Single-point finger stick devices are the most prevalent devices for glucose monitoring. These devices require taking a blood sample with a finger stick, placing a drop of blood on a test strip and inserting the strip into a glucose meter that yields a single point in time blood glucose measurement. We believe that these devices suffer from several limitations, including:
Our objective is to remain a leading provider of CGM systems and related products to enable people with diabetes to more effectively and conveniently manage their disease.condition. We are also developing and commercializing products that integrate our CGM technologies into the insulin delivery systems or data platforms of our respective partners. In addition, we continue to pursue development partnerships with other insulin delivery companies, including automated insulin delivery systems. To achieve these objectives, wesystems, as well as other players in the disease management sector. We are focusing on the following business strategies:strategies as we pursue these objectives:
We believe we have a broad technology platform that will support the development of multiple products for continuous glucose monitoring.
The key enabling technologies for our sensors include biomaterials, membrane systems, electrochemistry and low power microelectronics. Our membrane technology consists of multiple polymer layers configured to selectively allow the appropriate mix of glucose and oxygen to travel through the membrane and react with a glucose specific enzyme to create an extremely low electrical signal, measured in pico-amperes. This electrical signal is then translated into glucose values. We believe that the capability to measure very low levels of an electrical signal and to accurately translate those measurements into glucose values is also a unique and distinguishing feature of our technology. We have also developed technology to allow sensitive electronics to be packaged in a small, fully contained, lightweight sealed unit that minimizes inconvenience and discomfort for the user.
Products in Development
We have gained our technology expertise by learning to design implants that can withstand the rigors of functioning within the human body for extended periods of time, as well as other issues such as device sealing, miniaturization, durability and sensor geometry.
We are leveraging this technology platform to enhance the capabilities of our current products (including obtaining expanded indications of use) and to develop additional CGM products. We plan to develop future generations of technologies focused on improved performance and convenience and that will enable intelligent insulin administration. Over the longer term, we plan to continue to develop and improve networked platforms with open architecture, connectivity and transmitters capable of communicating with other devices.
We also continue to pursue and support development partnerships with insulin pump companies and companies or institutions developing insulin delivery systems, including automated insulin delivery systems.
In the future, we intend to seek additional indications for our CGM technology, including applications in pregnancy and hospital monitoring. Eventually, we may apply our technological expertise to products beyond glucose monitoring.
Disposable Sensor and Reusable Transmitter
Our sensor includes a tiny wire-like electrode coated with our sensing membrane system. This disposable sensor comes packaged with an integrated insertion device and is contained in a small plastic housing platform, or pod. The base of the pod has adhesive that attaches it to the skin. The sensor is intended to be easily and reliably inserted by the user by exposing the adhesive, placing the pod against the surface of the skin of the abdomen or upper buttocks for people ages 2-17, and pushing down on the insertion device. The insertion device first extends a narrow gauge needle containing the sensor into the subcutaneous tissue and then retracts the needle, leaving behind the sensor in the tissue and the pod adhered to the skin. The user then disposes of the insertion device and snaps the transmitter to the pod.
After a stabilization period, with the G6, the user will begin receiving CGM data on his or her mobile device or dedicated receiver through the ten-day usage period. After a stabilization period with the G5 Mobile, the user is required to calibrate the sensor with two measurements from a single-point finger stick device and the disposable sensor begins wirelessly transmitting the continuous glucose data at specific intervals to the handheld receiver or compatible mobile device. Users are prompted by the receiver or mobile app, if using the G5 Mobile, to calibrate the system twice per day with finger stick measurements throughout the use period to ensure reliable operation. Calibration may be accomplished by using any FDA cleared blood glucose meter. Currently, the G4 PLATINUM system is indicated for use as an adjunctive device to complement, not replace, information obtained from standard home blood glucose monitoring devices. Our G6 and G5 MobileG7 systems both have labeling from the FDA and CE Mark permitting their use as a replacement for finger sticks for making therapeutic adjustments, although the G5 Mobile still requires two daily finger stick calibrations.adjustments.
The disposable sensorsensors contained in the G6 system isand G7 systems respectively are each intended to function for up to ten days and the G5 Mobile and G4 PLATINUM systems are intended to function for up to seven days, after which the sensor should be replaced. To replace a sensor, the user simply removes the pod and attached sensor from the skin and discards them while retaining the reusable transmitter. A new sensor and pod can then be inserted and used with the same receiver and transmitter for a subsequent use period. We are aware of reports from the field, however, that patients have been able to use the G6 and the G5 Mobile and G4 PLATINUM sensors for periods longer than ten or seven days, respectively.
Handheld Receiver
Our small handheld receiver is carried by the user and wirelessly receives continuous glucose values from the transmitter. Proprietary algorithms and software, developed from our extensive database of continuous glucose data from clinical trials, are programmed into the G4 PLATINUM receiverG6 and G7 transmitter to process the glucose data from the sensor, and display it on a user-friendly graphical user interface. For the G5 Mobile and G6, the algorithm resides on the transmitter, which then sends the processed glucose data to the receiver.receiver and displays it on a user-friendly graphical user interface. With a push of a button, the user can access their current glucose value and one-, three-, six-, twelve- and twenty-four-hour trended data. Additionally, when glucose values are inappropriately high or low, the receiver provides an audible alert or vibrates. The receiver is a self-contained, durable unit with a rechargeable battery.
Compatible Mobile Devices
With our G5 MobileG6 and G6G7 systems, the functionalities of our proprietary receiver can be obtained through the use of a compatible mobile device, such as an iOS or Android device, and our mobile applications, depending on the patient’s geographic location. A receiver may be required as the primary display device or a backup to the mobile device in some jurisdictions, including the United States.
Products in Development
SalesWe have gained our technology expertise by developing implants designed to withstand the rigors of functioning within the human body for extended periods of time, and Marketingdesigned to address other considerations such as device sealing, miniaturization, durability and sensor geometry.
We are leveraging this technology platform with the goal of enhancing the capabilities of our current products (including obtaining expanded indications for use) and to develop additional CGM products. We plan to develop future generations of technologies focused on improved performance and convenience that will enable intelligent insulin administration. Over the longer term, we plan to continue to develop and improve networked platforms with open architecture, connectivity and transmitters capable of communicating with other devices. We intend to expand our efforts to accumulate CGM patient data and metrics and apply predictive modeling and machine learning to generate interactive CGM insights with the potential to inform patient behavior.
We continue to pursue and support development partnerships with insulin pump companies and companies or institutions developing insulin delivery systems, including automated insulin delivery systems.
We are also exploring how to extend our offerings to other populations, including for people with Type 2 diabetes that are non-insulin using, people with pre-diabetes, people who are obese, people who are pregnant, and people in the hospital setting. Eventually, we may apply our technological expertise to products beyond glucose monitoring.
We have built a direct sales organization in North America and certain international markets to call on health care professionals, such as endocrinologists, physicians and diabetes educators, who can educate and influence patient adoption ofpatients about continuous glucose monitoring. We believe that focusing efforts on these participants is important given the instrumental role they each play in the decision-making process for diabetes therapy, and to ensure that health care
professionals and patients are knowledgeable about our products and their functionality. We focus on delivering this important information to participants to drive adoption of our G4 PLATINUM, G5 Mobilecurrent CGM systems. In addition, our direct sales efforts include the use of e-commerce resources in certain international markets where we have not built a sales force.
To complement our direct sales efforts, we have entered into distribution arrangements in North America and G6 systems.several international markets that allow distributors to sell our products. We directly marketexpect to continue investing in our products in the United States, Austria, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland,field sales force and the United Kingdom primarily to endocrinologists, physicians and diabetes educators. Although the number of diabetes patients is significant, the number of physicians and educators influencing these patients is relatively small. As of 2018, we estimate there were approximately 6,500 clinical endocrinologists who treat diabetes in the United States. As a result, we believe our direct, highly specialized and focused sales organization isand our domestic and international distribution agreements are sufficient for us to support our sales efforts for at least the foreseeable future.next twelve months.
We also are increasinguse a variety of marketing tools to drive adoption, ensure continued use and establish brand loyalty for our directCGM systems by:
•creating awareness of the benefits of continuous glucose monitoring and the advantages of our technology with endocrinologists, physicians, diabetes educators and people with diabetes;
•providing strong and simple educational and training programs to consumerhealthcare providers and people with diabetes to ensure easy, safe and effective use of our systems; and
•maintaining a readily accessible telephone and web-based technical and customer support infrastructure, which includes clinicians, diabetes educators and reimbursement specialists, to help referring physicians, diabetes educators and people with diabetes as necessary.
Direct-to-consumer (DTC) marketing effortsis one of our key initiatives to increase awareness of our CGM systems and drive new patient leads for people with diabetes to our website. We targetIn jurisdictions where DTC marketing is permitted, we currently focus on reaching people with Type 1 and insulin intensive Type 2 diabetes. We advertise on television, in print, digital and video media, CRM, offer sponsorships, host or participate in diabetes related events, conduct public relations and maintain a brand ambassador program. Our campaigns target people with diabetes.
We use a varietytypically experience seasonality, with lower sales in the first quarter of marketing tools to drive adoption, ensure continued usage and establish brand loyalty for our continuous glucose monitoring systems by:
creating awareness of the benefits of continuous glucose monitoring and the advantages of our technology with endocrinologists, physicians, diabetes educators and people with diabetes;
providing strong and simple educational and training programs to healthcare providers and people with diabetes to ensure easy, safe and effective use of our systems; and
maintaining a readily accessible telephone and web-based technical and customer support infrastructure, which includes clinicians, diabetes educators and reimbursement specialists, to help referring physicians, diabetes educators and people with diabetes as necessary.
Our sales organization competes with the experienced and well-funded marketing and sales operations of our competitors. Aseach year compared to some of our competitors, we have relatively limited experience maintainingthe immediately preceding fourth quarter. This seasonal sales pattern relates to U.S. annual insurance deductible resets and managing a direct sales organization, and it is a difficult, expensive and time-consuming process. To continue to be successful we must:unfunded flexible spending accounts.
recruit and retain adequate numbers of effective sales personnel;
effectively train our sales personnel in the benefits of our products;
establish and maintain successful sales, marketing, training and education programs to educate endocrinologists, physicians, diabetes educators and patients about our products;
manage geographically disbursed operations; and
effectively train our sales personnel on the applicable fraud and abuse laws that govern interactions with healthcare practitioners as well as current and prospective patients and maintain active oversight and auditing measures to ensure continued compliance.
The market for blood glucose monitoring devices is intensely competitive, subject to rapid change and significantly affected by new product introductions and other market activities of industry participants. In selling the G4 PLATINUM, G5 Mobile and G6our current CGM systems, we compete directly with the Diabetes Care division of Abbott Laboratories; Medtronic plc’s Diabetes Group; Roche Diabetes Care, a division of Roche Diagnostics; privately-held LifeScan, Inc.; and Ascensia Diabetes Care, each of which manufactures and markets products for the single-point finger stick device market. Collectively, these companies currently account for the majority of the worldwide sales of self-monitored glucose testing systems.
Several companies are developing or commercializing products for continuous or periodic monitoring of glucose levels in the interstitial fluid under the skin that compete directly with our products. In 2015,We have competed with Abbott Diabetes Care, Inc. launched a consumer flash or intermittent scan glucose monitoring system, FreeStyleand their Libre outside the United States. Abbott first received FDA approvalfamily of CGM products for a professional-use version of this system in September 2016 for use in the United States for which readings are only made available to the patient through consultation with their healthcare provider. Abbott first received FDA approval for the consumer version of this system in September 2017 for use in the United States.many years. Medtronic plc’s Diabetes Group markets and sells a standalone glucose monitoring product called Guardian Connect, which has launched both internationally and in the United States after receiving FDA approval in 2018.
States.
Medtronic and other third parties have developed or are developing, insulin pumps integrated with continuous glucose monitoring systems that provide, among other things, the ability to suspend insulin administration while the user’s glucose levels are low and to automate basal or bolus insulin dosing. Medtronic launched its 670G insulin delivery system in 2017.
We are also aware of companies outside the traditional medical device sector that are attempting to develop competitive products and services, including for the general health and wellness, or population health space. Some of the companies developing or marketing competing devices are large and well-known publicly traded companies.
We believe that the principal competitive factors in our market include:
•safe, reliable and high-quality performance of products;
•cost of products and eligibility for reimbursement;
•comfort and ease of use of products;
•effective sales, marketing and distribution networks;
•brand awareness and strong acceptance by healthcare professionals and people with diabetes;
•customer service and support and comprehensive education for people with diabetes and diabetes care providers;
•speed of product innovation and time to market;
•regulatory expertise; and
•technological leadership and superiority.
For additional information on competition, please see our Risk Factors, including Factor entitled “We operate in a highly competitive market and face competition from large, well-established medical device manufacturerscompanies with significant resources, and, as a result, we may not be able to compete effectively.effectively.”
We currently manufacture our products at our headquarters in San Diego, California and at our manufacturing facility in Mesa, Arizona. As of December 31, 2019, our headquarters facilities hadArizona, where we have approximately 31,00046,800 square feet of laboratory space and approximately 28,00085,200 square feet of controlled environment rooms. Our Mesa, ArizonaWe are also near completion of the initial phase of construction of a new facility has approximately 14,000 square feet of laboratory space and approximately 33,000 square feet of controlled environment rooms.in Malaysia that we anticipate will add substantial manufacturing capacity. There are technical challenges to increasing manufacturing capacity, including FDA qualificationfinding or enhancing new manufacturing facilities capable of newmeeting regulatory requirements, U.S. state licensure of manufacturing facilities, equipment design and automation, material procurement, problems with production yields, and quality control and assurance. We have focused significant effort on continual improvement programs in our manufacturing operations intended to improve quality, yields and throughput. We have made progress in manufacturing to enable us to supply adequate amounts of product to support our commercialization efforts, however we cannot guarantee that supply will not be constrained going forward. Additionally, the production of our continuous glucose monitoring systems must occur in a highly controlled and clean environment to minimize particles and other yield- and quality-limiting contaminants. Developing and maintaining commercial-scale manufacturing facilities has and will continue to require the investment of substantial additional funds and the hiring and retainingretention of additional management, quality assurance, quality control and technical personnel who have the necessary manufacturing experience.
We manufacture our G4 PLATINUM, G5 Mobile and G6current CGM systems with certain components supplied by outside vendors and other components that we manufacture internally. Key components that we manufacture internally include our wire-based sensors. The remaining components and assemblies are purchased from outside vendors. We then assemble, test, package and ship the finished systems, which may include a reusable transmitter, a receiver and disposable sensors.
We purchase certain components and materials used in manufacturing from single sources due to quality considerations, costs or constraints resulting from regulatory or other requirements. As of December 31, 2019,2022, those single sources include suppliers of application-specific integrated circuits used in our transmitters, seals used for the applicator and certain polymers used to synthesize polymeric membranes for our sensors.
For additional information, please see our Risk Factor entitled, “We depend upon third-party suppliers and outsource to other parties, making us vulnerable to supply disruptions, suboptimal quality, non-compliance and/or price fluctuations, which could harm our business.” For supply risks related to COVID-19, see our Risk Factor entitled “The advantagesoutbreak of the manufacturing facility in Mesa, Arizona include increasingSARS-CoV-2 virus and its variants and the COVID-19 disease that it causes, or similar public health crises, could have a material adverse impact on our capacity to:
mitigate the constraints we anticipated in our headquarters facilities continuing in 2020;
geographically diversifybusiness, financial condition and results of operations, including our manufacturing, base to mitigate the risks of having all of our manufacturing located in earthquakecommercial operations and fire-prone California; andsales.”
help manage certain of our operating expenses by taking advantage of Arizona’s lower costs | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Third-Party Coverage and taxes relative to California.Third-Party Reimbursement
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As a medical device company, coverage and reimbursement from Medicare, Medicaid or other governmental healthcare programs or systems, and private third-party healthcare payors is an important element of our success. In January 2017, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, or CMS, established a classification of “Therapeutic Continuous Glucose Monitors” as durable medical equipment under Medicare Part B, subject to payment by Medicare under certain coverage conditions to bewhich are determined
and updated by CMS, by local Medicare Administrative Contractors or on a patient claim by claim basis. This isIn December 2021, CMS published a decision we had pursuedfinal rule expanding the classification of DME under Medicare Parts B & C to also include adjunctive CGMs (i.e., CGMs do not replace standard blood glucose monitors for many yearstreatment decisions) and which was made possible by the FDA’s decision in December 2016 to approve a non-adjunctive indication, or use, for our G5 Mobile system, as described further in the Government Regulation section below. Similarly, in September 2016, Germany’s Federal Joint Committee agreed to provide reimbursement for continuous glucose monitoring systemsrelated supplies. We also have coverage under certain conditions which we believe we meet. international markets and Medicaid coverage in about 45 states.
Our G4 PLATINUM system is not classified as a Therapeutic CGM by CMS and thus remains ineligible for reimbursement within the Medicare-eligible population. Reimbursement of our G4 PLATINUM system, or any future system that does not meet the requirements for Therapeutic CGMs under Medicare Part B or the requirements of another governmental healthcare system, will be limited to those customers covered by third-party payors that have adopted coverage policies for continuous glucose monitoring devices that include our products.
As of December 31, 2019,2022, the seven eightlargest private third-party payors, in terms of the number of covered lives, have issued coverage policies for the category of continuous glucose monitoring devices. In addition, we have negotiated contracted rates with all seven of those third-party payors for the purchase of our G4 PLATINUM, G5 Mobile and G6current CGM systems by their members. Many of these coverage policies reimburse for our products under durable medical equipment benefits, are restrictive in nature and require the patient to comply with extensive documentation and other requirements to demonstrate medical necessity under the policy. Customers who are insured by payors that do not offer coverage for our devices will have to bear the financial cost of the products. We have personnel with reimbursement expertise to assist customers in obtaining reimbursement from
private third-party payors. We also maintain a field-based reimbursement team charged with calling on third-party private payors to obtain coverage decisions and contracts. We have continued our efforts to create and liberalize coverage policies with third-party payors, including obtaining reimbursement for our products under pharmacy benefits and for more people with diabetes.
Medicare, Medicaid, other governmental health programs, health maintenance organizations and other third-party payors are increasingly attempting to contain healthcare costs by limiting both coverage and the level of reimbursement of medical devices, and, as a result, their coverage policies may be restrictive, or they may not cover or provide adequate payment for our products. In order to obtain reimbursement arrangements, we may have to agree to a net sales price lower than the net sales price we might charge in other sales channels or that we have charged in the past. Our revenue may be limited by the continuing efforts of government and third-party payors to contain or reduce the costs of healthcare through various increasingly sophisticated means, such as requiring prospective reimbursement and second opinions, purchasing in a bundle, or redesigning benefits. Furthermore, we are unable to predict what effect the current or any future healthcare reform will have on our business, or the effect these matters will have on our customers. Our dependence on the commercial success of the G4 PLATINUM, G5 Mobile and G6 systems makes us particularly susceptible to any cost containment or reduction efforts. Accordingly, unless government and other third-party payors provide adequate coverage and reimbursement for the G4 PLATINUM, G5 Mobile and G6 systems, people without coverage who have diabetes may not use our products.
