poses an unacceptable risk to health. Regulatory authorities have broad discretion to require the recall or suspension of a product or to require that manufacturers alert customers of safety risks, and may do so even in circumstances where we do not believe our product poses an unacceptable risk to health. In addition, manufacturers may, under their own initiative recall a product or suspend sales if any material deficiency in a product is found or alert customers of unanticipated safety risks. A government-mandated or voluntary recall or suspension by us, one of our distributors or any of our other third-party suppliers could occur as a result of an unacceptable risk to health, component failures, manufacturing errors, design or labeling defects or other deficiencies and issues. Recalls, suspensions or other notices relating to any products that we distribute would divert managerial and financial resources, and have an adverse effect on our reputation, financial condition and operating results.
Further, under the FDA’s Medical Device Reporting regulations and equivalent regulations in other geographies, we are required to maintain appropriate quality systems and report incidents in which our product may have caused or contributed to serious injury or death in which our product malfunctioned and, if the malfunction were to recur, would likely cause or contribute to serious injury or death. Repeated product malfunctions may result in a voluntary or involuntary product recall or suspension of product sales, which could divert managerial and financial resources, impair our ability to manufacture our products in a cost-effective and timely manner and have an adverse effect on our reputation, financial condition and operating results. We have initiated product recalls in the past, and our risk of future product recalls may increase as we launch new products or offer new software updates for existing products.
Any adverse event involving any products that we distribute, either domestically or internationally, could result in future voluntary corrective actions, such as recalls or customer notifications, or regulatory agency action, which could include inspection, mandatory recall or other enforcement action. For example, the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) temporarily suspended our pump product sales in Australia commencing November 24, 2020, however sales of pump-related supplies were allowed to continue. Effective April 1, 2021, following discussions with the TGA, the temporary suspension was lifted for our t:slim X2 with Basal-IQ technology, subject to certain post-market surveillance obligations and other conditions. We have discontinued sales of earlier generation products in Australia and to date we have not offered our Control-IQ technology in Australia but may elect to do so in the future. There can be no assurance that the TGA will not reimpose the suspension of our pump product sales or impose other regulatory restrictions in the future. Any regulatory challenges we encounter could have a negative impact on our product sales and harm our reputation. Any corrective actions we take in response to this action or future matters with the TGA or other regulatory bodies, whether voluntary or involuntary, will require the dedication of our time and capital, may distract management from operating our business, may harm our reputation and financial results or could result in additional regulatory scrutiny in other geographies.
Our failure to comply with U.S. federal and state fraud and abuse laws, including anti-kickback laws and other U.S. federal and state anti-referral laws, could have a material, adverse impact on our business.*
There are numerous U.S. federal and state laws pertaining to healthcare fraud and abuse, including anti-kickback laws, physician self-referral laws, and false claims laws. Our relationships with healthcare providers and other third parties are subject to scrutiny under these laws. Violations of these laws are punishable by criminal and civil sanctions, including, in some instances, imprisonment and exclusion from participation in federal and state healthcare programs, including the Medicare, Medicaid and Veterans Administration health programs.
