Insulet Reports 1Q 2013 Results: New Pod Statement

"We are pleased with the initial launch of the new, smaller and lighter OmniPod in the U.S.," said Duane DeSisto, President and Chief Executive Officer of Insulet.  "Our customers and healthcare professionals have been sharing their positive feedback about the reduced size, ease of use and change to the insulin on board calculation.  Demand for the new OmniPod has been tremendous with referrals and initial shipments up by more than 40% over the last two months as compared to the prior year.  In the coming weeks, we expect to begin converting the existing customer base to the new OmniPod and continue to expect the transition to be completed by the end of the third quarter."

The rest of the report is here.

Update on Tuesday, May 7, 2013 at 10:55AM by Scott Benner

The following is from the May 6, 2013 Insulet Earnings Call. The quote was brought to my attention by the TuDiabetes User, Erik. I then listened to the call to verify the quote as accurate. It can be found 05:47 into the call.

"With this significant uptick in demand, we did make the decision to delay the transition of existing customers for approximately 90 days in order to build additional OmniPod supply. While the manufacturing process continues to improve, we had an unexpected component issue that resulted in lower than planned production in the latter part of Q1. While this component issue was quickly identified, and remedied in conjunction with both Flextronics and the supplier, we determined it most prudent to build inventory and insure that both manufacturing lines were operating efficiently before we commence the transition of over 45 thousand customers to the new OmniPod. At this point, we expect that conversion will start in the next few weeks, and remain confident that nearly all customer will be transitioned by the end of the third quarter."

Comments

[Patty]

WOW!!!

Through a small miracle I have transitioned to the new Pod - and WOW! is it in a word.

POD:
As an average size woman, I didn't expect the decreased weight would matter to me at all - but WHAT a difference!! Now I'll never know where it is :-) Yay! I never realized how much it was 'dragging' on my arms.

The pictures really don't do it justice - it is SO much smaller in all dimensions. My first reaction was "It's so CUTE!" Naturally, everything is smaller - including the box of 10 they come in - I just gained storage space! YAY!

I'm undecided about the usefulness of the pink square on the top of the POD - the documented reason is so that you know if it fired. I can hear when it fires and it normally gives me a good jolt. Maybe I'll understand it more later.

The insertion - so far I've only done one and I COULD have gotten lucky, but lately the insertions from the old PODs have been practically bringing me to tears. My sites are so scarred and damaged from decades of diabetes. This one, I BARELY felt at all. Similar to the sensation of a BG test on your forearm.

The viewing window - for me is useless - I wear mine on the back of my arms so I can't see it anyway, even with a mirror. I'm sure it'll be easier for hubby to tell what's going on when I have a question.

When you first get the new PODs you might think "Well, it's not really THAT much smaller". Give it time. It doesn't look a lot smaller in the package. The height is hugely different, and the weight is the next most noticeable thing. One warning: It is MUCH smaller when you're going to put it on - the edges are SO small now it will take a little getting used to when sticking a new one on. If you have big fingers, be extra careful! I have small hands and almost dropped it.

The tape around the POD seems to be slightly decreased as well. Emotionally, I wonder if it will stick ok / long enough, but I have nothing factual to base that on - seems great.

PDM:
The PDM ... is COMPLETELY unchanged visually other than being black now instead of blue. The displays/questions are slightly changed, but everything is intuitive (without using the book). The only one that got me is a "summary" screen during a bolus that repeats what you entered for current BG and carbs - and THEN shows the amount of insulin. Since my option was "CONFIRM" at first I thought it was going to deliver without actually showing me the bolus. Me=Control Freak about insulin dosing.

On the PDM, before you tear off the plastic screen protector - you CAN peel off just the section with the writing, snip off the tab, and keep the screen protector that ships with it, on there. It fits perfectly!

The "cheat sheet" they provide online for writing down settings to program your new PDM doesn't really have them all, so keep your current PDM handy.

They've added an ID screen - I guess in case you're in with a bunch of other POD users. Limited characters, so probably best to put ICE and an emergency contact phone #. This is the 1st screen displayed if someone picks it up. (ICE=In Case of Emergency - all emergency personnel understand this)

You can change the background color on the ID screen. I wanted RED but it's not an option. Sad.

Insulin on Board is always displayed - that's nice to get a quick feel for where you're at. Seeing IOB will take a little getting used to and delays the time to view/use by a few seconds.as does the ID screen :-)

FILLING:
The needle on the fill syringe is TINY! To the point that I thought "Huh - in a pinch you could probably use this for an injection". I'm sure it's MUCH more palatable to those that are bothered by needles. Of course the flip side is that if you have a hard time seeing things, it may be TOO small for you.

This is probably worth a read in the book. NOTE That there are TWO HOLES in the back of the POD. Make sure you fill the one with the Arrow.
DO NOT remove the needle cap before it tells you to. The 'extra' hole in the back is a vent hole to get rid of the air, so it no longer spews forth insulin (yay!)

My doc says that the PDM and the POD need to be touching. I forgot all about that and went through the whole process without them ever touching. Perhaps they just mean "really really close". They were within a foot of each other.

DISLIKE: Because there has to be something - 1.5 hrs after starting a new POD the PDM reminds you to check your BG. I'm one of those people who do change my pod before bed if I think it'll alert in the middle of sleeping. I wish the "reminder" were optional!

Otherwise, I hope you get yours soon! And if you're out of warranty, you can start the paperwork now so that when they do have enough in stock, they can just ship it right out to you!

BEST of luck everyone!! Happy Mini-Podding!

[Patty]

In response to the 90-day delay, when I questioned Insulet, I was told that production was going slower than planned and rather than "phase" people into the new system as their current supplies ran out, they made a business decision to deny ALL current users the transition (only new users can get the new system), until there was enough product in stock to transition everyone at once. The indicated that, at this point, most Omnipod users have switched to a monthly reorder as opposed to quarterly.