Additionally, Medicare does not cover any items or services that are not “reasonable and necessary.” Medicare covers the CGM system, which includes supplies necessary for the use of the device, under the Durable Medical Equipment, or DME, benefit category. In order to be covered under this benefit, one component of the CGM system must meet the criteria for a durable medical device. To date, the receiver satisfied this criteria.
In some foreign markets, pricing and profitability of medical devices are subject to government control. In the United States, we expect that there will continue to be federal and state proposals for similar controls.
Also, the managed care trends and the consolidation in the health care industry in the United States and proposed legislation intended to reduce the cost of government insurance programs could significantly impact the purchase of health care services and products and has resulted in lower prices for our products or the exclusion of our products from certain reimbursement programs. For additional information on third-party reimbursement, please see our see Risk Factors entitled “Managed care trends and consolidation in the health care industry could have an adverse effect on our revenues and results of operationsoperations.”. and “Health care policy changes, including U.S. health care reform legislation, may have a material adverse effect on our business.”
Protection of our intellectual property is a strategic priority for our business. We rely on a combination of patents, copyrights, trademarks, tradenames,trade names, trade secrets, nondisclosure agreements and other measures to establish and protect our proprietary rights.
AsOur patent portfolio includes numerous issued and pending patent applications in the U.S. and other parts of the world, which in the aggregate, we believe to be of material importance in the operation of our business. U.S. patents, as well as most foreign patents, are generally effective for 20 years from the date the earliest application was filed. In some cases, the patent term may be extended. Our issued patents as of December 31, 2019, we had 516 issued U.S.2022 are set to expire over a range of years, from 2023 with respect to some of our earlier patents, in force, and numerous U.S. published patent applications pending. We believe it will take up to five years, and possibly longer, for our pending U.S. patent applications2041, subject to result in issued patents. As of December 31, 2019, we had 50 granted European patents, and numerous European patent applications and published international applications pending under the Patent Cooperation Treaty. Our patents began expiring in 2017.any extensions. We also have 31various registered U.S. trademarks, 21 registered European Community trademarks, and many other trademark registrations
and pending trademark applications around other parts of the world. In addition, we have entered into exclusive and non-exclusive licenses in the ordinary course of business relating to a wide array of technologies or other intellectual property rights or assets. Our Restated Collaboration Agreement with Verily provides us with an exclusive license to use intellectual property of Verily resulting from the collaboration, and certain Verily patents in the development, manufacture and commercialization of blood-based or interstitial glucose monitoring products more generally (subject to certain exclusions, which are outside the CGM field as it is commonly understood). It also provides us with non-exclusive license rights under Verily’s other intellectual property rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize those kinds of glucose monitoring products and certain CGM-product companion software functionalities.
Our patents and patent applications seek to protect aspects of our core membrane and sensor technologies and our product concepts for continuous glucose monitoring. We believe that our patent position provides us with sufficient rights to protect our current and proposed commercial products. However, our patent applications may not result in issued patents, and any patents that have been issued or might be issued may not protect our intellectual property rights. Furthermore, we operate in an industry characterized by extensive patent litigation, and our patents may not be upheld if challenged. Any patents issued to us may be challenged by third parties as being invalid or unenforceable, and patent litigation may result in significant damage awards and injunctions that could prevent the manufacture and sale of affected products or result in significant royalty payments in order to continue selling the products. Third parties may also independently develop similar or competing technology that avoids our patents. The steps we have taken may not prevent the misappropriation of our intellectual property, particularly in foreign countries where the laws may not protect our proprietary rights as fully as in the United States. We also face risks associated with intellectual property infringement. For additional information, see our Risk Factors, including We are subject to claims of infringement or misappropriation of the intellectual property rights of others, which could prohibit us from shipping affected products, require us to obtain licenses from third parties or to develop non-infringing alternatives, and subject us to substantial monetary damages and injunctive relief. We may also be subject to other claims or suits. and Our inability to adequately protect our intellectual property could allow our competitors and others to produce products based on our technology, which could substantially impair our ability to compete.
We also rely on trade secrets, technical know-how and continuing innovation to develop and maintain our competitive position. We seek to protect our proprietary information and other intellectual property by generally requiring our employees, consultants, contractors, suppliers, outside scientific collaborators and other advisors to execute non-disclosure and assignment of invention agreements on commencement of their employment or engagement. Agreements with our employees also forbid them from bringing the proprietary rights of third parties to us. We also generally require confidentiality or material transfer agreements from third parties that receive our confidential data or materials. We cannot guarantee that employees and third parties will abide by the confidentiality or assignment terms of these agreements. Despite measures taken to protect our intellectual property, unauthorized parties might copy aspects of our products or obtain and use information that we regard as proprietary.
We believe that taking into account the interests of our various stakeholders – including patients, caregivers, employees, investors, and our communities – enables us to operate in a sustainable manner, supports the success of our business and drives long-term value. We do this by holding true to our core values: Listen, Think Big, Be Dependable, and Serve with Integrity. These values are at the heart of our sustainability initiatives.
•Listen – We believe in listening to our customers and our employees. We have launched a number of programs to advocate for individuals living with diabetes and we support our employees and their families through a number of benefit programs that are available. In addition, we promote diversity, practice fairness, and treat everyone with respect and dignity.
•Think Big – We seek to expand global healthcare access for people with diabetes and actively work to increase access to our products. We also have committed to operate our business in a manner that is environmentally sustainable and conserves natural resources and reduces waste.
•Be Dependable – We are committed to quality and believe that is best achieved through a safe and healthy workplace as well as a Quality Management System that is compliant with all applicable regulatory requirements and which is continuously being improved.
•Serve with Integrity – While oversight of our ethics and governance structure begins with our Board of Directors and Executive Leadership Team, we expect all employees to foster a culture of accountability in line with our Code of Conduct and Business Ethics. We also maintain a compliance program to help enforce ethical conduct and adherence to applicable laws and regulations.
The Nominating and Governance Committee of the Board of Directors oversees and reviews Dexcom’s environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) risks, opportunities, strategies, programs, policies, practices, measures, objectives and performance relating to ESG matters. Our management-level ESG Steering Committee, which is comprised of the functional leads from our Operations, Human Capital, Finance and Legal departments, is responsible for, among other things, setting the overall strategy with respect to ESG matters (subject to direction from the Chief Executive Officer and oversight of the NG Committee), establishing programs, policies and practices relating to ESG matters (“DexCom’s ESG Program”) and overseeing and monitoring the implementation of DexCom’s ESG Program. The ESG Steering Committee reports to our Chief Executive Officer and provides periodic updates regarding our ESG programs, policies and practices to the Nominating and Governance Committee of the Board of Directors.
Our Sustainability Report is available at https://investors.dexcom.com/governance/governance-documents/, which is provided for reference only and is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
The medical devices that we manufacture are subject to regulation by numerous regulatory bodies, including the U.S. FDA and comparable international regulatory agencies. These agencies require manufacturers of medical devices to comply with applicable laws and regulations governing the development, testing, manufacturing, labeling, marketing and distribution of medical devices. Devices are generally subject to varying levels of regulatory control, the most comprehensive of which requires that a clinical evaluation program be conducted before a device receives approval for commercial distribution. In addition, healthcare regulatory bodies in the United States and around the world impose a range of requirements related to the payment for medical devices and the procedures in which they are used, including laws intended to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse of healthcare dollars.
U.S. Laws and Regulations
At the U.S. federal level, our products are medical devices subject to extensive and ongoing regulation by the FDA. The U.S. Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, referred to as the FDCA, and the FDA’s implementing regulations govern product design and development, pre-clinical and clinical testing, pre-market clearance, authorization or approval, establishment registration and product listing, product manufacturing, product labeling, product storage, advertising and promotion, product sales, distribution, recalls and field actions, servicing and post-market clinical surveillance. A number of U.S. states also impose licensing and compliance regimes on companies that manufacture or distribute prescription devices in the state.
In addition, the delivery of our devices in the U.S market is subject to regulation by thevarious U.S. Department of Health and Human Services divisions including CMS, the DHHS Office of the Inspector General, or OIG, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and comparable state agencies responsible for reimbursement and regulation of payment for health care items and services. U.S. laws and regulations are imposed primarily in connection with the Medicare, Medicaid, and MedicaidTRICARE programs, as well as the government’s interest in regulating the quality and cost of health care.
FDA Regulation
Unless an exemption applies, each medical device we wish to commercially distribute in the United States will require either prior 510(k) clearance, prior de novo down-classification and a related grant of marketing authorization, or prior approval from the FDA through the premarket approval, or PMA process. The FDA classifies medical devices into one of three classes. Devices requiring fewer controls because they are deemed to pose lower risk are placed in Class I or II. Class I devices are subject to general controls such as labeling, pre-market notification, and adherence to the FDA’s manufacturing requirements, which are contained in the Quality System Regulation, or QSR. Class II devices are subject to special controls such as performance standards, post-market
surveillance, FDA guidelines, or particularized labeling, as well as general controls. Some Class I and Class II devices are exempted by regulation from the pre-market notification (i.e., 510(k) clearance) requirement, and/or the requirement of compliance with substantially all of the QSR. As an example, the mobile applications that comprise the Share System were classified by the FDA as Class II exempt. With the mobile applications classified as Class II exempt, we must comply with certain general and special controls required by the FDA but we do not need prior FDA review to commercialize changes to the mobile applications. Some devices are placed in Class III, which requires approval of a PMA application, if they are deemed by the FDA to pose the greatest risk, such as life-sustaining, life-supporting or certain implantable devices, or to be “not substantially equivalent” either to a previously 510(k) cleared device or to a “preamendment” Class III device in commercial distribution before May 28, 1976 for which PMA applications have not been required.
If a previously unclassified new medical device does not qualify for the 510(k) pre-market notification process because no predicate device to which it is substantially equivalent can be identified, the device is automatically classified into Class III. The Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act of 1997 established a new route to market for low to moderate risk medical devices that are automatically placed into Class III due to the absence of a predicate device, called the “Request for Evaluation of Automatic Class III Designation,” orUnder FDA law, the de novo classification procedure. This procedure allows a manufacturer whose novel device is automatically classified into Class III to request down-classification of its medical device into Class I or Class II on the basis that the device presents low or moderate risk, rather than requiring the submission and approval of a PMA. Prior to the enactment of the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act, or FDASIA, in July 2012, a medical device could only be eligible for de novo classification if the manufacturer first submitted a 510(k) pre-market notification and received a determination from the FDA that the device was not substantially equivalent. FDASIA streamlined the de novo classification pathway by permitting (under Section 513(f)(2) of the FDCA) manufacturers to request de novo classification directly without first submitting a 510(k) pre-market notification to the FDA and receiving a not substantially equivalent determination. FDASIA sets a review time for FDA of 120 days following receipt of the de novo application, but FDA does not always meet this timeline and has publicly only committed to a review goal of 150 days for 50% of applications. If the manufacturer seeks reclassification into Class II, the manufacturer must include a draft proposal for special controls that are necessary to provide a reasonable assurance of the safety and effectiveness of the medical device. The FDA may reject the reclassification petition if it identifies a legally marketed predicate device that would be appropriate for a 510(k) or determines that the device is not low to moderate risk or that general controls would be inadequate to control the risks and special controls cannot be developed. If the FDA agrees with the down-classification, the de novo applicant will then receive authorization to market the device, and a classification regulation will be established for the device type. The device can then be used as a predicate device for future 510(k) submissions by the manufacturer or a competitor. In December 2018, the FDA issued proposed regulations to govern the de novo classification process, which if finalized would further impact this path to market.
As an alternative to the de novo process, a company could also file a reclassification petition, or the FDA could initiate such a process, seeking to change the automatic Class III designation of a novel postamendment device under Section 513(f)(3) of the FDCA. The FDA issued a final rule (to take effect March 17, 2019) to clarify the process where the FDA initiates such reclassification (issuance of a proposed reclassification order; optional panel consultation; and final reclassification order published in the Federal Register).
Our G4 PLATINUM and G5 Mobile systems (excluding associated Share System functionalities and mobile applications) have been classified as devices requiring PMA approval. A PMA application must be supported by valid scientific evidence, which typically requires extensive data, including technical, pre-clinical, clinical, manufacturing and labeling data, to demonstrate to the FDA’s satisfaction the safety and efficacy of the device. A PMA application also must include a complete description of the device and its components, a detailed description of the methods, facilities and controls used to manufacture the device, and proposed labeling. After a PMA application is submitted and found to be sufficiently complete, the FDA begins an in-depth review of the submitted information. During this review period, the FDA may request additional information or clarification of information already provided. Also during the review period, an advisory panel of experts from outside the FDA may be convened to review and evaluate the application and provide recommendations to the FDA. In addition, the FDA generally will conduct a pre-approval inspection of the manufacturing facility to evaluate compliance with QSR, which requires manufacturers to implement and follow design, testing, control, documentation and other quality assurance procedures.
FDA review of a PMA application generally takes between one and three years, but may take significantly longer. The FDA can delay, limit or deny approval of a PMA application for many reasons, including:
our systems may not be safe or effective to the FDA’s satisfaction;
the data from our pre-clinical studies and clinical trials may be insufficient to support approval;
the manufacturing process or facilities we use may not meet applicable requirements; and
changes in FDA approval policies or adoption of new regulations may require additional data.reasons.
If an FDA evaluation of a PMA application or manufacturing facilities is favorable, the FDA will either issue an approval letter, or approvable letter, which usually contains a number of conditions which must be met in order to secure final approval of the PMA. When and if those conditions have been fulfilled to the satisfaction of the FDA, the agency will issue a PMA approval letter authorizing commercial marketing of a device, subject to the conditions of approval and the limitations established in the approval letter. If the FDA’s evaluation of a PMA application or manufacturing facilities is not favorable, the FDA will deny approval of the PMA or issue a not approvable letter. The FDA may also determine that additional trials are necessary, in which case the PMA approval may be delayed for several months or years while the trials are conducted and data is submitted in an amendment to the PMA. The PMA process can be expensive, uncertain and lengthy and a number of devices for which FDA approval has been sought by other companies have never been approved by the FDA for marketing.
New PMA applications or PMA supplements may be required for modifications to the manufacturing process, labeling, device specifications, materials or design of a device that is approved through the PMA process. PMA supplements often require submission of the same type of information as an initial PMA application, except that the supplement is limited to information needed to support any changes from the device covered by the approved PMA application and may or may not require as extensive clinical data or the convening of an advisory panel.
Clinical trials are almost always required to support a PMA application and are sometimes required for a 510(k) clearance. These trials generally require submission of an application for an investigational device exemption, or IDE to the FDA. The IDE application must be supported by appropriate data, such as animal and laboratory testing results, showing that it is safe to test the device in humans and that the testing protocol is scientifically sound. The IDE application must be approved in advance by the FDA for a specified number of patients, unless the product is deemed a non-significant risk device and eligible for abbreviated IDE requirements. Generally, clinical trials for a significant risk device may begin once the IDE application is approved by the FDA and the study protocol and informed consent are approved by appropriate institutional review boards at the clinical trial sites. The FDA’s approval of an IDE allows clinical testing to go forward, but does not bind the FDA to accept the results of the trial as sufficient to prove the product’s safety and efficacy, even if the trial meets its intended success criteria. All clinical trials must be conducted in accordance with the FDA’s IDE regulations, which govern investigational device labeling, prohibit promotion, and specify an array of Good Clinical Practice requirements, which include among other things, recordkeeping, reporting and monitoring responsibilities of study sponsors and study investigators. Clinical trials must further comply with the FDA’s regulations for institutional review board approval and for informed consent and other human subject protections. Required records and reports are subject to inspection by the FDA. The results of clinical testing may be unfavorable or, even if the intended safety and efficacy success criteria are achieved, may not be considered sufficient for the FDA to grant approval or clearance of a product. The commencement or completion of any of our clinical trials may be delayed or halted, or be inadequate to support approval of a PMA application, for numerous reasons, including, but not limited to, the following:
•the FDA or other regulatory authorities do not approve a clinical trial protocol or a clinical trial, or place a clinical trial on hold;
•patients do not enroll in clinical trials at the rate we expect;
•patients do not comply with trial protocols;
•patient follow-up is not at the rate we expect;
•patients experience adverse side effects;
•patients die during a clinical trial, even though their death may not be related to our products;
•institutional review boards and third-party clinical investigators may delay or reject our trial protocol;
•third-party clinical investigators decline to participate in a trial or do not perform a trial on our anticipated schedule or consistent with the clinical trial protocol, good clinical practices or other FDA requirements;
DexCom•Dexcom or third-party organizations do not perform data collection, monitoring and analysis in a timely or accurate manner or consistent with the clinical trial protocol or investigational or statistical plans;
•third-party clinical investigators have significant financial interests related to DexComDexcom or the study that the FDA deems to make the study results unreliable, or DexComDexcom or investigators fail to disclose such interests;
•regulatory inspections of our clinical trials or manufacturing facilities, which may, among other things, require us to undertake corrective action or suspend or terminate our clinical trials;
•changes in governmental regulations or administrative actions applicable to our trial protocols;protocols, including, for example, recent legislation passed by Congress requiring clinical trial sponsors to increase engagement with the FDA on matters related to appropriate representation of racial and ethnic minorities in clinical trial data for pivotal studies;
•the interim or final results of the clinical trial are inconclusive or unfavorable as to safety or effectiveness; and
•the FDA concludes that the results from our trial and/or trial design are inadequate to demonstrate safety and effectiveness of the product.
In November 2011,addition to our CGM device, we received 510(k) clearance from the FDA to market to clinicshave a Class I data management service which we market to clinics. This service helps healthcare providers and patients see, understand and use blood glucose meter data to diagnose and manage diabetes. In 2014, we submitted a request to the FDA via the de novo process and the FDA agreed that our data management services with CGM data is classified as Class I.
Our data transferThe service also allows researchers to control the transfer of data from certain diabetes devices to research tools and databases according to their own research workflows.
The infrastructure of the data management service is considered “medical device data systems,” or MDDS, and does not require 510(k) clearance.MDDS. MDDS are hardware or software products that transfer, store, convert formats, and display medical device data. An MDDS does not modify the data or modify the display of the data, and it does not by itself control the functions or parameters of any other medical device. MDDS are not intended to be used for active patient monitoring. On February 15, 2011, the FDA issued a regulation down-classifying MDDS from Class III (high-risk) to Class I (low-risk). Since down-classifying MDDS, the FDA gained additional experience with these types of technologies, and determined that these devices pose a low risk to the public. Therefore, the FDA stated in 2014 guidance that it did not intend to enforce compliance with the regulatory controls that apply to MDDS devices, including registration and listing, premarket review, postmarket reporting, and QSR for manufacturers of these types of devices. In 2016, theThe 21st Century Cures Act amendedexcluded certain software functions from the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act’s definition of “device” to exclude certain software functions,, thus products meeting the definition of MDDS (which previously might have been regulated as Class I, 510(k)-exempt devices) are no longer considered devices and thus are not subject to FDA regulatory requirements.