Healthcare fraud and abuse regulations are complex and evolving, and even minor irregularities can potentially give rise to claims that a statute or prohibition has been violated. The laws that may affect our ability to operate include:
•the federal healthcare programs’ Anti-Kickback Statute, which prohibits, among other things, persons from knowingly and willfully soliciting, receiving, offering, paying or providing remuneration (including any kickback, bribe or rebate), directly or indirectly, overtly or covertly, in cash or in kind in exchange for or to induce either the referral of an individual for, or the purchase, lease, order or recommendation of, any good or service for which payment may be made under federal healthcare programs such as the Medicare and state Medicaid programs;
•federal and state false claims laws which prohibit, among other things, individuals or entities from knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, claims for payment from Medicare, state Medicaid programs, or other third-party payors that are false or fraudulent;
•federal and state physician self-referral laws, such as the Stark Law, that prohibit a physician from referring Medicare or Medicaid patients to an entity providing “designated health services,” including a company that furnishes durable medical equipment, with which the physician has a financial relationship unless that financial relationship meets an exception under the applicable law;
•federal and state laws, such as the Civil Monetary Penalties Law, that prohibit an individual or entity from offering or transferring remuneration to any person eligible for benefits under a federal or state health care program which such individual or entity knows or should know are likely to influence such eligible individual’s choice of provider, practitioner or supplier of any item or service for which payment may be made under federal health care programs such as Medicare and state Medicaid programs;
•federal criminal laws enacted as part of HIPAA that prohibit executing a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program or making false statements relating to healthcare matters;
•federal disclosure laws, such as the Physician Payments Sunshine Act, which require certain manufacturers, including medical device manufacturers, to submit annual data pertaining to payments or other transfers of value to covered recipients, including physicians;
•the Federal Trade Commission Act and similar laws regulating advertisement and consumer protections;
•federal and state laws governing the use, disclosure and security of personal information, including protected health information, such as HIPAA and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health; and
•foreign and U.S. state law equivalents of each of the above federal laws, such as anti-kickback and false claims laws which may apply to items or services reimbursed by any third-party payor, including commercial insurers.
Possible sanctions for violation of these laws include monetary fines, civil and criminal penalties, exclusion from Medicare, Medicaid and other federal healthcare programs, and forfeiture of amounts collected in violation of those prohibitions and in some circumstances, treble damages. Any violation of these laws, or any action against us for violation of these laws, even if we successfully defend against it, could result in a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial condition and operating results. The reporting requirements under the Physician Payments Sunshine Act have been expanded, and we will need to implement additional processes and controls in order to comply with these new tracking and disclosure obligations. Any failure to submit the required data in an accurate and timely manner may result in the imposition of civil monetary penalties. Federal government agencies have issued final rules making modifications to the Anti-Kickback Statute “safe harbors” and the Stark Law regulations, and the full impact of such modifications on the health care industry and our business operations is not yet known. Further, the federal government has published proposed rules for public comment which would make material modifications to HIPAA. It is unknown if or when these proposed rules may be adopted and what final form the proposed rules may take and how they may impact our business operations.
To enforce compliance with the federal laws, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in conjunction with other federal agencies, has increased its scrutiny of interactions between healthcare companies and healthcare providers, which has led to a number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions and settlements in the healthcare industry. Dealing with investigations can be time and resource-consuming and can divert management’s attention from our core business. Additionally, if a healthcare company settles an investigation with the DOJ or other law enforcement agencies, we may be forced to agree to additional onerous compliance and reporting requirements as part of a consent decree or corporate integrity agreement. Any such investigation or settlement could increase our costs or otherwise have an adverse effect on our business.
The scope and enforcement of these laws is uncertain and subject to rapid change in the current environment of healthcare reform. Federal or state regulatory authorities might challenge our current or future activities under these laws. Any of these challenges could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial condition and operating results. Any state or federal regulatory review of us, regardless of the outcome, would be costly and time-consuming. Additionally, we cannot predict the impact of any changes in these laws and whether they might be retroactive.
We may be liable if we engage in the promotion of the off-label use of our products.*
Our promotional materials and training methods must comply with FDA and other applicable laws and regulations, including the prohibition against the promotion of the off-label use of our products or the pre-promotion of unapproved products. Healthcare providers may use our products off-label, as the FDA does not restrict or regulate a physician’s choice of treatment within the practice of medicine. However, if the FDA determines that our promotional materials or training constitutes promotion of an off-label use or the pre-promotion of an unapproved product, it could request that we modify our training or promotional materials or subject us to regulatory or enforcement actions, including the issuance of an untitled letter, a warning letter, injunction, seizure, civil fines and criminal penalties. It is also possible that other federal, state or foreign enforcement authorities might take action if they consider our promotional or training materials to constitute promotion of an unapproved use, which could result in significant fines or penalties. Although our policy is to refrain from statements that could be considered off-label promotion of our products or pre-promotion of an unapproved product, the FDA or another regulatory agency could disagree and conclude that we have engaged in improper promotional activities. In addition, the off-label use of our products may increase the risk of product liability claims, which are expensive to defend and could result in substantial damage awards against us and harm our reputation.