Additional functions of, or intended uses for, our software platform may require us to obtain either 510(k) clearance or PMA approvalmarketing authorization from the FDA. To obtain 510(k) clearance, we must submit a pre-market notification demonstrating that the software system is substantially equivalent to a previously cleared 510(k) device or a pre-amendment device that was in commercial distribution before May 28, 1976 for which the FDA has not yet called for the submission of a PMA application. The FDA’s 510(k) clearance pathway generally takes from three to twelve months from the date the application is completed, but can take significantly longer. After a medical device receives 510(k) clearance, any modification that could significantly affect its safety or effectiveness, or that would constitute a significant change in its intended use, requires a new 510(k) clearance.
In March 2018, we obtained marketing authorization for our G6 as an integrated continuous glucose monitoring, iCGM, system for determining glucose (sugar) levels in children aged two and older and adults with diabetes, via the de novo process.
After a device is authorized for marketing and placed in commercial distribution, numerous regulatory requirements apply. These include:
•establishment registration and device listing;
•QSR, which requires manufacturers to follow design, testing, control, storage, supplier/contractor selection, complaint handling, documentation and other quality assurance procedures;
•labeling regulations, which prohibit the promotion of products for unapproved or off-label uses or indications and impose other restrictions on labeling, advertising and promotion;
•medical device reporting regulations, which require that manufacturers report to the FDA if a device may have caused or contributed to a death or serious injury or malfunctioned in a way that would likely cause or contribute to a death or serious injury if it were to recur;
•voluntary and mandatory device recalls to address problems when a device is defective and/or could be a risk to health; and
•corrections and removal reporting regulations, which require that manufacturers report to the FDA field corrections and product recalls or removals if undertaken to reduce a risk to health posed by the device or to remedy a violation of the FDCA that may present a risk to health.
Also, the FDA may require us to conduct post-market surveillance studies or order us to establish and maintain a system for tracking our products through the chain of distribution to the patient level. The FDA and the Food and Drug Branch of the California Department of Health Services enforce regulatory requirements by conducting
periodic, unannounced inspections and market surveillance. Inspections may include the manufacturing facilities of our subcontractors.
Failure to comply with applicable regulatory requirements, including those applicable to the conduct of our clinical trials, can result in enforcement action by the FDA, which may lead to any of the following sanctions:
•warning letters or untitled letters that require corrective action;
•fines and civil penalties;
•unanticipated expenditures;
•delays in approving or refusal to approve our future continuous glucose monitoring systems or other products;
•FDA refusal to issue certificates to foreign governments needed to export our products for sale in other countries;
•suspension or withdrawal of FDA approval;
•product recall or seizure;
•interruption of production;
•operating restrictions;
•injunctions; and
•criminal prosecution.
We and our contract manufacturers, specification developers, and some suppliers of components or device accessories, are also required to manufacture our products in compliance with current Good Manufacturing Practice requirements set forth in the QSR. The QSR requires a quality system for the design, manufacture, packaging, labeling, storage, installation and servicing of marketed devices, and includes extensive requirements with respect to quality management and organization, device design, buildings, equipment, purchase and handling of components or services, production and process controls, packaging and labeling controls, device evaluation, distribution, installation, complaint handling, servicing, and record keeping. The FDA evaluates compliance with the QSR through periodic unannounced inspections that may include the manufacturing facilities of our subcontractors. If the FDA believes we or any of our contract manufacturers or regulated suppliers are not in compliance with these requirements, it can shut down our manufacturing operations, require recall of our products, refuse to approve new marketing applications, institute legal proceedings to detain or seize products, enjoin future violations, or assess civil and criminal penalties against us or our officers or other employees. Any such action by the FDA would have a material adverse effect on our business. We may be unable to comply with all applicable FDA regulations.
U.S. Fraud and Abuse Laws and Other Compliance Requirements
The healthcare industry is subject to various U.S. federal and state laws pertaining to healthcare fraud and abuse. Violations of these laws are punishable by criminal and civil sanctions, including, in some instances, exclusion from participation in U.S. federal and state healthcare programs, including Medicare and Medicaid.
Anti-kickback Laws. The federal Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits persons from knowingly and willfully soliciting, receiving, offering or providing remuneration directly or indirectly to induce either (i) the referral of an individual, or the furnishing,(ii) purchasing, ordering, recommending, or arranging for the purchase or order of a good or service, for which payment may be made, in whole or in part, under a federal healthcare program such as Medicare and Medicaid. The definition of “remuneration” has been broadly interpreted to include anything of value, including such items as gifts, discounts, the furnishing of supplies or equipment, credit arrangements, payments to consultants, waiver of payments, and providing anything at less than its fair market value. The DepartmentGiven the breadth of Health and Human Services - Office of the Inspector General, or OIG,this prohibition, Congress has issued a number of exceptions and has granted authority to the OIG to issue safe harbor regulations, commonly known as safe harbors, thateach of which set forth certain provisions which, if satisfied in their entirety, will assure healthcare providers and other parties that they will not be prosecuted underexempt an arrangement from being found to violate the federal Anti-Kickback Statute. The failure of a transaction or arrangement to fit precisely within one or more exceptions or safe harbors doesis not necessarily mean that itper se illegal; rather, each arrangement is illegal or that prosecution will be pursued. However,subject to a facts and circumstances analysis to determine whether the requisite improper intent exists. Therefore, conduct and business arrangements that do not fully satisfy each applicable exception or safe harbor element may result in increased scrutiny by government enforcement authorities or invite litigation by private citizens under federal whistleblower laws.
The penalties for violating Violation of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute include imprisonment for up to ten years,is a felony and conviction could result in the assessment of fines of up to $100,000 per violation and possible exclusion from federal healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. Many states have adopted prohibitions similaror imprisonment for up to the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, some of which apply to the referral of patients for healthcare services reimbursed by any source, not only by the government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.10 years or both.
Federal Civil False Claims Act. The federal Civil False Claims Act prohibits, among other things, knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented a false claim or the knowing use of false statements or records to obtain payment from the federal government. When an entity is determined to have violated the False Claims Act, it must paymay
be subject to repayment of three times the actual damages sustained by the government, plus significant mandatory civil penalties of between $11,181 and $22,363 for each separate false claim. Suits filed under the False Claims Act known as “qui tam” actions, can be brought by any individual on behalf of the government and such individuals (known as “relators” or, more commonly, as “whistleblowers”) may share in any amounts paid by the entity to the government in fines or settlement. These whistleblower-initiated False Claims Act cases are commonly referred to as “qui tam” actions. False Claims Act cases may also be initiated by the U.S. Department of Justice or any of its local U.S. Attorneys’ Offices. In addition, certain states have enacted laws modeled after the federal False Claims Act. Qui tam actions have increased significantly in recent years, causing greater numbers of healthcare companies to have to defend a false claim action, even before the validity of the claim is established and even if the government decides not to intervene in the lawsuit. Healthcare companies may decide to agree to large settlements with the government and/or whistleblowers to avoid the cost and negative publicity associated with litigation. Federal enforcement agencies also have showedshown increased interest in
pharmaceutical and medical device companies’ product promotion, health care professional engagements, and patient assistance programs, including reimbursement and co-pay support services, and a number of investigations into these programs have resulted in significant civil and criminal settlements. In addition, the Affordable Care Act amended federal law to provide that the government may assert that a claim includingfor items or services resulting from a violation of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute constitutes a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the federal civil False Claims Act. Criminal prosecution is also possible for knowingly making or presenting a false or fictitious or fraudulent claim to the federal government.
Federal Physician Self-Referral Law. The Federal Physician Self-Referral Law, also referred to as the Stark Law, prohibits a physician (or an immediate family member of a physician) who has a financial relationship with an entity from referring patients to that entity for certain designated health services, including durable medical equipment such as the CGM receiver and supplies,payable by Medicare, unless an exception applies.The Stark Law also prohibits such an entity from presenting or causing to be presented a claim to the Medicare program for such designated health services provided pursuant to a prohibited referral, and provides that certain collections related to any such claims must be refunded in a timely manner. Because we bill Medicare for DME and related supplies, the company’s financial relationships with referring physicians are governed by the Stark Law. Exceptions to the Stark Law include, among other things, exceptions for certain financial relationships, including both ownership and compensation arrangements. The Stark Law is a strict liability statute, therefore, to the extent that the statute is implicated and an exception does not apply, the statute is violated. Violations of the Stark Law must be reported and payment for improper referrals returned to Medicare in order to avoid potential liability under the federal False Claims Act for avoiding a known obligation to return identified overpayments. In the fall of 2020, we transitioned our Medicare business to distributors and we no longer bill Medicare directly for DME and related supplies. In doing so, we have limited our exposure under the Stark Law. In addition to the Stark Law, many states have implemented similar physician self-referral prohibitions that may extend to Medicaid, third party payors, and self-pay patients. Violations of the Stark Law mustpatients, and may be reportedapplicable to our relationships with physicians and returned to Medicare in order to avoid potential liability under the federal False Claims Act for avoiding a known obligation to return identified overpayments. Violations of the Stark Law, the Anti-Kickback Statute, the Civil Monetary Penalties Law and/or the federal False Claims Act can also form the basis for exclusion from participation in federal and state healthcare programs.other health care providers.
Civil Monetary Penalties Law. The Civil Monetary Penalties Law, or CMPL, authorizes the imposition of substantial civil money penalties against an entity that engages in certain prohibited activities including but not limited to violations of the Stark Law or Anti-Kickback Statute, knowing submission of a false or fraudulent claim, employment of an individual excluded individual,from participation in federal health care programs, and the provision or offer of anything of value to a Medicare or Medicaid beneficiary that the transferring party knows or should know is likely to influence beneficiarythe beneficiary’s selection of a particular provider or supplier from which to receive items or services for which payment may be made in whole or part by a federal health care program,commonly known as the Beneficiary Inducement CMP. Remuneration is defined under the CMPL as any transfer of items or services for free or for less than fair market value. There are certain exceptions to the definition of remuneration for offerings that meet the Financial Need, Preventative Care, or Promoting Access to Care exceptions. Sanctions for violations of the CMPL include civil monetary penalties and administrative penalties up to and including exclusion from participation in federal health care programs.
Violations of the Stark Law, the Anti-Kickback Statute, the Civil Monetary Penalties Law and/or the federal False Claims Act can also form the basis for exclusion from participation in federal and state healthcare programs.
State Analogs of Federal Fraud and Abuse Laws. Many U.S. states have their own laws intended to protect against fraud and abuse in the health care industry and more broadly. In some cases these laws prohibit or regulate additional conduct beyond whatthat covered under federal law affects.law. Penalties for violating these laws can range from fines to criminal sanctions.
HIPAAHealth Insurance Portability and Other Privacy Laws and Regulations.Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as amended by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and implementing regulations, orcollectively HIPAA, created two new federal crimes: healthcare fraud and false statements relating to healthcare matters. The healthcare fraud statute prohibits knowingly and willfully executing a scheme to
defraud any healthcare benefit program, including private payors. A violation of this statute is a felony and may result in fines, imprisonment or exclusion from government sponsored programs. The false statements statute prohibits knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing or covering up a material fact or making any materially false, fictitious or fraudulent statement in connection with the delivery of or payment for healthcare benefits, items or services.
HIPAA and Other U.S. Privacy Laws and Regulations. HIPAA, as well as a number of other federal and state privacy-relateddata protection laws, also extensively regulate the use and disclosure of individually identifiable health information, known as “protected health information,” and requireother personal information. HIPAA requires covered entities, including health plans and most health care providers, to implement administrative, physical and technical safeguards to protect the security of covered information (known as “protected health information”) and sets limits and conditions on the uses and disclosures that may be made of such information.information without the authorization of the relevant individual. Certain provisions of theHIPAA’s security and privacy regulations apply to business associates (entities that handle protected health information on behalf of covered entities), and business associates are subject to direct liability for violation of these provisions. In addition, a covered entity may be subject to criminal and civil penalties as a result of a business associate violating HIPAA, if the business associate is found to be an agent of the covered entity. Covered entities must report breaches of unsecured protected health information to affected individuals without unreasonable delay and notification must also be made to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and, in certain situations involving large breaches, to the media. Various U.S. state laws and regulations may also require us to notify affected individuals and state agencies in the event of a data breach involving individually identifiable information. The OCR enforces the HIPAA regulations and performs compliance audits.
On December 1, 2022, OCR issued a bulletin on the requirements under HIPAA for online tracking technologies (e.g., cookies, pixels) to protect the privacy and security of health information. This bulletin outlined OCR’s position on the use of online tracking technology vendors, when certain information received by such vendors constitutes protected health information under HIPAA, and accordingly, when business associate agreements must be executed between covered entities, like Dexcom, and such vendors. In addition to enforcement by OCR, state attorneys general are authorized to bring civil actions seeking either injunction or damages in response to violations that threaten the privacy of state residents. Dexcom is a covered entity under HIPAA and in certain circumstances may also be a business associate of another covered entity. The HIPAA privacy regulations and security regulations impose and will continue to impose significant costs on us in order to comply with these standards.
In addition,There are numerous other laws and legislative and regulatory initiatives at the federal and state levels addressing privacy and security concerns. We also remain subject to federal or state privacy-related laws that may be more restrictive or contain different requirements than the privacy regulations issued under HIPAA. These laws vary and could impose additional penalties. For example, the Federal Trade Commission uses its consumer protection authority to initiate enforcement actions in response to alleged privacy and data security violations. Further, certain states have proposed or enacted legislation that will create new data privacy and security obligations for certain entities, such asentities. These new laws include the California Consumer Privacy Act, that wentor CCPA, which came into effect January 1, 2020.2020 and was amended and expanded by the California Privacy Rights Act, or CPRA, passed on November 3, 2020, and effective as of January 1, 2023; the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act, effective as of January 1, 2023; the Colorado Privacy Act and the Connecticut Data Privacy Act, both effective as of July 1, 2023; and the Utah Consumer Privacy Act, effective as of December 31, 2023. Among other things, these state-specific laws create new data privacy obligations for covered companies and provide new privacy rights to state residents, including the right to opt out of certain disclosures of their information. The CCPA also created a private right of action with statutory damages for certain data breaches, thereby potentially increasing risks associated with a data breach. Draft regulations implementing the CPRA and Colorado statute have been published, but many questions remain as to how all of the new statutes will be interpreted. The, the effects of state data protection laws are significant and have required us to modify our data processing practices, and may cause us to incur substantial costs and expenses to ensure ongoing compliance, particularly given our base of operations in California.
In addition to the laws discussed above, we may see more stringent state and federal privacy legislation passed in 2023 and beyond, as the increased cyber-attacks during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic have once again put a spotlight on data privacy and security in the U.S. and other jurisdictions. We cannot predict where new legislation might arise, the scope of such legislation, or the potential impact to our business and operations.
FCPA and Other Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption Laws. The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or FCPA, prohibits U.S. corporations and their representatives from offering, promising, authorizing or making payments to any foreign
government official, government staff member, political party or political candidate in an attempt to obtain or retain business abroad. The scope of the FCPA would include interactions with certain healthcare
professionals in many countries.countries, either directly or through our contracted distributors. Our present and future business has been and will continue to be subject to various other U.S. and foreign laws, rules and/or regulations.
Physician Payment Sunshine Act. Pursuant to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that was signed into law in March 2010, the federal government enacted the Physician Payment Sunshine Act. As a manufacturer of U.S. FDA‑regulated devices reimbursable by federal healthcare programs, we are subject to this law, which requires us to track and annually report certain direct or indirect payments and other transfers of value we make to certain U.S.-licensed physicians orhealth care practitioners and U.S. teaching hospitals. We are also required to report certain ownership or investment interests held by physicians and their immediate family members. In 2018, the law was extendedamended to require tracking and reporting of payments and transfers of value provided to health care practitioners besides physicians, including physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and other mid-level practitioners. ReportingThese expanded reporting requirements will go intotook effect in 2022 for payments and transfers of value made to these additional practitioner-types in 2021. CMS has the potential to impose penalties of up to $1.15 million per year for violations of the Physician Payment Sunshine Act, depending on the circumstances, and reported payments reported also have the potential to draw scrutiny on payments to andour relationships with physicians,health care practitioners and academic medical institutions, which may have implications under the Anti-Kickback Statute Stark Law and other healthcare laws.
In addition, there has been a recent trend of increased federalcertain states also have laws and state regulation ofregulations related to payments and other transfers of value provided to healthcare professionals and entities. Similar to the federal law, certain states also have adopted marketing and/or transparency laws relevant to device manufacturers, some of which are broader in scope. Certain states also mandate that device manufacturers implement compliance programs. Other states impose restrictions on device manufacturer marketing practices and require tracking and reporting of gifts, compensation, and other remuneration to healthcare professionals and entities. The need to build and maintain a robust compliance program with different compliance and/or reporting requirements increases the possibility that a healthcare company may violate one or more of the requirements, resulting in fines and penalties.
International Regulation
International sales of medical devices are subject to foreign government regulations, which may vary substantially from country to country. The time required to obtain approval in a foreign country may be longer or shorter than that required for FDA approval, and the requirements may differ. There is a trend towards harmonization of quality system standards among the European Union, United States, Canada and various other industrialized countries.
The primary regulatory body in Europeframework governing medical devices is that oflargely harmonized within the European Union, which includes most of the major countries in Europe.Europe (please note that the UK is effectively no longer part of the European Union as of January 1, 2021). Other countries, such as Switzerland, have voluntarily adopted laws and regulations that mirror those of the European Union with respect to medical devices. The European Union has adopted numerous directives and standards regulating the design, manufacture, clinical trials, labeling and adverse event reporting for medical devices. Devices that comply withTo be placed on the requirements ofEuropean Union market, devices must undergo a relevant directive will be entitled toconformity assessment and bear the CE conformity marking,mark, indicating that the device conforms to the essential requirements of the applicable directives and, accordingly, can be commercially distributed throughout Europe.rules. The method of assessing conformity varies depending on the class of the product, but normally involves a combination of self-assessment by the manufacturer and a third-party assessment by a “Notified Body.” This third-party assessment, which may consist of an audit of the manufacturer’s quality system and specific testing of the manufacturer’s product. An assessment by a Notified Body of one country within the European Unionproduct, is always required in order for a manufacturer to commercially distribute the product throughout the European Union.Union, except in case of Class I medical devices (those entailing the lowest level of risk). Outside of the European Union, regulatory approval needs to be sought on a country-by-country basis in order for us to market our products. The European Union regulatory bodies finalized a new Medical Device Regulation, (MDR)or MDR, went into force in 2017, which replacedreplacing the existing DirectivesDirective and providedproviding three years for transition and compliance.compliance, which has been extended by one additional year. The MDR will changebecame applicable in the European Union on May 26, 2021, changing several aspects of the existing regulatory framework. Other countries have adopted medical device regulatory regimes, such as the Classification Rules for Medical Devices published by the Hong Kong Department of Health, the Health Sciences Authority of Singapore regulation of medical devices under the Health Products Act, and Health Canada’s risk classification system for invasive devices, among others. Each country may have its own processes and requirements for medical device licensing, approval, and regulation, therefore requiring us to seek regulatory approvals on a country-by-country basis.
Outside the United States a range of anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws, as well and some industry-specific laws and codes of conduct, apply to the medical device industry and interactions with government officials and entities and healthcare professionals. Laws include the UK Bribery Act of 2010. Further, the EU member countries have emphasized a greater focus on healthcare fraud and abuse and have indicated greater attention to the industry by the European Anti-Fraud Office. MedTech Europe, the medical device industry association, also
introduced the Code of Ethical Business Practices, which came into effect on January 1, 2017. Countries in Asia have also become more active in their enforcement of anti-bribery laws and with respect to procurement and supply chain fraud.
In the European Union, increasingly stringent data protection and privacy rules that have and will continue to have substantial impact on the use of patient data across the healthcare industry became effective in May 2018. The EU General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, applies across the European Union and includes, among other things, a requirement for
prompt notice of data breaches to data subjects and supervisory authorities in certain circumstances and significant fines for non-compliance. The GDPR fine framework can be up to 20 million euros, or up to 4 %4% of the company’s total global turnover of the preceding fiscal year, whichever is higher. The GDPR also requires companies processing personal data of individuals residing in the European Union to comply with EU privacy and data protection rules, even if the company itself does not have a physical presence in the European Union. Noncompliance could result in the imposition of fines, penalties, or orders to stop noncompliant activities. Due to the strong consumer protection aspects of the GDPR, companies subject to its purview are allocating substantial legal costs to the development of necessary policies and procedures and overall compliance efforts. We expect continued costs associated with maintaining compliance with GDPR into the future. For example, on July 16, 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued a judgment in Case C-311/18 that declared the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework invalid (Data Protection Commissioner v Facebook Ireland Ltd and Maximillian Schrems, also knowns as “Schrems II”). In the absence of the new adequacy decision, this judgment still results in additional compliance obligations for companies that rely on mechanisms other than the Privacy Shield, like standard contractual clauses and appropriate supplementary measures to ensure a valid basis for the transfer of personal data outside of Europe. Though a new adequacy decision (EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework) may be put in place in the near future, it may also be subject to challenges similar to those faced by the Privacy Shield. In view of this and other developments, data transfer risk remains a potential issue that requires regular monitoring. We expect continued costs associated with maintaining compliance with the GDPR into the future, and these requirements, as interpreted by EU data protection authorities, could negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Environmental Regulation
Our research and development and clinical processes involve the handling of potentially harmful biological materials as well as hazardous materials. We are subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations governing the use, handling, storage and disposal of hazardous and biological materials and we incur expenses relating to compliance with these laws and regulations. If violations of environmental, health and safety laws occur, we could be held liable for damages, penalties and costs of remedial actions. These expenses or this liability could have a significant negative impact on our financial condition. We may violate environmental, health and safety laws in the future as a result of human error, equipment failure or other causes. Environmental laws could become more stringent over time, imposing greater compliance costs and increasing risks and penalties associated with violations. We are subject to potentially conflicting and changing regulatory agendas of political, business and environmental groups. Changes to or restrictions on permitting requirements or processes, hazardous or biological material storage or handling might require an unplanned capital investment or relocation. Failure to comply with new or existing laws or regulations could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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Advisory Boards and Consultants |
We have relied upon the advice of experts in the development and commercialization of our products. Since 2005, we have used experts in various disciplines on a consulting basis as needed to solve problems or accelerate development pathways. We may continue to engage advisors from the academic, consultancy, governmental or other areas to assist us as necessary. Relationships between manufacturers and physicians, including in consultancy and advisory board roles, is subject to scrutiny under the Stark Law, the federal Anti-Kickback Statute and theirits state law equivalents. Due to this scrutiny, we incur legal and consulting fees to ensure our relationships with physicians and other health care providers meet regulatory requirements, including that compensation paid to such physicians is within fair market value.
We aim to foster a diverse, inclusive and engaging culture that values each person’s unique skill set and to continue to attract – and retain – top talent throughout the organization. 2022 represented a year of growth across Dexcom; our employee population grew both by number and global footprint. With our shift from office to hybrid work, we have access to more – and more diverse – talent than ever before. As of December 31, 2019,2022, we hadhave approximately 3,9007,600 employees around the globe, including 7,500 full-time employees. Approximately 60% of our full-time U.S. employees are ethnically diverse.
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Country | | Female | | Male | | Grand Total | | Ethnically Diverse (US Only)* |
United States | | 2,300 | | | 2,900 | | | 5,200 | | | 3,300 | |
Non-United States (“OUS”) | | 1,300 | | | 1,100 | | | 2,400 | | | N/A |
Grand Total** | | 3,600 | | | 4,000 | | | 7,600 | | | 3,300 | |
*All diversity data is self-reported. We capture ethnic diversity data in the United States only, comprised of the following categories: Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian, American Indian/Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, Two or More Races.
**Includes full time and part time employees.
The human capital measures and objectives that we focus on include diversity, equity and inclusion (“DEI”); communications and engagement; health, safety and wellness; total rewards and pay equity; and talent growth and development.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Our journey to create a more diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace continues. As Dexcom continues to grow and scale, our DEI initiatives have been critical not only for company culture but also for the growing diversity of patients our products will benefit across the globe.
With expanded talent and diversity staff, we have evolved the DEI Leadership Council, or DLC, as a means for leaders to work closely together to advance the broader DEI strategy across the organization. We are proud to support our global and local employee resource groups, whose employee-led activities and initiatives we believe continue to foster a sense of belonging for our employees. In 2022, foundational DEI training was launched to all employees. We also offered opportunities for employees to take a deeper dive into specific topics related to DEI. 2022 also allowed us to build out our talent programs to foster equitable access and visibility to our up-and-coming diverse leaders within the company. We continue to weave DEI into talent conversations, particularly at senior levels, which we believe has contributed to our improved representation of female leaders at Dexcom.
Communications and Engagement
Through strategic communications, we have strengthened the connection between our leaders and our business goals, as well as the behaviors needed to drive our employee experience. We also believe by listening to our employees, we can create a dynamic workplace that will foster productivity while promoting work-life balance and connection across the organization. We have continued to seek out “the voice of the employee” through life cycle surveys. Each year, we offer an engagement survey titled “We’re Listening.” Employee engagement scores remain high based on index and remains consistent at approximately 80% since November 2021. What is notable is people are proud to work here and see a clear link between their work and the Dexcom mission.
Health, Safety and Wellness
We are deeply committed to the safety, health and wellness of our employees. The Dexcom Environmental, Health, Safety & Sustainability team develops global safety practices and procedures, trains employees, and approximately 1,300 contractmonitors compliance. Through these efforts, along with leadership commitment and temporaryinvestment of resources in support of workplace safety initiatives, our total US injury rate has consistently tracked below industry averages.
We also provide comprehensive well-being programs that support our employees globally. Noneand their families. For example, Inspire, our global wellness platform, helps employees and their family members develop and achieve their physical, emotional, and financial well-being goals. We offer our employees the choice of several health plans including the Level2 program, which is designed specifically to support individuals with type 2 diabetes, and provides participants a Dexcom CGM, an activity tracker, and ongoing coaching to encourage greater health outcomes.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continued in 2022, our goal to support our employees’ needs remained constant. We continued to provide both COVID and flu vaccination clinics for employees and their families, proactive on-site testing for our employees who returned to the workplace, and continued support of remote work for employees whose roles allow for it. We also continue to evaluate how to maintain a hybrid workplace beyond the pandemic to ensure that we meet our employees’ ever-changing needs outside the workplace.
Total Rewards and Pay Equity
Our total rewards package includes market competitive pay, comprehensive and competitive global benefits and retirement offerings, paid time off and family leave, tuition reimbursement and on-site services. To foster a stronger sense of ownership and align the interests of employees with shareholders, we offer an Employee Stock Purchase Plan, and restricted stock units are provided to eligible employees under our broad-based stock incentive programs.
In 2022, we continued our proactive year-end global market adjustment process intended to ensure we maintain pay equity between active employees and potential new external hires. Through this process, employees who meet predefined criteria may be eligible for an additional adjustment in base salary if they have fallen below Dexcom’s determined minimum. We believe by continuing to ensure equitable pay between existing and new hires, we will be better positioned to retain valued employees.
Additionally, we continue to proactively review both gender and ethnicity pay equity for our global employees in the same or similar roles. The goal of these reviews is to identify and close any gaps in average pay, after accounting for legitimate business factors that may explain differences, such as performance, time in role, and tenure with the company. We have incorporated the findings into our compensation assessment cycles, and we recognize the need to regularly review pay equity to maintain our pay equity goals. With the implementation of our global market adjustment process, we will now conduct the gender and ethnicity review twice a year.
Talent Growth and Development
We continue to invest in new learning systems and programming to support employee development. To support the personal and professional growth of our workforce, we have built an extensive library of development offerings to empower employees at all levels to advance their skill sets and knowledge base. Because there is no one-size-fits-all approach to career development, we continue to evolve our curriculum to meet the needs of our diverse workforce. At this time, our employees have completed over 32,000 hours dedicated to this learning.
In addition, each employee has unlimited access to LinkedIn Learning, which offers more than 13,000 courses designed to support career advancement. In 2022, more than one-third of our employees are representedused LinkedIn Learning to assist in their professional development. We increased the utilization of this platform in 2022 by a labor union or covered by a collective bargaining agreement, except forembedding videos and courses in learning initiatives, encouraging leader and peer recommendations, and using targeted marketing of this resource throughout the organization. This has resulted in our employees completing over 14,000 courses in our Mainz, Germany location that are represented by a Works Council. We have never experienced any employment-related work stoppages and we consider our employee relations to be good.
Available Information
Our Internet website address is www.dexcom.com. We provide free access to various reports that we file with or furnish to the SEC through our website, as soon as reasonably practicable after they have been filed or furnished. These reports include, but are not limited to, our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and any amendments to those reports. Our SEC reports can be accessed through the investor relations section of our website, or through www.sec.gov. Also available on our website are printable versions of our Audit Committee charter, Compensation Committee charter, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee charter, and Code of Conduct and Business Ethics. Information on our website does not constitute part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K or other report we file or furnish with the SEC. Stockholders may request copies of these documents from:
DexCom, Inc.
6340 Sequence Drive
San Diego, CA 92121
(858) 200-0200
2022.
Our short and long-term success is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, many of which involve factors that are difficult to predict or beyond our control. Before making a decision to invest in, hold or sell our common stock, stockholders and potential stockholders should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below, in addition to the other information contained in or incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K, as well as the other information we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. If any of the following risks are realized, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects could be materially and adversely affected. In that case, the value of our common stock could decline and stockholders may lose all or part of their investment. Furthermore, additional risks and uncertainties of which we are currently unaware, or which we currently consider to be immaterial, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. Refer to our disclaimer regarding forward-looking statements at the beginning of our Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
Operations in Item 7 of this Annual Report. |
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Risks Related to Our Business and Operations |
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Risks Related to Pricing and Reimbursement |
If we experience decreasing prices for our products and we are unable to reduce our expenses, including the per unit cost of producing our products, there may be a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
We have experienced, and anticipate that we will continue to experience, decreasing prices for our products due to pricing pressure from managed care organizations and other third-party payors, increased market power of our payors, and increased competition among suppliers, including manufacturing services providers, as the medical device industry consolidates. If the prices for our products and services decrease and we are unable to reduce our expenses, including the cost of sourcing materials, logistics and the cost to manufacture our products, our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows will be adversely affected. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic may result in increased costs for manufacturing and outsourced services while also causing additional pressure to reduce the prices for our products if a recession or depression occurs and people are unable to afford our products. We cannot predict the ultimate impact that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, economic conditions, or their effects could have on our business operations, financial condition and cash flows.
We are subject to cost-containment efforts by third-party payors that could result in reduced product pricing and/or sales of our products and cause a reduction in future revenue.
In the United States and other countries, government and private sector access to health care products continues to be a subject of focus, and efforts to reduce health care costs are being made by third-party payors. Most of our customers rely on third-party payors, including government programs and private health insurance plans, to cover the cost of our products. We expect that the continuing cost reduction and containment measures may reduce the cost or utilization of health care products and could lead to patients being unable to obtain approval for coverage or payment from these third-party payors or to costs being shifted to patients for our products. Additionally, as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and economic slowdown, some customers have lost access and others may lose access to their private health insurance plan if they lose their job, and an impact to job status may extend for a prolonged period of time, beyond possible coverage periods through COBRA, or where the cost to maintain coverage may not be affordable to our customer. As most of our customers rely on third-party payors, including government programs and private health insurance plans, to cover the cost of our products, our customers may lose coverage or reimbursement for our products, which may harm our business and results of operations.
We have experienced, and anticipate that we will continue to experience, downward pressure on product pricing. To the extent these cost containment efforts are not offset by greater patient access to our products, our future revenue may be reduced and our business may be harmed.
Although many third-party payors have adopted some form of coverage policy for continuous glucose monitoring devices, our products do not always have such coverage, including simple broad-based contractual coverage, with third-party payors and we frequently experience administrative challenges in obtaining coverage or reimbursement for our products. If we are unable to obtain adequately broad coverage or reimbursement for our products or any future products from third-party payors, our revenue may be negatively impacted.
As a medical device company, reimbursement from government and/or commercial third-party healthcare payors, including Medicare and Medicaid, is an important element of our success. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, provides coverage for “Therapeutic Continuous Glucose Monitors” as durable medical equipment eligible for coverage under Medicare Part B. Coverage criteria for therapeutic CGMs is determined by CMS under national coverage determinations as well as by local Medicare Administrative Contractors under local coverage determinations. Therefore, Medicare reimbursement for our CGM devices is subject to various coverage conditions and often requires a patient-specific coverage analysis. Medicare does not cover any items or services that are not “reasonable and necessary.” Medicare covers the CGM system, which includes supplies necessary for the use of the device, under the Durable Medical Equipment, or DME, benefit category. In order to be covered under this benefit, one component of the CGM system must meet the criteria for a durable medical device. To date, the receiver satisfied this criteria. To the extent that a receiver is not used by a Medicare beneficiary or CMS otherwise determines that the items and supplies ordered are not medically necessary, Medicare may not cover that CGM system or any associated supplies.
A number of regulatory and commercial hurdles remain relating to wide-scale sales where a government or commercial third-party payor provides reimbursement, including sales to Medicare beneficiaries. If we are unable to successfully address these hurdles, reimbursement of our products may be limited to a smaller subset of people with diabetes covered by Medicare or to those people with diabetes covered by other third-party payors that have adopted policies for CGM devices allowing for coverage of these devices if certain conditions are met. Adverse coverage or reimbursement decisions relating to our products, or rescission or limitation of favorable determinations, by CMS, its Medicare Administrative Contractors, other state, federal or international payors, and/or third-party commercial payors could significantly reduce reimbursement, which could have an impact on the acceptance of, and demand for, our products and the prices that our customers are willing to pay for them.
As of December 31, 2022, the eight largest private third-party payors, in terms of the number of covered lives, have issued coverage policies for the category of CGM devices. In addition, we have negotiated contracted rates with all of those third-party payors for the purchase of our current CGM systems by their members. Nevertheless, coverage and reimbursement-related barriers remain. Among other things, people with diabetes without insurance that covers our products bear the financial cost of them. In addition, in the United States, people with diabetes using existing single-point finger stick devices are generally reimbursed all or part of the product cost by Medicare or other third-party payors, which may be perceived as more advantageous for consumers. Further, while many third-party payors have adopted some form of coverage policy on CGM devices, in a sizeable percentage of cases, under durable medical equipment benefits, those coverage policies frequently are restrictive and require significant medical documentation and other requirements in order for policy holders to obtain reimbursement, and as a result, we have difficulty improving the efficiency of our customer service group. Moreover, it is not uncommon for governmental, including federal and/or state, agencies and their contractors to conduct periodic routine billing and compliance reviews that may entail extensive documentation requests, cooperation with which may require significant time and resources, and may result in identification of overpayments that may need to be refunded. The commercial success of our products in both domestic and international markets will substantially depend on whether timely and comprehensive third-party reimbursement is widely available for individuals that use them.
CMS has proposed new draft coverage guidelines for CGMs, which if implemented, would have a favorable impact on us.Currently, Medicare coverage for CGM is only available to Medicare patients who take at least three doses of insulin a day, limiting CGM reimbursement for Medicare beneficiaries with intensive Type 1 and 2 diabetes. The draft Local Coverage Determination (LCD), if finalized, would extend Medicare CGM coverage to patients who use insulin at least once per day. Further, the LCD would also allow coverage for patients not taking insulin if the patient has a history of problematic hypoglycemia.We expect CMS to release the final coverage decision this year.
Nevertheless, third-party payors are increasingly attempting to contain healthcare costs by limiting both coverage and the level of reimbursement of new and existing medical devices, and, as a result, they may be restrictive, or they may not cover or provide adequate payment for our products. In order to obtain additional reimbursement arrangements, including under pharmacy benefits, we may have to agree to a net sales price lower than the net sales price we might charge in other sales channels. Our revenue may be limited by the continuing efforts of government and third-party payors to contain or reduce the costs of healthcare through various increasingly sophisticated means, such as leveraging increased competition, increasing eligibility requirements such as second opinions and other documentation, purchasing in a bundle, or redesigning benefits. In December 2021, CMS published a final rule expanding the classification of DME under Medicare Parts B & C to include adjunctive CGMs (i.e., CGMs that do not replace standard blood glucose monitors for treatment decisions) and related supplies. This final rule expands coverage of CGMs to include a large competitor’s competing device, which may negatively impact our sales.We are unable to predict what effect the current or any future healthcare reform will
have on our business, or the effect these matters will have on our customers. Our dependence on the commercial success of our current CGM systems makes us particularly susceptible to any cost containment or reduction efforts. Accordingly, unless government and other third-party payors provide adequate coverage and reimbursement for our current CGM systems, people without coverage who have diabetes may not use our products. Furthermore, payors are increasingly basing reimbursement rates on factors such as prior approvals and the effectiveness of the product, clinical outcomes associated with the product, and any factors that negatively impact the effectiveness or clinical outcomes (or cause a perception of any such negative impact), such as the results of a clinical trial, a product defect, or a product recall, which could negatively impact the reimbursement rate. Also, the trends toward managed healthcare in the United States and legislative efforts intended to reduce the cost of government insurance programs could significantly influence the purchase of healthcare services and products and may result in lower prices for our products or the exclusion of our products from reimbursement programs.