Legislative or regulatory healthcare reforms may result in downward pressure on the price of and decrease reimbursement for our products, and uncertainty regarding the healthcare regulatory environment could have a material adverse effect on our business.*
The sales of our products depend in part on the availability of coverage and reimbursement from third-party payors such as government health administration authorities, private health insurers, health maintenance organizations and other healthcare-related organizations. Both the federal and state governments in the United States continue to propose and pass new legislation and regulations designed to, among other things, expand healthcare coverage to more individuals, contain or reduce the cost of healthcare, and improve the quality of healthcare outcomes. This legislation and regulation may result in decreased reimbursement for medical devices, which may create additional pressure to reduce the prices charged for medical devices. Reduced reimbursement rates could significantly decrease our revenue, which in turn would place significant downward pressure on our gross margins and impede our ability to become profitable.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), substantially changed the way healthcare is financed by both governmental and private insurers, encourages improvements in the quality of healthcare items and services, and significantly impacts the medical device industry. However, a number of legislative changes have been proposed and adopted since the ACA was enacted, and legislation has also been and will likely continue to be proposed that could modify or repeal the ACA. In addition, the ACA continues to be the subject of various legal challenges. The uncertainties regarding the future of the ACA, and other healthcare reform initiatives, may have an adverse effect on our customers’ purchasing decisions regarding our products.
In the future, additional changes could be made to governmental healthcare programs that could significantly impact the success of our products. Cost control initiatives could decrease the price that we receive for our products. At this time, we cannot predict which, if any, additional healthcare reform proposals will be adopted, when they may be adopted or what impact they may have on the existing regulatory environment, or our ability to operate our business. Any of these factors could have a material adverse effect on our operating results and financial condition.
Risks Related to Our Common Stock
The price of our common stock may continue to fluctuate significantly.
The trading price of our common stock has been volatile in recent years. We believe our stock price has been, and will continue to be, subject to wide fluctuations in response to a variety of factors, including the following:
•actual or anticipated fluctuations in our financial and operating results from period to period;
•our actual or perceived need for additional capital to fund our operations;
•market acceptance of our current products and products under development, and the recognition of our brand;
•introduction of proposed products, technologies or treatment techniques by us or our competitors;
•announcements of significant contracts, acquisitions or divestitures by us or our competitors;
•regulatory approval of our products or the products of our competitors, or the failure to obtain such approvals on the projected timeline or at all;
•speculative trading practices of market participants;
•issuance of securities analysts’ reports or recommendations;
•threatened or actual litigation and government investigations;
•sales of shares of our common stock by our employees, directors or principal stockholders; and
•general political or economic conditions, including the impacts and disruptions caused by the COVID-19 global pandemic.
These and other factors might cause the market price of our common stock to fluctuate substantially. Fluctuations in our stock price may negatively affect the liquidity of our common stock, which could further impact our stock price.
In recent years, the stock market has experienced significant price and volume fluctuations. This volatility has had a significant impact on the market price of securities issued by many companies across many industries. These changes may occur without regard to the financial condition or operating performance of the affected companies. Accordingly, the price of our common stock could fluctuate based upon factors that have little or nothing to do with our company, and these fluctuations could materially reduce the market price of our common stock.
Anti-takeover provisions in our organizational documents and Delaware law may discourage or prevent a change of control, even if an acquisition would be beneficial to our stockholders, which could reduce our stock price and prevent our stockholders from replacing or removing our current management.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and bylaws contain provisions that could delay or prevent a change of control of our company or changes in our board of directors that our stockholders might consider favorable. Some of these provisions:
•authorize the issuance of preferred stock with powers, preferences and rights that may be senior to our common stock, which can be created and issued by the board of directors without prior stockholder approval;
•provide for the adoption of a staggered board of directors whereby the board is divided into three classes each of which has a different three-year term;
•provide that the number of directors shall be fixed by the board;
•prohibit our stockholders from filling board vacancies;
•provide for the removal of a director only with cause and then by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares;
•prohibit stockholders from calling special stockholder meetings;
•prohibit stockholders from acting by written consent without holding a meeting of stockholders;
•require the vote of at least two-thirds of the outstanding shares to approve amendments to the certificate of incorporation or bylaws; and
•require advance written notice of stockholder proposals and director nominations.
We are subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which may prohibit certain business combinations with stockholders owning 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock. These and other provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, bylaws and Delaware law could make it more difficult for stockholders or potential acquirers to obtain control of our board of directors or initiate actions that are opposed by our then-current board of directors, including a merger, tender offer or proxy contest involving our company. Any delay or prevention of a change of control transaction or changes in our board of directors could cause the market price of our common stock to decline.
Our board of directors is authorized to issue and designate shares of our preferred stock in additional series without stockholder approval.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes our board of directors, without the approval of our stockholders, to issue 5,000,000 shares of our preferred stock, subject to limitations prescribed by applicable law, rules and regulations and the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, as shares of preferred stock in series, and to establish from time to time the number of shares to be included in each such series, and to fix the designation, powers, preferences and rights of the shares of each such series and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof. The powers, preferences and rights of these additional series of preferred stock may be senior to or on parity with our common stock, and the issuance of such shares in the future may reduce the value of our common stock.
Our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes may be limited.
As of December 31, 2020, we had accumulated federal and state net operating loss (NOL) carryforwards of approximately $340.0 million, and $288.7 million, respectively, which included the reduction recorded in 2019 discussed below. Of the total federal NOL carryforwards, approximately $131.5 million were generated after January 1, 2018, and therefore do not expire. NOL generated after January 1, 2018, is subject to 80% limitation in accordance with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. The remaining federal NOL carryforwards of $208.5 million will begin to expire in 2026, and state tax loss carryforwards begin to expire in 2021, unless previously utilized. If there is an “ownership change” with respect to our company, as defined under Section 382 of the Code, the utilization of our NOL and research credit carryforwards may be subject to substantial limitations imposed by the Code, and similar state provisions. Limitations imposed on our ability to utilize NOL carryforwards could cause U.S. federal income taxes to be paid earlier than would be paid if such limitations were not in effect and could cause NOL carryforwards to expire unused, in each case reducing or eliminating the benefit of our NOL carryforwards. In general, an ownership change occurs whenever there is a shift in ownership of our company by more than 50% by one or more 5% stockholders over a specified time period.
We have completed analyses through December 31, 2020 to determine whether our net operating losses and credits are likely to be limited by Section 382. Based on the 2018 study completed in 2019, the Company determined that offerings of our securities caused an ownership change, as defined under Section 382, in 2018 and the resulting limitation significantly reduced the Company’s ability to utilize its net operating loss and credit carryovers before they expire. As a result, in 2019 the Company significantly reduced its deferred tax assets for the net operating loss and research credit carryforwards that were projected to expire unused. In addition, future ownership changes under Section 382 may further limit the Company’s ability to fully utilize any remaining tax benefits.
In response to the COVID-19 global pandemic, the CARES Act was enacted on March 27, 2020, to provide aid and economic stimulus to the economy. Among other provisions, the CARES Act eliminates the 80% NOL limitation for tax years 2018, 2019, and 2020, and allows NOLs generated in those years to be carried back for five years. We believe that any impact of the CARES Act provisions are not significant to our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
We do not intend to pay cash dividends.