In some foreign markets, pricing and profitability of medical devices are subject to government control. We are susceptible to changes in government-mandated coverage requirements and other controls which could impact access to and affordability of our products. In the United States, we expect that there will continue to be federal and state proposals for similar controls.
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Risks Related to Product Development |
The research and development efforts we undertake independently, and in some instances in connection with our collaborations with third parties, may not result in the development of commercially viable products, the generation of significant future revenues or adequate profitability.
In order to address the anticipated needs of our customers, pursue new markets for our existing products, and remain competitive, we focus our research and development efforts and strategic third-party collaboration activities on the enhancement of our current CGM products, the development of next-generation products and the development of novel technologies and services.
The development of new products, or novel technologies and services and the enhancement of our current CGM products (including seeking and potentially obtaining new indications for use), requires significant investment in research and development, intellectual property protection, clinical trials, regulatory approvals and third party reimbursement. The results of our product development and commercialization efforts may be affected by a range of factors, including our ability to anticipate customer needs, innovate and develop new products (whether independently or with our partners), determine a feasible or timely regulatory pathway or approach, and launch those products cost effectively into multiple markets and geographies. If we are unable to successfully anticipate customer needs, innovate, develop new products and successfully launch them, we may not be able to generate significant future revenues or profits from these efforts. Failing to timely launch our products may cause them to become obsolete and materially and adversely affect our business and financial position.
The development and commercial launch timelines for our products depend a great deal on our ability to achieve clinical endpoints and satisfy regulatory requirements and to overcome technology challenges, and may be delayed due to scheduling issues with patients and investigators, requests from institutional review boards, or inquiries from regulators about our independent and collaborative product development activities, product performance and manufacturing supply constraints, among other factors. In addition, support of these clinical trials requires significant resources from employees involved in the production of our products, including research and development, manufacturing, quality assurance, and clinical and regulatory personnel. Even if our development and clinical trial efforts appear successful to us and our regulatory submission appears satisfactory to us, the FDA may disagree and may decide not to grant marketing authorization for the products or may require additional product testing or clinical trials or other data to be developed and submitted before approving the products, which would result in product launch delays and additional expense. Even if a product receives marketing authorization from the FDA, it may not be accepted in the marketplace by physicians and people with diabetes.
In the ordinary course of our business we enter into collaborative arrangements with third parties to expand into new markets, including with insulin device manufacturers such as Eli Lilly, Insulet, Novo Nordisk, Tandem Diabetes and The Ypsomed Group to integrate our CGM technology into their insulin delivery systems. We have also entered into collaborations with several organizations that are currently using, or are developing, programs for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes that utilize our current CGM systems. As a result of these relationships, our operating results depend, to some extent, on the ability of our partners to successfully commercialize their insulin delivery systems or monitoring products. Any factors that may limit our partners’ ability to achieve widespread adoption of their systems, including competitive pressures, technological breakthroughs for the treatment or prevention of diabetes, adverse regulatory or legal actions relating to insulin pump products, or changes in
reimbursement rates or policies of third-party payors relating to insulin pumps or similar products, could have an adverse impact on our operating results.
Many of the companies that we collaborate with are also competitors or potential competitors who may decide to terminate our collaborative arrangement. In the event of such a termination, we may be required to devote additional resources to product development and commercialization, we may need to cancel some development programs and we may face increased competition. Additionally, collaborations may not result in the development of products that achieve commercial success and could be terminated prior to developing any products. Former collaborators may use the experience and insights they develop in the course of their collaborations with us to initiate or accelerate their development of products that compete with our products, which may create competitive disadvantages for us. Accordingly, we cannot provide assurance that any of our collaborations will result in the successful development of a commercially viable product or result in significant additional future revenues.
Our products may not achieve or maintain market acceptance.
We expect that sales of our current CGM systems will account for substantially all of our product revenue for the foreseeable future. If and when we receive FDA or other regulators’ marketing authorization for, and begin commercialization of, our next-generation CGM systems, we expect most patients will migrate onto those systems. In the periods leading up to the launch of new or upgraded versions of our CGM systems, however, our customers’ anticipation of the release of those products may cause them to cancel, change or delay current period purchases of our current products, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Notwithstanding our prior experience in marketing and selling our products, we might be unable to successfully expand the commercialization of our existing products or begin commercialization of our next-generation CGM systems on a wide-scale for a number of reasons, including the following:
•our G6 and G7 systems prompt the user to replace the sensor no later than the tenth day, which might make it expensive for users;
•widespread market acceptance of our products by physicians and people with diabetes will largely depend on our ability to demonstrate their relative safety, effectiveness, reliability, cost-effectiveness and ease of use;
•the limited size of our sales force;
•we may not have sufficient financial or other resources to adequately expand the commercialization efforts for our products;
•expanded coverage opportunities for our competitors’ CGM devices and supplies, including coverage for adjunctive CGMs, increasing competition in the marketplace;
•our FDA and other regulatory authority marketing application submissions and reviews may be delayed, or cleared or approved with limited product indications and labeling;
•we may not be able to manufacture our products in commercial quantities commensurate with demand or at an acceptable cost;
•for people with Type 2 diabetes, current reimbursement from third-party payors is generally limited to people on intensive insulin therapy;
•the uncertainties associated with establishing and qualifying new manufacturing facilities;
•people with diabetes may need to incur the costs of single-point finger stick devices, in addition to our systems;
•the relative immaturity of the CGM market internationally, and limited international reimbursement of CGM systems by third-party payors and government healthcare providers outside the United States;
•the introduction and market acceptance of competing products and technologies, which may have a lower cost or price, allow for a convenience improvement and/or allow for improved accuracy and reliability;
•greater name or brand recognition and more established medical product distribution channels by some of our competitors;
•our inability to obtain sufficient quantities of supplies timely and at appropriate quality levels from our single- or sole-source and other key suppliers;
•our inability to manufacture products that perform in accordance with expectations of consumers; and
•rapid technological change may make our technology and our products obsolete.
In addition to the risks outlined above, our G6 and G7 systems are more invasive than many other self-monitored glucose testing systems, including single-point finger stick devices, and people with diabetes may be unwilling to insert a sensor in their body, especially if their current diabetes management involves no more than two finger sticks per day. Moreover, people with diabetes may not perceive the benefits of CGM and may be unwilling to change their current treatment regimens. Physicians may not recommend or prescribe our products unless and until (i) there is more long-term clinical evidence to convince them to alter their existing treatment methods, (ii) there are additional recommendations from prominent physicians that our products are effective in monitoring glucose levels, and (iii) reimbursement or insurance coverage is more widely available. In addition, market acceptance of our products by physicians and people with diabetes in Europe or other countries will largely depend on our ability to demonstrate their relative safety, effectiveness, reliability, cost-effectiveness and ease of use. If we are unable to do so, we may not be able to generate product revenue from our sales efforts in Europe or other countries. We cannot predict when, if ever, healthcare professionals, including physicians, and people with diabetes may adopt more widespread use of CGM systems, including our systems. If our CGM systems do not achieve and maintain an adequate level of acceptance by people with diabetes, healthcare professionals, including physicians, and third party payors, our future revenue may be reduced and our business may be harmed.
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Risks Related to Manufacturing, Commercial Operations and Commercialization |
If our manufacturing capabilities are insufficient to produce an adequate supply of product at appropriate quality levels, our growth could be limited and our business could be harmed.
We currently have limited resourcesOur existing manufacturing facilities are designed to manufacture current and facilities for manufacturingnext-generation sensors and transmitters, but may not be scaled quickly enough to permit us to manufacture one or more of our CGM systems in quantities sufficient quantities of product to meet expectedmarket demand. In the past, we have had difficulty scaling our manufacturing operations to provide a sufficient supply of product to support market demand and our commercialization efforts. From time to time, we have also experienced brief periods of backorder and, at times, have had to limit the efforts of our sales force to introduce our products to new customers. We have focused significant effort on continual improvement programs in our manufacturing operations intended to improve quality, yields and throughput. We have made progress in manufacturing to enable us to supply adequate amounts of product to support our commercialization efforts; however, we cannot guarantee that supply will not be constrained in the future. InWe may not adequately predict the market demand for our products, in order to produce our products in the quantities we anticipate will be necessary to meet market demand, wedemand. We will need to adequately predict the market demand for our products and increase our manufacturing capacity by a significant factor over the current level to meet or exceed the anticipated market demand. In addition, we will have to modify our manufacturing design, reliability and process if and when our next-generation continuous glucose monitoring, or CGM technologies are approved, cleared or otherwise authorized by the applicable regulatory body and commercialized.
There are technical challenges to increasing manufacturing capacity, including equipment design, automation, validation and automation,installation, contractor issues and delays, licensing and permitting delays or rejections, materials procurement, manufacturing site expansion, problems with production yields and quality control and assurance. Continuing to develop commercial-scale manufacturing facilities will require the investment of substantial additional funds and the hiring and retention of additional management, quality assurance, quality control and technical personnel who have the necessary manufacturing experience. Delays in the launch of next-generation products may result in unanticipated continuing increases in demand for current-generation products (to substitute for the unavailability of the next-generation products) which, if not adequately prepared for, may result in deficits in our ability to produce adequate amounts of the prior-generation products to meet demand at appropriate prices.
The scaling of manufacturing capacity is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, and may lead to variability in product quality or reliability, increased construction timelines, as well as resources required to design, install and maintain manufacturing equipment, among others, all of which can lead to unexpected delays in manufacturing output. In addition, any changes to our manufacturing processes may trigger the need for submissions or notifications to, and in some cases advance approval from, the FDA or other regulatory authorityauthorities because of the potential impact of changes on our previously cleared, approved and/or authorized devices. Our facilities are subject to inspections by the FDA and corresponding state agencies on an ongoing basis, and we must comply with Good Manufacturing Practices and the FDA Quality Systems Regulations.System Regulation, as well as certain state requirements. We may be unable to adequately maintain, develop and expand our manufacturing process and operations or maintain compliance with FDA and state agency requirements, and manufacturing issues could impact our cleared and approved products. If we are unable to manufacture a sufficient supply of our current products or any future products for which we may receive approval or clearance, maintain control over expenses or otherwise adapt to anticipated growth, or if we underestimate growth, we may not have the capability to satisfy market demand, contractual obligations, and our business will suffer.
Manufacturing difficulties and/or any disruption at our facilities may adversely affect our manufacturing operations and related product sales, and increase our expenses.
Our products are manufactured at certain facilities, with limited alternate facilities. If an event occurs at one of our facilities that results in damage to, restrictions on the use of, or closure of, one or more of such facilities, or if our distributions from those facilities are limited or restricted in any way, we may be unable to manufacture the relevant products at the previous levels or at all. Because of the time required to approve and lease a manufacturing facility, an alternate facility and/or a third-party may not be available on a timely basis to replace production capacity in the event manufacturing capacity is lost.
Additionally, the majority of our operations are conducted at facilities located in San Diego, California, Mesa, Arizona and, Mesa, Arizona.beginning in 2023, Penang Malaysia. We take precautions to safeguard our facilities, which include manufacturing protocols, insurance, health and safety protocols, and off-site storage of data. However, a natural or man-made disaster, such as fire, flood, earthquake, act of terrorism, cyber-attack or other disruptive event, such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic or another public health emergency, could cause substantial delays in our operations, damage, destroy or destroylimit our
manufacturing equipment, inventory, or records and cause us to incur additional expenses. Earthquakes are of particular significance since our primary manufacturing facilities in California are located in an earthquake-prone area. Wildfires are also increasingly more common in southern California and present risk to our manufacturing operations. Our Arizona facility may confront water supply issues resulting from the ongoing drought in the Western United States and our Malaysia facility may confront issues related to its construction on a reclaimed wetland and the political stability of the Malaysia government. In the event our existing manufacturing facilities or equipment are affected by man-made or natural disasters, we may be unable to manufacture products for sale or meet customer demands or sales projections. If our manufacturing operations were curtailed or ceased, it would seriously harm our business. The insurance we maintain against fires, floods, earthquakes and other natural disasters and similar events may not be adequate to cover our losses in any particular case. Further, insurance coverage may not be available or successfully secured for loss of profits or business interruption relating to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts.
We depend upon third-party suppliers and outsource to other parties, making us vulnerable to supply disruptions, suboptimal quality, non-compliance and/or price fluctuations, which could harm our business.
We manufacture the majority of our products and procure important third-party services, such as sterilization services, at numerous facilities worldwide. We purchase many of the components, materials and services needed to manufacture these products from numerous suppliers in various countries. We have generally been able to obtain adequate supplies of such materials, components and services. However, we also rely on single and/or sole sources for certain components and materials used in manufacturing, such as for the application-specific integrated circuit that is incorporated into the transmitter and certain polymers used to synthesize the polymeric biointerface membranes for our products. In some cases, our agreements with these and other suppliers can be terminated by either party upon short notice. Our contract manufacturers may also rely on single-or sole- sourcesingle- or sole-source suppliers to manufacture some of the components used in our products.
Although we work with our suppliers to try to ensure continuity of supply while maintaining quality, timeliness and reliability, the supply of these components, materials and services has in some cases been, and may continue to be impacted, interrupted or insufficient. Our manufacturers and suppliers may also encounter problems during manufacturing for a variety of reasons, including the stringent regulations and requirements of regulatory agencies, including the U.S. FDA whichreasons. They may result in the failurefail to follow specific protocols and procedures, failurefail to comply with applicable regulations, failedor be the subject of FDA audit or inspectionother regulatory authority audits or inspections that result in allegations of non-compliance (for example, failures leading toresulting in Form 483 Observations, and Warning Letters, or other FDA enforcement actions), as well as. Our manufacturers and suppliers may also experience or be impacted by equipment malfunction, and environmental factors, and public health emergencies including but not limited to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, any of which could delay or impede their ability to meet our demand.
In addition,Further, if our sole- or single-source suppliers shift their manufacturing and assembly sites to other locations, thesedepending on the circumstances and nature of the item supplied, in addition to quality system activities such as verification and validation, there could be a need for FDA notifications or submissions, and the new sites may require additional FDA approval and inspection. Shouldlocations could be subject to regulatory inspections. If there are regulatory delays or impediments impacting our suppliers or us for any such FDA approval be delayed, or such inspection require corrective action, our supply of critical components may be constrained or eliminated. Wereason, we may not be able to quickly establish additional or replacement suppliers, particularly for our single-source components, in part because of the FDA inspection and approval process and because of the custom nature of various parts we design. Any interruption or delay in the supply of components or materials, or our inability to obtain components or materials from alternate sources at acceptable prices in a timely manner, could impair our ability to meet the demand of our customers and cause them to cancel orders or switch to competitive products. For supply risks related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic see our Risk Factor entitled, “The outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its variants and the COVID-19 disease that it
causes, or similar public health crises, could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations, including our manufacturing, commercial operations and sales.”
Our reliance on these outside manufacturers and suppliers also subjects us to other risks that could harm our business, including:
•we may experience a reduction or interruption in supply, and may not be able to obtain adequate supply in a timely manner or on commercially reasonable terms from additional or replacement sources;
•our products are technologically complex and it is difficult to develop alternative supply sources;
•we are not a major customer of many of our suppliers, and these suppliers may therefore give other customers’ needs higher priority than ours;
•our suppliers may make errors in manufacturing components that could negatively affect the quality, effectiveness or safety of our products or cause delays in shipment of our products;
•we may have difficulty locating and qualifying alternative suppliers for our single-source supplies;
•switching components may require product redesign and submission to the FDA of new applications such(such as anew 510(k) submissions or PMA or 510(k) supplement or possibly a separate PMA or 510(k), either ofsupplements) which could significantly delay production;
•our suppliers manufacture products for a range of customers, and fluctuations in demand for the products these suppliers manufacture for others may affect their ability to deliver components to us in a timely manner;manner or at the current pricing;
•our suppliers may make obsoletediscontinue the production of components that are critical to our products; and
•our suppliers may encounter financial and/or other hardships unrelated to our demand for components, including those related to changes in global economic conditions and/or disease outbreaks, which could inhibit their ability to fulfill our orders and meet our requirements.
We also outsource certain services to other parties, including inside sales, certain transaction processing, accounting, information technology, manufacturing, and other areas. Outsourcing of services to third parties could expose us to suboptimal quality of service delivery or deliverables and potentially result in repercussions such as missed deadlines or other timeliness
issues, erroneous data, supply disruptions, non-compliance (including with applicable legal or regulatory requirements and industry standards) and/or reputational harm, with potential negative effects on our results. Closure of non-essential businesses and shelter-in-place orders occurring in the U.S. and globally as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic may also adversely impact our outsourced operations. We continue to monitor this situation closely.
We also require the suppliers, service providers and business partners of components or services for our products and related services to comply with law and certain of our policies regarding sourcing practices, but we do not control them or their practices. If any supplier, service provider or business partner violates laws or implements unethical practices, there could be disruptions to our supply chain, cancellation of our orders, a termination of the relationship with the partner or damage to our reputation, and the FDA or other regulators could seek to hold us responsible for such violations.
Continued expansion of our operations may not be scaled at a pace sufficient to ensure that we can manufacture one or more of our continuous glucose monitoring products in quantities sufficient to meet market demand.
Our facility in Mesa, Arizona is designed to manufacture current and next-generation sensors and transmitters, but may not be scaled quickly enough to permit us to manufacture one or more of our CGM systems in quantities sufficient to meet market demand. There are risks associated with continued expansion of our manufacturing capacity in Mesa that include but are not limited to contractor issues and delays, licensing and permitting delays or rejections, limitations and delays on the installation of new or custom-ordered equipment, issues associated with validating such equipment, and processes or other aspects of ensuring we manufacture our products in compliance with current Good Manufacturing Practice and other requirements.
We are subject to cost-containment efforts that could result in reduced product pricing and/or sales of our products and cause a reduction in future revenue.
In the United States and other countries, government and private sector access to health care products continues to be a subject of focus, and efforts to reduce health care costs are being made by third-party payors. Most of our customers rely on third-party payors, including government programs and private health insurance plans, to cover the cost of our products. We expect that the continuing cost reduction and containment measures may reduce the cost or utilization of health care products and could lead to patients being unable to obtain approval for coverage or payment from these third-party payors.
We have experienced, and anticipate that we will continue to experience, downward pressure on product pricing. To the extent these cost containment efforts are not offset by greater patient access to our products, our future revenue may be reduced and our business may be harmed.
If we experience decreasing prices for our products and we are unable to reduce our expenses, including the per unit cost of producing our products, there may be a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
We have experienced, and anticipate that we will continue to experience, decreasing prices for our products due to pricing pressure from managed care organizations and other third-party payors, increased market power of our payors, as the medical device industry consolidates, and increased competition among suppliers, including manufacturing services providers. If the prices for our products and services decrease and we are unable to reduce our expenses, including the cost of sourcing materials, logistics and the cost to manufacture our products, our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows will be adversely affected.
We have incurred significant losses in the past and may incur losses in the future.