We have never declared or paid cash dividends on our capital stock. We currently intend to retain all available funds and any future earnings for use in the operation and expansion of our business and do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Accordingly, investors may have to sell some or all of their shares of our common stock in order to generate cash flow from their investment.
If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results or prevent fraud. As a result, stockholders could lose confidence in our financial and other public reporting, which would harm our business and the trading price of our common stock.
Effective internal controls over financial reporting are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and, together with adequate disclosure controls and procedures, are designed to prevent fraud. Any failure to implement required new or improved controls, or difficulties encountered in their implementation could cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations. For example, Mr. Sheridan, our principal executive officer, and Ms. Vosseller, our principal financial and accounting officer, are involved in a personal relationship and share a primary residence. While our board of directors is informed of the relationship and appropriate actions have been taken to ensure compliance with Company policies and procedures, the existence of this relationship could create additional risk, or the perception of additional risk, that our controls and procedures may not be effective. In addition, any testing by us conducted in connection with Section 404(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or any testing conducted by our independent registered public accounting firm in connection with Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may reveal deficiencies in our internal controls over financial reporting that are deemed to be material weaknesses or that may require prospective or retroactive changes to our consolidated financial statements or identify other areas for further attention or improvement. Inferior internal controls could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which could have a negative effect on the trading price of our common stock.
We are required to disclose changes made to our internal control procedures on a quarterly basis and our management is required to assess the effectiveness of these controls annually. Undetected material weaknesses in our internal controls could lead to financial statement restatements and require us to incur the expense of remediation.
We may be at increased risk of securities class action litigation.
In the past, securities class action litigation has been instituted against companies following periods of volatility in the overall market and in the price of a company’s securities. We believe this risk may be particularly relevant to us as we have experienced significant stock price volatility in recent years. If we face such litigation, it could result in substantial costs and a diversion of management’s attention and resources, which could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. Our stock price volatility and the increase in our market capitalization during the past year may also result in higher expenses associated with our directors’ and officers’ liability insurance program.
If securities or industry analysts do not publish research, or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research, about our business, our stock price and trading volume could decline.
The trading market for our common stock depends, in part, on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. If one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our stock or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our stock price would likely decline. In addition, if our operating results fail to meet the forecasts of analysts, our stock price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our company or fail to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our common stock could decrease, which might cause our stock price and trading volume to decline.
Risks Related to Our Convertible Senior Notes
We have indebtedness in the form of convertible senior notes, which could adversely affect our financial condition and our ability to respond to changes in our business.*
In May 2020, we completed the offering of $287.5 million principal amount of 1.50% Convertible Senior Notes due 2025 (the Notes), which we refer to as the Note Offering. Holders of the Notes will have the right to require us to repurchase their Notes upon the occurrence of a fundamental change (as defined in the indenture governing the Notes) at a purchase price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the Notes to be purchased, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any. In addition, upon conversion of the Notes, unless we elect to deliver solely shares of our common stock to settle such conversion, we will be required to make cash payments in respect of the Notes being converted. Furthermore, the indenture governing the Notes provides that, in the event of an event of default (as defined in the indenture) for the Notes, the principal, premium, if any, and interest, if any, may become due prior to the maturity date for the Notes. There can be no assurance that we will be able to pay these amounts when due, or that we will be able to refinance this indebtedness on acceptable terms or at all.
As a result of our increased level of indebtedness due to the Notes Offering:
•our level of vulnerability to adverse economic conditions and competitive pressures may be heightened;
•we are required to dedicate a portion of our liquidity position or cash flow from operations to interest payments, limiting the availability of cash for other purposes;
•our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and industry may be more limited; and
•our ability to obtain additional financing in the future for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions, investments or general corporate purposes may be impaired.
We cannot be sure that our leverage resulting from the completion of the Notes Offering will not materially and adversely affect our ability to finance our operations or capital needs or to engage in other business activities. In addition, we cannot be sure that additional financing will be available when required or, if available, will be on terms satisfactory to us.
Servicing the Notes will require a significant amount of cash, and we may not have sufficient cash flow from our business to repay the Notes.
Our ability to make scheduled payments of the principal and interest on or to refinance the Notes depends on our future business operations and liquidity, which are subject, to some extent, on economic, financial, regulatory, competitive and other factors that are beyond our control, including, without limitation, market acceptance of our products, regulatory approval for our products under development, and the impacts and disruptions caused by the COVID-19 global pandemic. Our business may not generate or sustain a level of cash flow from operations sufficient to service the Notes and any future indebtedness we may incur, while operating our business and making necessary capital expenditures. If we are unable to generate such cash flow, we may be required to adopt one or more alternatives, such as reducing or delaying capital expenditures, selling or licensing assets, refinancing indebtedness, or obtaining additional equity capital. These alternative measures may not be successful and may not permit us to meet our scheduled debt service obligations. Our ability to successfully engage in these activities will depend on a number of factors, including the value of our assets, our operating results and financial condition, the value of our common stock, and the status of the capital markets at such time. We may not be able to engage in any of these activities on commercially reasonable terms or at all, which could result in a default on the Notes or our future indebtedness.
We may incur substantial additional debt or take other actions which could diminish our ability to make payments on the Notes.
We and our subsidiaries are not prevented by the terms of the indenture governing the Notes, or otherwise, from incurring substantial additional indebtedness in the future, which may include the issuance of secured debt. We are not restricted under the terms of the indenture governing the Notes from incurring additional indebtedness, securing existing or future indebtedness, or recapitalizing our indebtedness. We are similarly not restricted under the terms of the indenture from taking a number of other actions that could have the effect of diminishing our ability to make payments on the Notes when due.
We may not have the ability to raise the funds necessary to repurchase the Notes upon a fundamental change, or to settle conversions of the Notes, and our future indebtedness may contain limitations on our ability to pay cash upon repurchase or conversion of the Notes.
Holders of the Notes have the right to require us to repurchase their Notes upon the occurrence of a fundamental change at a repurchase price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the Notes to be repurchased, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any. In addition, upon conversion of the Notes, unless we elect to deliver solely shares of our common stock to settle such conversion, we will be required to make cash payments in respect of the Notes being converted. However, we may not have enough available cash or be able to obtain financing at the time we are required to make repurchases of Notes surrendered therefor or Notes being converted. In addition, our ability to repurchase the Notes or to pay cash upon conversions of the Notes may be limited by law, by regulatory authority or by agreements governing our future indebtedness. Our failure to repurchase Notes at a time when the repurchase is required by the indenture, or to pay any cash payable on future conversions of the Notes as required by the indenture, would constitute an event of default under the indenture. An event of default under the indenture, or the fundamental change itself, could also lead to an event of default under agreements governing any future indebtedness we may have issued. If the repayment of the related indebtedness were to be accelerated, we may not have sufficient funds to repay the indebtedness, while also repurchasing the Notes or making cash payments upon conversions thereof.
The conditional conversion feature of the Notes may adversely affect our liquidity.
In the event the conditional conversion feature of the Notes is triggered, holders of the Notes will be entitled to convert the Notes at any time during specified periods at their option. If one or more holders elect to convert their Notes, unless we elect to satisfy our conversion obligation by delivering solely shares of our common stock, we would be required to settle all or a portion of our conversion obligation through the payment of cash, which could adversely affect our liquidity. In addition, even if holders do not elect to convert their Notes, we could be required, under applicable accounting rules, to reclassify all or a portion of the outstanding principal of the Notes as a current rather than long-term liability, which would adversely affect our liquidity.
Conversion of the Notes will, to the extent we deliver shares upon conversion of such Notes, dilute the ownership interest of existing stockholders and may otherwise have a negative impact on the trading price of our common stock.