We have incurred significant operating losses in the past, including a net loss of $186.3 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018. As of December 31, 2019, we had an accumulated deficit of $695.7 million. We have financed our operations primarily through private and public offerings of equity securities and debt and the sales of our products. We have devoted substantial resources to:
research and development relating to our continuous glucose monitoring systems;
sales and marketing and manufacturing expenses associated with the commercialization of our G4 PLATINUM, G5 Mobile and G6 systems; and
expansion of our workforce.
We expect our research and development expenses to increase in connection with our clinical trials and other development activities related to our products, including our next-generation sensors, transmitters and receivers, as well as other collaborations. We also expect that our general and administrative expenses will continue to increase due, among other things, to the additional operational and regulatory burdens applicable to public healthcare and medical device companies. As a result, it is possible that we could incur operating losses in the future. These losses, among other things, may have an adverse effect on our stockholders’ equity.
If we do not successfully optimize and operate our distribution channel or we do not effectively expand and update certain aging and/or outdated infrastructure, our operating results and customer experience may be negatively impacted.
If we do not adequately predict market demand or otherwise optimize and operate our distribution channel successfully, it could result in excess or insufficient inventory or fulfillment capacity, increased costs, immediate shortages in product or component supply, or harm our business in other ways. In addition, if we do not adequately expand and update certain aging and/or outdated infrastructure that help us, among other things, manage our purchasing and inventory, it could negatively impact our operating results and customer experience.
If we are unable to continue the development of anestablish and maintain adequate sales, marketing and marketing organization and/distribution capabilities or ifenter into and maintain arrangements with third parties to sell, market and distribute our direct sales organization is not successful,products, we may have difficulty achieving market awareness and selling our products in the future.
We must continue to develop and grow our sales and marketing organization and enter into partnerships or other arrangements to market and sell our products and/or collaborate with third parties, including distributors and others, to market and sell our products to maintain the commercial success of our G4 PLATINUM, G5 Mobile and G6current systems and to achieve commercial success for any of our future products. If we are unable to establish and maintain adequate sales, marketing and distribution capabilities, independently or with others, our future revenue may be reduced and our business may be harmed.
Developing and managing a direct sales organization is a difficult, expensive and time-consuming process. Although we have enabled our sales and marketing activity to be conducted virtually and remotely, restrictions in connection with the COVID-19 outbreak may have a substantial impact on our customers and sales cycles and have impacted and/or interrupted our sales and marketing activity.
To continue to develop our sales and marketing organization to successfully achieve market awareness and sell our products, we must:
•recruit and retain adequate numbers of effective and experienced sales and marketing personnel;
•effectively train our sales and marketing personnel in the benefits and risks of our products;
•establish and maintain successful sales, marketing, training and education programs that educate health care professionals, including endocrinologists, physicians and diabetes educators, so they can appropriately inform their patients about our products;
•manage geographically dispersed sales and marketing operations; and
•effectively train our sales and marketing personnel on the applicable advertising and promotion, and fraud and abuse laws that govern interactions with healthcare practitionersprofessionals and institutions as well as current and prospective patients and maintain active oversight and auditing measures to ensure continued compliance.
We currently employ sales and marketing personnel for the direct sale and marketing of our products in North America, Asia Pacific, Europe and the United States, Canada and certain countries in Europe.Middle East. Our direct sales and marketing team calls directly on healthcare providers and people with diabetes throughout the applicable country, to the extent permissible, to raise awareness and initiate sales of our products. Our sales and marketing organization competes with the experienced, larger and well-funded marketing and sales operations of our competitors. We may not be able to successfully manage our dispersed sales force or increase our product sales at acceptable rates. COVID-19 restrictions vary by location across the United States and other regions of the world, which may continue to limit or prohibit our sales force from having in-person interactions with healthcare professionals and people with diabetes, which may result in decreased sales of our products.
In some instances, weWe have also entered into distribution arrangements to leverage existing distributors (including wholesalers) already engaged in the distribution of drugs, devices and/or products in the diabetes marketplace. Our U.S. distribution partnerships include thoseSome of our U.S distributors that are focused on accessing underrepresented regions and in some instances,or third-party payors that contract exclusively with distributors. Our European and otherdistributors in the United States, while some of our international distribution partners include those distributors that call directly on healthcare providers and patients to market and sell our products in Australia and New Zealand, and certain countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.products. Because of the competition for their services, we may be unable to partner with or retain additional qualified distributors. Further, we may not be able to enter into agreements with distributors on commercially reasonable terms, if at all. Our distributors might not have the resources to continue to support our recent rapid growth.
If we are unable to establish and maintain adequate sales, marketing and distribution capabilities or enter into and maintain arrangements with third parties to sell, market and distribute our products, our business may be harmed.
We have entered into distribution arrangements to leverage established distributors already engaged in the diabetes marketplace. Our distribution agreements with AdaptHealth, AmerisourceBergen, Byram and affiliates, Cardinal Health and affiliates (including Edgepark Medical Supplies), and AmerisourceBergen,McKesson, our three most significant wholesalers and distributors, each generated approximately 12%, 17%, and 10%, respectively, or more of our total revenue during the twelve months ended December 31, 2019.2022. We cannot guarantee that these relationships will continue or that we will be able to maintain this volume of sales from these relationships in the future. A substantial decrease or loss of these sales could have a material adverse effect on our financial results and operating performance.
We have entered into arrangements with pharmacy organizations in various countries to dispense our products directly to patients. Because of the competition for their services, we may be unable to enter into new partnerships or otherwise expand our pharmacy network on commercially reasonable terms, if at all. In addition, we cannot guarantee that our existing pharmacy relationships will continue, or that we will be able to maintain or increase sales volume from these relationships in the future.
To the extent that we enter into additional arrangements with third parties to perform sales, marketing, distribution and billing services, in the United States, Europe or other countries, our product margins could be lower than if we directly marketed and sold our products. To the extent that we enter into co-promotion or other marketing and sales arrangements with other companies, any revenue received will depend on the skills and efforts of others, and we cannot predict whether these efforts will be successful. In addition, market acceptance of our products by physicians and people with diabetes in Europe or other countries will largely depend on our ability to demonstrate their relative safety, effectiveness, reliability, cost-effectiveness and ease of use.
If we are
unable to do so, we may not be able to generateadequately predict market demand or otherwise optimize and operate our distribution channel successfully, it could result in excess or insufficient inventory or fulfillment capacity, increased costs, immediate shortages in product revenue from our sales efforts in Europe or other countries. Finally, if we are unable to establish and maintain adequate sales, marketing and distribution capabilities, independentlycomponent supply, or with others, our future revenue may be reduced andharm our business may be harmed.
Although many third-party payors have adopted some form of coverage policy on continuous glucose monitoring devices, our products do not always have some form of coverage, including simple broad-based contractual coverage, with third-party payors and we frequently experience administrative challenges in obtaining reimbursement for our customers. If we are unable to obtain adequately broad reimbursement at acceptable prices for our products or any future products from third-party payors, we will be unable to generate significant revenue.
As a medical device company, reimbursement from government and/or commercial third-party healthcare payors, including Medicare and Medicaid, is an important element of our success. In January 2017, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, established a classification of “Therapeutic Continuous Glucose Monitors” as durable medical equipment under Medicare Part B, subject to payment by Medicare under certain coverage conditions to be determined by CMS, by local Medicare Administrative Contractors or on a patient claim by claim basis. This is a decision we had pursued for many years and which was made possible by the FDA’s decision in December 2016 to approve a non-adjunctive indication, or use, for our G5 Mobile system. In March 2017, CMS Medicare Administrative Contractors issued interim instructions for individual claim adjudication providing instructions and billing codes for the reimbursement of individual claims for therapeutic CGM reimbursement that apply to our G6 and G5 Mobile systems, and in May 2017, CMS Medicare Administrative Contractors issued a revision to an existing joint Local Coverage Determination, which establishes the Medicare conditions of coverage for therapeutic CGM, including G5 Mobile and G6 systems.
Similarly, in September 2016, Germany’s Federal Joint Committee agreed to provide reimbursement for continuous glucose monitoring systems under certain conditions, which we believe are met by our G4 PLATINUM, G5 Mobile and G6 systems.
A number of regulatory and commercial hurdles remain relating to wide-scale sales where a government or commercial third-party payors provide reimbursement, including sales to Medicare beneficiaries. If we are unable to successfully address these hurdles, reimbursement of our products may be limited to a smaller subset of people with diabetes covered by Medicare or to those people with diabetes covered by other third-party payors that have adopted policies for CGM devices allowing for coverage of these devices if certain conditions are met. Adverse coverage or reimbursement decisions relating to our products by CMS, its Medicare Administrative Contractors, other state, federal or international payors, and/or third-party commercial payors could significantly reduce reimbursement, which could have an impact on the acceptance of, and demand for, our products and the prices that our customers are willing to pay for them.
As of December 31, 2019, the seven largest private third-party payors, in terms of the number of covered lives, have issued coverage policies for the category of CGM devices. In addition, we have negotiated contracted rates with all seven of those third-party payors for the purchase of our G4 PLATINUM, G5 Mobile and G6 systems by their members. However, people with diabetes without insurance that covers our products will have to bear the financial cost of them. In the United States, people with diabetes using existing single-point finger stick devices are generally reimbursed all or part of the product cost by Medicare or other third-party payors. The commercial success of our products in both domestic and international markets will substantially depend on whether timely and comprehensive third-party reimbursement is widely available for individuals that use them. While many third-party payors have adopted some form of coverage policy on CGM devices, typically, though not exclusively, under durable medical equipment benefits, those coverage policies frequently are restrictive and require significant medical documentation and other requirements in order for policy holders to obtain reimbursement, and as a result, we have difficulty improving the efficiency of our customer service group. Moreover, it is not uncommon for governmental, including federal and/or state, agencies and their contractors to conduct periodic routine billing and compliance reviews that may entail extensive documentation requests, cooperation with which may require significant time and resources, and may result in identification of overpayment that may need to be refunded.
In addition, Medicare, Medicaid, other governmental health programs, health maintenance organizations and other third-party payors are increasingly attempting to contain healthcare costs by limiting both coverage and the level of reimbursement of new and existing medical devices, and, as a result, they may be restrictive, or they may not cover or provide adequate payment for our products. Many of these programs impose documentation and other eligibility requirements that make it more difficult to obtain reimbursement. In order to obtain additional reimbursement arrangements, including under pharmacy benefits, we may have to agree to a net sales price lower than the net sales price we might charge in other sales channels. Our revenue may be limited by the continuing efforts of government and third-party payors to contain or reduce the costs of healthcare through various increasingly sophisticated means, such as leveraging increased competition, increasing eligibility requirements such as second opinions and other documentation, purchasing in a bundle, or redesigning benefits. We are unable to predict what effect the current or any future healthcare reform will have on our business, or the effect these matters will have on our customers. Our dependence on the commercial success of the G4 PLATINUM, G5 Mobile and G6 systems makes us particularly susceptible to any cost containment or reduction efforts. Accordingly, unless government and other third-party
payors provide adequate coverage and reimbursement for the G4 PLATINUM, G5 Mobile and G6 systems, people without coverage who have diabetes may not use our products. Furthermore, payors are increasingly basing reimbursement rates on factors such as the effectiveness of the product, clinical outcomes associated with the product, and any factors that negatively impact the effectiveness or clinical outcomes (or cause a perception of any such negative impact), such as the results of a clinical trial, a product defect, or a product recall, which could negatively impact the reimbursement rate.
Medicare does not cover any items or services that are not “reasonable and necessary.” In terms of CGM, Medicare covers the CGM system, which includes supplies necessary for the use of the device, under the Durable Medical Equipment (DME) benefit category. In order to be covered under this benefit, one component of the CGM system must meet the criteria for a durable medical device. To date, the receiver satisfied this criteria. To the extent that a receiver is not used by a Medicare beneficiary or CMS otherwise determines that the items and supplies ordered are not medically necessary, Medicare may not cover that CGM system or any associated supplies.
In some foreign markets, pricing and profitability of medical devices are subject to government control. In the United States, we expect that there will continue to be federal and state proposals for similar controls. Also, the trends toward managed healthcare in the United States and legislative efforts intended to reduce the cost of government insurance programs could significantly influence the purchase of healthcare services and products and may result in lower prices for our products or the exclusion of our products from reimbursement programs.
Our products may not continue to achieve market acceptance.
We expect that sales of our G4 PLATINUM system, G5 Mobile and G6 systems will account for substantially all of our product revenue for the foreseeable future. If and when we receive FDA or other regulators’ approval for, and begin commercialization of, our next-generation CGM systems, we expect most patients will migrate onto those systems. Notwithstanding our prior experience in marketing and selling our products, we might be unable to successfully expand the commercialization of our existing products or begin commercialization of our next-generation CGM systems on a wide-scale for a number of reasons, including:
with the relatively recent FDA authorizations to market our G6 system in the United States in March 2018 and the G6 Pro in the United States in October 2019, we have relatively limited experience selling our G6 and G6 Pro systems;
our G6 system prompts the user to replace the sensor no later than the tenth day, which might make it expensive for users;
widespread market acceptance of our products by physicians and people with diabetes will largely depend on our ability to demonstrate their relative safety, effectiveness, reliability, cost-effectiveness and ease of use;
the limited size of our sales force;
we may not have sufficient financial or other resources to adequately expand the commercialization efforts for our products;
our FDA and other regulatory reviews and/or submissions may be delayed, or approved with limited product labeling;
we may not be able to manufacture our products in commercial quantities commensurate with demand or at an acceptable cost;
people with Type 2 diabetes do not generally receive broad reimbursement from third-party payors for their purchase of CGM products in the United States, since many payors require that a policy holder meet specific medical criteria to qualify for reimbursement, which may reduce widespread access to or use of our products;
the uncertainties associated with establishing and qualifying new manufacturing facilities;
people with diabetes may need to incur the costs of single-point finger stick devices, in addition to our systems;
the relative immaturity of the CGM market internationally, and limited international reimbursement of CGM systems by third-party payors and government healthcare providers outside the United States;
the introduction and market acceptance of competing products and technologies, which may have a lower cost or price, allow for a convenience improvement and allow for improved accuracy and reliability;
our inability to obtain sufficient quantities of supplies at appropriate quality levels from our single- or sole-source and other key suppliers;
our inability to manufacture products that perform in accordance with expectations of consumers; and
rapid technological change may make our technology and our products obsolete.
In addition to the risks outlined above, the G6 has improved performance and is being adopted more quickly than anticipated. There is the risk that regulatory authorities will determine that the G4 PLATINUM or G5 Mobile systems are not as
effective as the G6 system and may change marketing approval, reimbursement or the extent of coverage for these products. Our G4 PLATINUM, G5 Mobile and G6 systems are more invasive than many other self-monitored glucose testing systems, including single-point finger stick devices, and people with diabetes may be unwilling to insert a sensor in their body, especially if their current diabetes management involves no more than two finger sticks per day. Moreover, people with diabetes may not perceive the benefits of CGM and may be unwilling to change their current treatment regimens. In addition, physicians tend to be slow to change their medical treatment practices because of perceived liability risks arising from the use of new products. Physicians may not recommend or prescribe our products unless and until (i) there is more long-term clinical evidence to convince them to alter their existing treatment methods, (ii) there are additional recommendations from prominent physicians that our products are effective in monitoring glucose levels, and (iii) reimbursement or insurance coverage is more widely available. We cannot predict when, if ever, healthcare professionals, including physicians, and people with diabetes may adopt more widespread use of CGM systems, including our systems. If our CGM systems do not achieve and maintain an adequate level of acceptance by people with diabetes, healthcare professionals, including physicians, and third party payors, our future revenue may be reduced and our business may be harmed.ways.
We operate in a highly competitive market and face competition from large, well-established medical device manufacturerscompanies with significant resources, and, as a result, we may not be able to compete effectively.
The market for glucose monitoring devices is intensely competitive, subject to rapid change and significantly affected by new product introductions and other market activities of industry participants. participants, including enhanced software capabilities, and related data and IT platforms. Our products are based on our proprietary technology, but a number of companies and medical researchers are pursuing new technologies for the monitoring of glucose levels. FDA or other regulatory approval of a commercially viable continuous glucose monitor or sensor produced by one of our competitors could significantly reduce market acceptance of our systems. In addition, certain development efforts throughout the diabetes industry, including that of the National Institutes of Health and other supporters of diabetes research are continually seeking ways to prevent, cure or improve treatment of diabetes. Therefore, our
products may be rendered obsolete by technological breakthroughs in diabetes monitoring, treatment, prevention or cure.
In selling the G4 PLATINUM, G5 Mobile and G6our current CGM systems, we compete directly with the Diabetes Care division of Abbott Laboratories; Medtronic plc’s Diabetes Group; Roche Diabetes Care, a division of Roche Diagnostics; privately-held LifeScan, Inc.; and Ascensia Diabetes Care, each of which manufactures and markets products for the single-point finger stick device market. Collectively, these companies currently account for the majority of the worldwide sales of self-monitored glucose testing systems.
Our competitors manufacturing adjunctive CGMs have also recognized expanded Medicare coverage of their CGM devices and supplies following CMS’ December 2021 final rule expanding the classification of DME under Medicare Parts B & C to include adjunctive CGMs. These devices now directly compete with our CGM products in the Medicare market.
Several companies are developing and/or commercializing products for continuous or periodic monitoring of glucose levels in the interstitial fluid under the skin that compete directly with our products. In 2015,We have competed with Abbott Diabetes Care, Inc. launched a consumer flash or intermittent scan glucose monitoring system, FreeStylefor several years and their Libre outside the United States. Abbott first received FDA approval for a professional-use versionfamily of this system in September 2016 for use in the United States for which readings are only made available to the patient through consultation with their healthcare provider. Abbott first received FDA approval for the consumer version of this system in September 2017 for use in the United States.CGM products. Medtronic plc’s Diabetes Group markets and sells a standalone glucose monitoring product called Guardian Connect which has launched both internationally and in the United States after receiving FDA approval in 2018.States.
Medtronic and other third parties have developed or are developing insulin pumps integrated with CGM systems that provide, among other things, the ability to suspend insulin administration while the user’s glucose levels are low and to automate basal and bolus insulin dosing. Medtronic launched its 670G insulin delivery system in 2017.
We also have begun to become aware of companies outside the traditional medical device sector that are attempting to develop competitive products and services, including for general health and wellness, or population health.
Some of the companies developing or marketing competing devices are publicly traded or divisions oflarge and well-known publicly traded companies, and these companies may possess competitive advantages over us, including:
•greater name recognition;
•established relations with healthcare professionals, customers and third-party payors;
•established distribution networks;
•additional lines of products, and the ability to bundle products to offer higher discounts or incentives to gain a competitive advantage;
•greater experience in conducting research and development, manufacturing, clinical trials, obtaining regulatory approval for products and marketing approved products;
•duration of sensor life;
•the ability to integrate multiple products to provide additional features beyond CGM systems; and
•greater financial and human resources for product development, manufacturing, sales and marketing, and patent litigation.
As a result, we may not be able to compete effectively against these companies or their products, which may adversely impact our business.
The outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its variants and the COVID-19 disease that it causes, or similar public health crises, could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations, including our manufacturing, commercial operations and sales.
The outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its variants and the COVID-19 disease that it causes has been and continues to be a global pandemic. The novel coronavirus, as well as new variants of the coronavirus have spread to most regions of the world, including the United States and Europe. The extent to which this coronavirus impacts our business and operating results will depend on future developments that are highly uncertain and cannot be accurately predicted, including new variants of the virus and new information that may emerge concerning the virus and the actions to contain it or to mitigate the COVID-19 impact, among others. It is especially difficult to predict the impact on the global economic markets, which have been and will continue to be highly dependent upon the actions of governments, businesses, and other enterprises in response to the pandemic, as well as the effectiveness of those actions, and vaccine availability, distribution, efficacy and adoption. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its adverse effects have become more prevalent in the locations where we, our customers, suppliers or third-party business partners conduct business and as a result, we have, and may continue to experience more pronounced disruptions in our operations.
The spread of COVID-19, which has caused a broad impact globally, including restrictions on travel and quarantine policies put into place by businesses and governments, may have a material economic effect on our business. For example, such restrictions may have a substantial impact on our customers and sales cycles. They have impacted our sales and marketing activity including quite significantly in Europe where more restrictive health protection measures and greater reliance on in-person sales efforts at doctors’ offices create a greater impediment to our selling efforts. Furthermore, changes in hospital or physician policies, federal, state or local regulations, prioritization of hospital or medical resources toward pandemic efforts may negatively affect the demand for our devices. The COVID-19 pandemic has, and may continue to, put pressure on global economic conditions and overall spending for medical device products, and may cause our customers to modify spending priorities or delay or abandon purchasing decisions. Further, if the spread of the coronavirus pandemic continues and our operations are adversely impacted, we risk a delay, default and/or nonperformance under existing agreements.
Severe respiratory symptoms, infections and deaths related to the pandemic may disrupt healthcare delivery in the United States as well as the operations of regulatory bodies with responsibility for oversight of healthcare and health and medical products. Such disruptions could result in the focus and prioritization of regulatory resources on emergent matters, which could divert regulatory resources away from more routine regulatory matters that are not COVID-19 related but that have the potential to impact our business. For example, there have been and could continue to be delays in FDA review of applications for marketing authorization, including those which may be necessary for or in connection with proposed changes to our products or the changes to the processes by which they are manufactured. It is unknown how long these disruptions could continue, were they to occur. Any delay in regulatory review resulting from such disruptions could materially affect our ongoing device design, development, and commercialization plans.
Furthermore, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and associated shelter-in-place orders have and may continue to limit or restrict our ability to initiate, conduct or continue our clinical trials. Delays and disruptions in our clinical trials have and may continue to result in delays for new or expanded marketing authorizations for our products, which could materially affect our development and commercialization plans for our products. For example, we have experienced some delays in certain pivotal clinical trials for our next-generation CGM product.
Additionally, as a result of the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and recent economic slowdown, some customers have lost, and others may lose, access to their private health insurance plan if they have lost or lose their job. Any prolonged economic downturn or recession could result in layoffs of employees and a significant increase in unemployment in the United States and elsewhere, which may continue even after the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is contained. An impact to job status may extend for a prolonged period of time, beyond possible coverage periods through COBRA, or where the cost to maintain coverage may not be affordable to our customer. As most of our competitors are not subjectcustomers rely on third-party payors, including government programs and private health insurance plans, to cover the cost of our products, our customers may lose coverage to our products, which may harm our business and results of operations.
We currently utilize third parties to, among other things, manufacture components and materials for our devices, and to provide services such as sterilization services and we purchase these materials and services from numerous suppliers worldwide. The global COVID-19 pandemic has and may continue to have an adverse impact on our manufacturing and distribution capabilities. Disruptions relating to the Stark Law, since they do not bill Medicare directlyongoing COVID-19 pandemic could prevent employees, suppliers, distributors, and others from accessing manufacturing facilities and from transporting our products or the components required to manufacture our products. For example, we have experienced some supply chain disruption due to the global restrictions resulting from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the manufacture of our next-generation CGM product. Further, worldwide supply chain disruption relating to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in product shortages, that has and may continue to impact our ability to manufacture our devices. If either we or any third-party parties in the supply chain for similar CGM systemsmaterials used in the production of our devices continue to be adversely impacted by, and/or the restrictions resulting from, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, our supply chain may be continue disrupted, limiting our ability to manufacture our devices. These disruptions may, among other things, impact our ability to produce and products. As noted above,supply products in quantities necessary to meet market demand.
Reduction in our manufacturing and shipping capabilities may have a material economic effect on our business and the Stark Law is a strict liability statute and therefore,results of our operations. If either we or any third-parties in order to ensure continued compliance, we must satisfy highly technical exceptions. These compliance effortsthe supply chain for components, materials or services used in the production of our devices are adversely impacted by the disruptions caused by, or restrictions resulting from, the COVID-19 pandemic, our supply chain may be disrupted, which may impact and/or limit our ability to engagemanufacture and distribute our devices.
We continue to take precautions to protect the health and safety of our employees, including monitoring community levels of COVID-19 and masking according to the Center for Disease Control’s recommendations.
We continue to address other unique situations that arise among our workforce due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on a case-by-case basis. While we believe that we have taken appropriate measures to ensure the health and well-being of our employees, there can be no assurances that our measures will be sufficient to protect our employees in marketing practices commonly utilizedour workplace or that they may not otherwise be exposed to COVID-19 outside of our workplace. If a number of our essential employees become ill, incapacitated or are otherwise unable to continue working during the current or any future epidemic, our operations may be adversely impacted.
While the potential economic impact brought by, and the duration of, the pandemic is difficult to assess or predict, it has already caused, and is likely to result in further, significant disruption of global financial markets. The trading prices for our competitorscommon stock and other medical device companies have been highly volatile as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which may reduce our ability to access capital on favorable terms or at all. In addition, a recession, depression or other sustained adverse market event resulting from the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic could materially and adversely affect our business and the value of our common stock.
The ultimate impact of the current pandemic, or any other health epidemic, is highly uncertain and subject to change. We have experienced certain delays or impacts to our business, our clinical trials, our research programs, healthcare systems or the global economy as a whole as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic so far, but do not yet know the full extent of future delays or impacts. However, these effects could have a material impact on our business, and we will continue to monitor the situation closely.
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Risks Related to our International Operations |
We are subject to a variety of risks due to our international operations that could adversely affect our business, our operations or profitability and operating results.
Our operations in countries outside the United States, which accounted for approximately 26% of our revenue for the twelve months ended December 31, 2022, are accompanied by certain financial and other risks. In addition to our offices in countries such as, Australia, Canada, Germany, Lithuania, the Philippines, and the United Kingdom, we intend to continue to pursue growth opportunities in sales outside the United States, especially in Asia and Europe. Additionally, we may increase our use of administrative and support functions from locations outside the United States. These business activities could expose us to greater risks associated with our sales volumesand operations.
As we pursue opportunities outside the United States, we may become more exposed to these risks and our ability to scale our operations effectively may be affected. For example, we are building out a manufacturing facility in Malaysia.
Our international expansion efforts, including our proposed manufacturing facility in Malaysia, may not keep pace. Conversely,be successful and we may experience difficulties in scaling these functions from locations outside the United States and may not experience the expected cost efficiencies.
Our profitability and international operations are, and will continue to be, subject to a number of risks and potential costs, including:
•local product preferences and product requirements;
•longer-term receivables than are typical in the United States;
•fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates;
•less intellectual property protection in some countries outside the United States than exists in the United States;
•trade protection measures and import and export licensing requirements;
•workforce instability;
•fluctuations in trade policy and tariff regulations; and
•political and economic instability.
Moreover, the tax laws in which we and our subsidiaries do business could change on a prospective or retroactive basis, and any such changes could adversely affect our business and financial condition. We have a significant presence in the European Union, as well as significant sales in the European Union, such that any changes in tax laws in the European Union will impact our business. The overall impact of such legislation in European Union member states is uncertain, and our business and financial condition could be adversely affected by any laws impacting our tax rate.
While it is impossible for us to predict whether these and other proposals will be implemented, or how they will ultimately impact us, they may materially impact our results of operations if, for example, our profits earned abroad are subject to U.S. income tax, or we do not strictly satisfy all criteriaare otherwise disallowed deductions as a result of these profits.
Changes in foreign currency exchange rates may reduce the reported value of our foreign currency denominated revenues, expenses, and cash flows. We cannot predict changes in currency exchange rates, the impact of exchange rate changes, nor the degree to which we will be able to manage the impact of currency exchange rate changes.
Following a 2016 referendum of voters in the United Kingdom, or the U.K, to exit from the European Union, or the E.U., the U.K. left the E.U. on January 31, 2020, which began a transition period that ended on December 31, 2020. In December 2020, the U.K. and E.U. agreed on a trade and cooperation agreement that was ratified by the parties in May 2021. The agreement sets out certain procedures for approval and recognition of medical products in each jurisdiction. Any delay in obtaining, or an applicable Stark Law exception,inability to obtain, any marketing approvals, as a result of the trade and cooperation agreement or otherwise, could prevent us from marketing our CGM systems in the U.K. and/or the E.U. and restrict our ability to generate revenue and achieve and sustain profitability. Under the trade and cooperation agreement, U.K. service suppliers no longer benefit from automatic access to the entire E.U. single market, U.K. goods no longer benefit from the free movement of goods and there is no longer the free movement of people between the U.K. and the E.U. Depending on the application of the terms of the trade and cooperation agreement, we runcould face new regulatory costs and challenges which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.
Laws and regulations governing the export of our products could adversely impact our business.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, and the Bureau of Industry and Security at the U.S. Department of Commerce, administer certain laws and regulations that restrict U.S. persons and, in some instances, non-U.S. persons, in conducting activities, and transacting business with or making investments in certain countries, governments, entities and individuals subject to U.S. economic sanctions. Due to our international operations, we are subject to such laws and regulations, which are complex, restrict our business dealings with certain countries and individuals, and are constantly changing. Further restrictions may be enacted, amended, enforced or interpreted in a manner that materially impacts our operations.
Violations of these regulations are punishable by civil penalties, including fines, denial of export privileges, injunctions, asset seizures, debarment from government contracts and revocations or restrictions of licenses, as well as criminal fines and imprisonment. We have established procedures designed to assist with our compliance with such laws and regulations. However, we have only limited experience dealing with these laws and regulations and we cannot guarantee that our procedures will effectively prevent us from violating these regulations in every transaction in which we may engage. Any such violation could adversely affect our reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations.
The outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its variants and the COVID-19 disease that it causes have also led to healthcare equipment shortages in the U.S. and around the world. For example, in 2020, certain U.S. federal government orders temporarily limited companies from exporting certain equipment (such as ventilators) to other countries. Though no such orders have been issued with respect to CGMs, if supply chain disruption causes significant shortages in CGMs or other equipment, it is possible that we could face additional barriers to exporting our devices outside of the United States.
The failure to comply with U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and similar worldwide anti-bribery laws in non-U.S. jurisdictions could materially adversely affect our business and result in civil and/or criminal sanctions.
The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the UK Bribery Act and similar worldwide anti-bribery laws in non-U.S. jurisdictions generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to non-U.S. government officials and, in some instances, other persons for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. Because of the predominance of government-sponsored healthcare systems around the world, most of our customer relationships outside of the United States are with governmental entities and are therefore potentially subject to such anti-bribery laws. Global enforcement of anti-corruption laws has increased substantially in recent years, with more frequent voluntary self-disclosures by companies, aggressive investigations and enforcement proceedings by U.S. and foreign governmental agencies, and assessment of significant fines and penalties against companies and individuals. Our international operations create the risk of incurring substantially financial penalties in the formunauthorized payments or offers of fines and potential False Claims Act damages as well as potential exclusion from participation in federal healthcare programs.
Technological breakthroughs by us or our competitors could materially impact sales of current or future generations of our products.
The glucose monitoring market is subject to rapid technological change and product innovation. Our products are based on our proprietary technology, but a number of companies and medical researchers are pursuing new technologies for the monitoring of glucose levels. FDA or other regulatory approval of a commercially viable continuous glucose monitor or sensor producedpayments by one of our competitorsemployees, consultants, sales agents, or distributors, because these parties are not always subject to our direct oversight and control. It is our policy to implement safeguards to educate our employees and agents on these legal requirements and discourage improper practices. However, our existing safeguards and any
future improvements may prove to be less than effective, and our employees, consultants, sales agents, or distributors may engage in conduct for which we might be held responsible. In addition, the government agencies may seek to hold us liable for successor liability for anti-corruption law violations committed by any companies in which we invest or that we acquire. Any alleged or actual violations of these regulations may subject us to government scrutiny, severe criminal or civil sanctions and other liabilities, including exclusion from government contracting, and could significantlydisrupt our business, and result in a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Current uncertainty in global economic and political conditions makes it particularly difficult to predict product demand and other related matters and makes it more likely that our actual results could differ materially from expectations.
Our operations and performance depend on worldwide economic and political conditions. These conditions have been adversely impacted by continued global economic uncertainty, political instability and military hostilities in multiple geographies, including the current conflict in Ukraine, concerns over the potential downgrade of U.S. sovereign debt and continued sovereign debt, monetary and financial uncertainties in Europe and other foreign countries, and global health pandemics such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. These include potential reductions in the overall stability and suitability of the Euro as a single currency, given the economic and political challenges facing individual Eurozone countries. These conditions have made and may continue to make it difficult for our customers and potential customers to afford our products, and could cause our customers to stop using our products or to use them less frequently. If that were to occur, our revenue may decrease and our performance may be negatively impacted. In addition, the pressure on consumers to absorb more of their own health care costs has resulted in some cases in higher deductibles and limits on durable medical equipment, which may cause seasonality in purchasing patterns. Furthermore, during economic uncertainty, our customers have had job losses and may continue to have issues gaining timely access to sufficient health insurance or credit, which could result in their unwillingness to purchase products or impair their ability to make timely payments to us. While the potential economic impact brought by and the duration of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic may be difficult to assess or predict, it has already caused, and is likely to result in further, significant disruption of global financial markets, which may reduce our ability to access capital on favorable terms or at all. In addition, a recession, depression or other sustained adverse market acceptanceevent resulting from the spread of COVID-19 could materially and adversely affect our business and the value of our systems. Severalcommon stock.
We cannot predict the reoccurrence of our competitors are in various stages of developing continuousany economic slowdown or flashthe strength or intermittent scan glucose monitors or sensors, including non-invasive and invasive devices, and the FDA has approved a number of these competing products. In addition, certain development efforts throughout the diabetes industry, including thatsustainability of the National Institutes of Healtheconomic recovery, worldwide, in the United States, or in our industry. These and other supporters of diabetes research are continually seeking ways to prevent, cure or improve treatment of diabetes. Therefore, our products may be rendered obsolete by technological breakthroughs in diabetes monitoring, treatment, prevention or cure.
In addition, in the periods leading up to the launch of new or upgraded versions of our CGM systems, our customers’ anticipation of the release of those products may cause them to cancel, change or delay current period purchases of our current products, whicheconomic factors could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Quality problems could leadFailure to recalls or safety alerts, reputational harm, and could have a material adverse effect onobtain any required regulatory authorization in foreign jurisdictions will prevent us from marketing our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.products abroad.
Quality is very important to us and our customers due to the serious and costly consequences of product failure, and our business exposes us to potential product liability risks that are inherent in the design, manufacture,We conduct limited commercial and marketing of medical devices. Sinceefforts in Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe, Latin America, the first commercial launch of our products in 2006, we have had periodic field failures related to our productsMiddle East, and associated services, including reports of sensor errors, sensor failures, broken sensors, receiver malfunctions, audible alarms and alert failures, as well as server and transmitter failures. To comply with the FDA’s medical device reporting requirements, we have filed reports of applicable field failures. Although we believe we have taken and are taking appropriate action aimed at reducing and/or eliminating field failures, we anticipate that we will have other product failures in the future. Product or component failures, manufacturing nonconformances, design defects, off-label use, or inadequate disclosure of product-related risks or product-related informationNew Zealand with respect to our products, if they were to occur, could result in an unsafe condition or injury to, or death of, a patient. These problems could lead to recall of, or issuance of a safety alert relating to, our products, and could result in product liability claims and lawsuits.
Additionally, the production of our products must occur in a highly controlled and clean environment to minimize particles and other yield- and quality-limiting contaminants. Weaknesses in process control or minute impurities in materials may cause a substantial percentage of defective products. If we are not able to maintain stringent quality controls, or if contamination problems arise, our clinical development and commercialization efforts could be delayed, which would harm our business and our results of operations.
If we fail to meet any applicable product quality standards and our products are the subject of recalls or safety alerts, our reputation could be damaged, we could lose customers, our reputation could be harmed and our revenue and results of operations could decline.
We may never receive approval, marketing authorization or clearance from the U.S. FDA and other governmental agencies to market additional CGM systems expanded indications for use of current and future generation CGM systems, future software platforms, or any other products under development.
In March 2018, via the de novo process, the FDA classified the G6 and substantially equivalent devices of this generic type (“integrated continuous glucose monitoring systems” or “iCGMs”) into Class II, meaning that going forward products of this generic type may utilize the 510(k) pathway.
Any subsequent modification of our G6 that could significantly affect its safety or effectiveness (for example, a significant change in design or manufacture), or that would constitute a major change in its intended use, will require us to obtain a new 510(k) clearance or could require a new de novo submission or a PMA. The FDA requires each manufacturer to make this determination initially, but the FDA may review any such decision and may disagree with a manufacturer’s determination. If the FDA disagrees with a manufacturer’s determination, the FDA may require the manufacturer to cease marketing and/or recall the modified device until appropriate clearance or approval is obtained. Under these circumstances, the FDA may also subject a manufacturer to significant regulatory fines or other penalties.
If future product candidates are not deemed by the FDA to meet the criteria for submission under the 510(k) pathway, or for down-classification under the de novo process or otherwise, we would need to pursue a PMA. The PMA process requires us to prove the safety and effectiveness of our systems to the FDA’s satisfaction. This process can be expensive, prolonged and uncertain, requires detailed and comprehensive scientific and human clinical data, and may never result in the FDA granting a PMA. In March 2018, our G6 system received de novo classification from the FDA to be a Class II medical device. The de novo classification under the generic name “integrated continuous glucose monitoring system,” makes the G6 a predicate
device for future 510(k) submissions. Complying with this classification requires ongoing compliance with the general controls required by the federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act and the special controls specified by the FDA’s G6 order. Any future system or expanded indications for use of current generation systems will require approval of the applicable regulatory authorities. In addition, we intend to seek either 510(k) clearances or PMA approvals for certain changes and modifications to our existing software platform, but cannot predict when, if ever, those changes and modifications will be approved.