The conversion of some or all of the Notes will dilute the ownership interests of existing stockholders, including holders who had previously converted their Notes, to the extent we deliver shares upon conversion of any of the Notes. Any sales in the public market of the common stock issued upon the conversion of the Notes could adversely affect prevailing market prices of our common stock. In addition, the perception that some or all of the Notes may be converted into shares of our common stock in the future could have a negative impact on the trading price of our common stock.
The fundamental change repurchase feature of the Notes may delay or prevent an otherwise beneficial takeover attempt.
The terms of the Notes require us to repurchase the Notes in the event of a fundamental change. A takeover of the Company would trigger an option of the holders of the Notes to require us to repurchase the Notes. In addition, if a make-whole fundamental change (as defined in the indenture) occurs prior to the maturity date of the Notes, we will, in some cases, be required to increase the conversion rate of the Notes for a holder that elects to convert its Notes in connection with such make-whole fundamental change. These and other provisions set forth in the indenture may have the effect of delaying or preventing a takeover of the Company.
The Capped Call Transactions may affect the value of the Notes and our common stock.
In connection with the issuance of the Notes, we entered into capped call transactions (the Capped Call Transactions) with the option counterparties. The Capped Call Transactions are expected generally to reduce the potential dilution to our common stock upon any conversion of the Notes and/or offset any cash payments we are required to make in excess of the principal amount of converted Notes, as the case may be, with such reduction and/or offset subject to a cap.
The option counterparties or their respective affiliates may modify their hedge positions by entering into or unwinding various derivatives with respect to our common stock and/or purchasing or selling our common stock or other securities of ours in secondary market transactions prior to the maturity of the Notes (and are likely to do so during any observation period related to a conversion of Notes). This activity could also cause or avoid an increase or a decrease in the market price of our common stock or the Notes, which could affect a Note holder’s ability to convert the Notes and, to the extent the activity occurs during any observation period related to a conversion of Notes, it could affect the number of shares and the value of the consideration that a Note holder will receive upon conversion of the Notes. In addition, if such Capped Call Transactions fail to become effective, the option counterparties or their respective affiliates may unwind their hedge positions with respect to our common stock, which could adversely affect the value of our common stock.
The potential effect, if any, of any of these transactions and activities on the market price of our common stock or the Notes will depend in part on market conditions and cannot be ascertained at this time, but any of these activities could adversely affect the value of our common stock and the value of the Notes and, under certain circumstances, the ability of the Note holders to convert the Notes.
We do not make any representation or prediction as to the direction or magnitude of any potential effect that the transactions described above may have on the value of the Notes or the trading price of our common stock. In addition, we do not make any representation that the option counterparties will engage in these transactions or that these transactions, once commenced, will not be discontinued without notice.
We are subject to counterparty risk with respect to the Capped Call Transactions.
The option counterparties are financial institutions, and we will be subject to the risk that any or all of them may default under the Capped Call Transactions. Our exposure to the credit risk of the option counterparties will not be secured by any collateral. If an option counterparty becomes subject to insolvency proceedings, we will become an unsecured creditor in those proceedings, with a claim equal to our exposure at that time under our transactions with that option counterparty. Our exposure will depend on many factors but, in general, an increase in our exposure will be correlated to an increase in the market price and volatility of our common stock. In addition, upon a default by an option counterparty, we may suffer more dilution than we currently anticipate with respect to our common stock. We can provide no assurances as to the financial stability or viability of the option counterparties.
Item 6. Exhibits
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Incorporated by Reference
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Provided Herewith
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Exhibit Number
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Exhibit Description
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Form
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File No.
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Date of First Filing
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Exhibit Number
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31.1
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X
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31.2
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32.1*
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32.2*
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101.INS
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XBRL Instance Document.
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101.SCH
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XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document.
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101.CAL
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XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document.
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101.DEF
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XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document.
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101.LAB
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XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document.
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101.PRE
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XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document.
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104
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Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL Document contained in Exhibit 101)
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* This certification is not deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or otherwise subject to the liability of that section. Such certification will not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, except to the extent that the registrant specifically incorporates it by reference.