The FDA can refuse to grant a 510(k) clearance or a de novo request for marketing authorization, or delay, limit or deny approval of a PMA application or supplement for many reasons, including:
the system may not be deemed by the FDA to be substantially equivalent to appropriate predicate devices under the 510(k) pathway;
the system may not satisfy the FDA’s safety or effectiveness requirements;
the data from pre-clinical studies and clinical trials may be insufficient to support approval, clearance and/or marketing authorization;
the manufacturing process or facilities used may not meet applicable requirements; and
changes in FDA approval policies or adoption of new regulations may require additional data.
Even if approved or cleared by the FDA or foreign regulatory agencies, future generations of our CGM systems, expanded indications for use of current and future generation CGM systems, our software platforms or any other CGM system under development, may not be approved or cleared for the indications that are necessary or desirable for successful commercialization. We may not obtain the necessary regulatory approvals or clearances to market these CGM systems in the United States or outside of the United States. Any delay in, or failure to receive or maintain, approval or clearance for our products could prevent us from generating revenue from these products or achieving profitability. The uncertain timing of regulatory approvals for future generations of our products could subject our current inventory to excess or obsolescence charges, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.
If we are unable to successfully complete the pre-clinical studies or clinical trials necessary to support additional PMA, de novo, or 510(k) applications or supplements, we may be unable to commercialize our CGM systems under development, which could impair our business, financial condition and operating results.
To support current and any future additional PMA, 510(k), de novo applications or supplements, we together with our partners, must successfully complete pre-clinical studies, bench-testing, and in some cases clinical trials that will demonstrate that the product is safe and effective. Product development, including pre-clinical studies and clinical trials, is a long, expensive and uncertain process and is subject to delays and failure at any stage. Furthermore, the data obtained from the studies and trials may be inadequate to support approval of an application and the FDA may request additional clinical data in support of those applications, which may result in significant additional clinical expenses and may delay product approvals. While we have in the past obtained, and may in the future obtain, an investigational device exemption, or IDE, prior to commencing clinical trials for our products, FDA approval of an IDE application permitting us to conduct testing does not mean that the FDA will consider the data gathered in the trial to be sufficient to support approval of a PMA, de novo or 510(k) application or supplement, even if the trial’s intended safety and effectiveness endpoints are achieved. Additionally, since 2009, the FDA has significantly increased the scrutiny applied to its oversight of companies subject to its regulations, including device marketing submissions, by hiring new investigators and increasing the frequency and scope of its inspections of manufacturing facilities. The ongoing oversight by the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health could complicate the product approval process for certain of our and our partners’ products, and we cannot predict the effect of such procedural changes and cannot ascertain if such changes will have a substantive impact on the approval of our products or our partners’ products. If we fail to adequately respond to any changes to the 510(k) submission process and associated matters, our business may be adversely impacted.
Unexpected changes to the FDA or foreign regulatory approval processes could also delay or prevent the approval of our products submitted for review. For example, as part of the 21st Century Cures Act passed in 2016, Congress enacted several reforms that further affect medical device regulation both pre- and post-approval. In addition, the FDA is in the process of reviewing the 510(k) approval process and criteria and has announced initiatives to improve the current pre- and post-market regulatory processes and requirements associated with infusion pumps and other home use medical devices. As part of this effort, the FDA is reviewing the adverse event reporting and recall processes for insulin pumps. Any change in the laws or regulations that govern the clearance and approval processes relating to our current and future products could make it more difficult and costly to obtain clearance or approval for new products, or to produce, market and distribute existing products. The data contained in our submissions, including data drawn from our clinical trials, may not be sufficient to support approval of our products or additional or expanded indications. Medical device company stock prices have declined significantly in certain circumstances where companies have failed to meet expectations in regards to the timing of regulatory approval. If the FDA’s response causes product approval delays, or is not favorable for any of our products, our stock price (and the market price of
our convertible notes) could decline substantially. In November 2018, the FDA announced that it plans to make further changes aimed at modernizing the 510(k) clearance pathway, creating further uncertainty.
The commencement or completion of any of our clinical trials may be delayed or halted, or be inadequate to support approval of FDA marketing applicationsor supplements, for numerous reasons, including, but not limited to, the following:
the FDA or other regulatory authorities do not approve a clinical trial protocol or a clinical trial, or place a clinical trial on hold;
patients do not enroll in clinical trials at the rate we expect;
patients do not comply with trial protocols;
patient follow-up does not occur at the rate we expect;
patients experience adverse side effects;
patients die during a clinical trial, even though their death may not be related to our products;
institutional review boards and third-party clinical investigators may delay or reject our trial protocol;
third-party clinical investigators decline to participate in a trial or do not perform a trial on our anticipated schedule or consistent with the investigator agreements, clinical trial protocol, good clinical practices or other FDA or institutional review board requirements;
DexCom or third-party organizations do not perform data collection, monitoring and/or analysis in a timely or accurate manner or consistent with the clinical trial protocol or investigational or statistical plans;
third-party clinical investigators have significant financial interests related to DexCom or the study that the FDA deems to make the study results unreliable, or DexCom or investigators fail to disclose such interests;
regulatory inspections of our clinical trials or manufacturing facilities may, among other things, require us to undertake corrective action or suspend or terminate our clinical trials;
changes in governmental regulations, policies or administrative actions applicable to our trial protocols;
the interim or final results of the clinical trial are inconclusive or unfavorable as to safety or efficacy; and
the FDA concludes that the results from our trial and/or trial design are inadequate to demonstrate safety and effectiveness of the product.
The results of pre-clinical studies do not necessarily predict future clinical trial results, and prior clinical trial results might not be repeated in subsequent clinical trials. Additionally, the FDA may disagree with our interpretation of the data from our pre-clinical studies and clinical trials, or may find the clinical trial design, conduct or results inadequate to prove safety or effectiveness, and may require us to pursue additional pre-clinical studies or clinical trials, which could further delay the approval of our products. If we are unable to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of our products in our clinical trials to the FDA’s satisfaction, we will be unable to obtain regulatory approval to market our products in other regions in the future. Outside the United States.States, we can market a product only if we receive a marketing authorization and, in some cases, pricing approval, from the appropriate regulatory authorities. The marketing authorization procedures vary among countries and can involve additional testing, and the time required to obtain any required authorization or approval may differ from that required to obtain FDA marketing authorization(s). Foreign regulatory authorization or approval processes may include all of the risks associated with obtaining FDA marketing authorization(s) in addition to other risks. We may not obtain foreign regulatory authorizations or approvals on a timely basis, if at all. Obtaining a marketing authorization from the FDA does not ensure authorization or approval by regulatory authorities in other countries will follow, and authorization or approval by one foreign regulatory authority does not ensure authorization or approval by regulatory authorities in other foreign countries or by the FDA. In addition, the data we collect from our current clinical trials, our pre-clinical studies and other clinical trials may not be sufficient to support FDA approval, even if our endpoints are met.
We may also conduct clinical studies to demonstrate the relative or comparative effectiveness of CGM systems for the treatment of diabetes. These types of studies, which often require substantial investment and effort, may not show adequate, or any, clinical benefit for the use of CGM systems.
We depend on clinical investigators and clinical sites to enroll patients in our clinical trials and other third parties to manage the trials and to perform related data collection and analysis, and, as a result, we may face costs and delays that are outside of our control.
We rely on clinical investigators and clinical sites to enroll patients in our clinical trials, and other third parties to manage the trial 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. If these clinical investigators and clinical sites fail to enroll a sufficient number of patients in our clinical trials or fail to ensure compliance by patients with clinical protocols or fail to comply with regulatory requirements, we will be unable to complete these trials, which could prevent us from obtaining regulatory approvals for our products. Our agreements with clinical investigators and clinical sites for clinical testing place substantial responsibilities on these parties and, if these parties fail to perform as expected, our trials could be delayed or terminated. If these clinical investigators, clinical sites or other third parties do not carry out their contractual duties or obligations or fail to meet expected deadlines, or if the quality or accuracy of the clinical data they obtain is compromised due to their failure to adhere to our clinical protocols, regulatory requirements or for other reasons, our clinical trials may be extended, delayed or terminated, or the clinical data may be rejected by the FDA, and we may be unableorder to obtain regulatory approval for, or successfully commercialize, our products.
Potential long-term complications from our current or future products or other CGM systems under development may not be revealed by our clinical experiencethe authorization to date.
Based on our experience, complications from use of our products may include sensor errors, sensor failures, broken sensors, lodged sensors or skin irritation under the adhesive dressing of the sensor. Inflammation or redness, swelling, minor infection, and minor bleeding at the sensor insertion site are also possible risks with an individual’s use of our products. However, if unanticipated long-term side-effects result from the use of our products or other glucose monitoring systems we have under development, we could be subject to liability and the adoption of our systems may become more limited. With respect to our G4 PLATINUM and G5 Mobile systems, our clinical trials have been limited to seven days of continuous use, and with respect to our G6, our clinical trials have been limited to ten days of continuous use. It is possible that the results from our clinical studies and trials may not be indicative of the clinical results obtained when we examine the patients at later dates. We cannot assure you that repeated, long-term use would not result in unanticipated adverse effects, potentially even after the sensor is removed.
We enter into collaborations 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 enter into collaborative arrangements to develop new products and to pursue new markets, such as our agreements with Eli Lilly, Insulet, Novo Nordisk and Tandem Diabetes, to integrate our CGM technology into their insulin delivery systems, and our amended agreement with Verily to develop one or more next-generation CGM products. Our Eli Lilly, Insulet, Novo Nordisk and Verily collaborations have not yet resulted in a commercial product. In December 2019, Tandem received FDA approval for its second sensor-augmented insulin delivery system, the t:slim X2™ Insulin Pump with Control-IQ™ technology, which integrates with our G6 system.
As a result of these development relationships, our operating results depend, to some extent, on the ability of our development partners to successfully commercialize their insulin delivery systems or monitoring products. Any factors that may limit our partners’ ability to achieve widespread adoption of their systems, including competitive pressures, technological breakthroughs for the treatment or prevention of diabetes, adverse regulatory or legal actions relating to insulin pump products, or changes in reimbursement rates or policies of third-party payors relating to insulin pumps or similar products, could have an adverse impact on our operating results. For example, Animas announced in September 2017 that it has discontinued the manufacturing and sale of Animas® Vibe® and OneTouch Ping® insulin pumps, then exited the insulin pump business. Animas selected Medtronic as its partner to facilitate a seamless transition for patients, caregivers and healthcare providers. Patients using an Animas insulin pump are offered the option to transfer to a Medtronic pump. As Animas Vibe is compatible with DexCom’s products, and Animas has served as a distributor formarket our products in certain geographies, the transition of Animas customers to Medtronic pumps, which are not integrated with our sensors, may adversely impact our revenues. As another example, UnitedHealthcare announced, effective July 1, 2016, that UnitedHealthcare Community Plan and Commercial members will no longer have an in-network choice among providers of insulin pumps, and designated Medtronic as its preferred, in-network provider. We do not have a relationship to integrate our CGM technology with Medtronic, which has developed an insulin pump augmented with its proprietary CGM system. The decision by UnitedHealthcare to establish Medtronic as its preferred provider of insulin pumps could resultforeign jurisdictions, in a material reduction in the number of insulin pumps sold by other insulin pump manufacturers, including Tandem and Insulet. In addition, it is possible that other large third-party payors will establish preferred providers of insulin pumps, which may or may not include the pumps produced by our development partners.
Many of the companies that we collaborate with are also competitors or potential competitors who may decide to terminate our collaborative arrangement. In the event of such a termination, we may be required to devote additional resources to product development and commercialization,some cases we may need to cancel some development programs and weobtain a Certificate to Foreign Government from the FDA. The FDA may face increased competition. Additionally, collaborations may notrefuse to issue a Certificate to Foreign Government if significant compliance-related concerns are identified. As a result, in the developmentthere are a range of productsfactors that achieve commercial success and could be terminated prior to developing any products. Former collaborators may use the experience and insights they develop in the course of their collaborations with us to initiatepreclude or accelerate their development of products that compete with our products, which may create competitive disadvantages for us. Accordingly, we cannot provide assurance that any of our collaborations will result in the successful development of a commercially viable product or result in significant additional future revenues.
In addition, our development timelines are highly dependent onimpede our ability to achieve clinical endpoints andfile for regulatory requirements andapprovals or marketing authorizations or to overcome technology challenges, and may be delayed duereceive necessary approvals or authorizations to scheduling issues with patients and investigators, requests from institutional review boards, product performance and manufacturing supply constraints, among other factors. In addition, support of these clinical trials requires significant resources from employees involved in the production ofcommercialize our products including research and development, manufacturing, quality assurance, and clinical and regulatory personnel. Even if our development and clinical trial efforts succeed,in any market outside the FDA may not approve the combined products or may require additional product testing and clinical trials before approving the combined products, which would result in product
launch delays and additional expense. If approved by the FDA, the combined products may not be accepted in the marketplace by physicians and people with diabetes.
Our success will depend on our ability to attract and retain our personnel, while controlling labor costs.
We depend to a significant degree on our senior management, especially Kevin Sayer, our President and Chief Executive Officer. Our success will depend on our ability to retain our senior management and to attract and retain qualified personnel in the future, including sales persons, scientists, clinicians, engineers and other highly skilled personnel. Competition for senior management personnel, as well as sales persons, scientists, clinicians and engineers, is intense and we may not be able to retain our personnel. The loss of the services of members of our senior management, scientists, clinicians or engineers could prevent the implementation and completion of our objectives, including the commercialization of our current products and the development and introduction of additional products. The loss of a member of our senior management or our professional staff would require the remaining executive officers to divert immediate and substantial attention to seeking a replacement. Each of our officers may terminate their employment at any time without notice and without cause or good reason. Additionally, volatility or a lack of positive performance in our stock price may adversely affect our ability to retain key employees.
We expect to continue to expand our operations and grow our research and development, manufacturing, sales and marketing, product development and administrative operations. We expect this expansion to place a significant strain on our management and it will require hiring a significant number of qualified personnel. Accordingly, recruiting and retaining such personnel will be critical to our success. There is intense competition from other companies and research and academic institutions for qualified personnel in the areas of our activities. If we fail to identify, attract, retain and motivate these skilled personnel, we may be unable to continue our development and commercialization activities.
We may undertake a reorganization of our workforce, which may result in a temporary reduction in the number of employees in certain locations. We would undertake a reorganization to reduce operating expenses, though we cannot guarantee any specific amount of long-term cost savings. Further, the turnover in our employee base could result in operational and administrative inefficiencies, which could adversely impact the results of our operations, stock price and customer relationships, and could make recruiting for future management and other positions more difficult.
We may conduct additional financings to continue the commercialization of our G4 PLATINUM, G5 Mobile and G6 systems, or the development and commercialization of our future generation CGM and other systems.
Our operations have consumed substantial amounts of cash since inception. We expect to continue to spend substantial amounts on commercialization of our products, including growth of our manufacturing capacity, and on research and development, including conducting clinical trials for our next-generation ambulatory CGM sensors and systems. Although we raised $389.0 million in net proceeds through the private sale of our convertible notes in June 2017, $75.0 million of which was used to repay our credit facility, $836.6 million in net proceeds through the private sale of our convertible notes in November 2018, $100.0 million of which we used to purchase shares of our common stock, and now have $195.6 million available to us under our credit facility (as reduced by our outstanding letters of credit), we could need funds to continue the commercialization of our current products and to develop and commercialize our next-generation sensors and systems or pursue other strategic initiatives. Additional financing may not be availableUnited States on a timely basis, on terms acceptable to us, or at all. Any additional financing may be dilutive to stockholders or may require us to grant a lender a security interest in our assets. The amount of funding we may need will depend on many factors, including:
the revenue generated by sales of our products and other future products;
the costs, timing and risks of delay of additional regulatory approvals;
the expenses we incur in manufacturing, developing, selling and marketing our products;
our ability to scale our manufacturing operations to meet demand for our current and any future products;
the costs to produce our continuous glucose monitoring systems;
the costs of filing, prosecuting, defending and enforcing any patent claims and other intellectual property rights;
the rate of progress and cost of our clinical trials and other development activities;
the success of our research and development efforts;
the emergence of competing or complementary technologies;
the terms and timing of any collaborative, licensing and other arrangements that we may establish;
the cost of ongoing compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, and third-party payors’ policies;
the cost of obtaining and maintaining regulatory or payor clearance or approval for our current or future products including those integrated with other companies’ products; and
the acquisition of business, products and technologies, although we currently have no commitments or agreements relating to any of these types of transactions.
If adequate funds are not available, we may not be able to commercialize our products at the rate we desire and/or we may have to delay the development or commercialization of our products or license to third parties the rights to commercialize products or technologies that we would otherwise seek to commercialize. We also may have to reduce sales, marketing, customer support or other resources devoted to our products. Any of these factors could harm our business and financial condition.
Uncollectible uninsured and patient due accounts could adversely affect our results of operations.
The primary collection risks for our accounts receivable relate to the uninsured patient accounts and patient accounts for which the primary insurance carrier has paid the amounts covered by the applicable agreement, but patient responsibility amounts (exclusions, deductibles and copayments) remain outstanding. In the event that we are unsuccessful in collecting payments owed by patients, and/or experience increases in the amount, or deterioration in the collectability, of uninsured and patient due accounts receivable, this could adversely affect our cash flows and results of operations. We may also be adversely affected by the growth in patient responsibility accounts as a result of increases in the adoption of plan structures, due to evolving health care policy and insurance landscapes that shift greater responsibility for care to individuals through greater exclusions and copayment and deductible amounts.
Environmental and social (E&S) regulations, policies and provisions, as well as customer demand, may make our supply chain more complex and may adversely affect our relationships with customers.
There is an increasing focus on the governance of environmental and social risks. A number of our customers have adopted, or may adopt, procurement policies that include E&S provisions that their suppliers must comply with, or they may seek to include such provisions in their terms and conditions. An increasing number of participants in the medical device industry are also joining voluntary E&S initiatives, such as the Responsible Business Alliance. These E&S provisions and initiatives are subject to change, can be unpredictable, and may be difficult and expensive for us to comply with, given the complexity of our supply chain and the outsourced manufacturing of certain components of our products. If we are unable to comply, or are unable to cause our suppliers to comply, with such policies or provisions, a customer may stop purchasing products from us, and may take legal action against us, which could harm our reputation, revenue and results of operations.
In addition, as part of their E&S programs, an increasing number of industry participants are seeking to source products that do not contain minerals sourced from areas where proceeds from the sale of such minerals are likely to be used to fund armed conflict, such as in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This could adversely affect the sourcing, availability and pricing of minerals used in the manufacture of medical device, including our products. Since our supply chain is complex, we are not currently able to definitively ascertain the origins of all of the minerals and metals used in our products. As a result, we may face difficulties in satisfying these customers’ demands, which may harm our sales and operating results.
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Risks Related to Healthcare Industry Shifts and Changing Regulations |
Managed care trends and consolidation in the health care industry could have an adverse effect on our revenues and results of operations.
Private third-party payors and other managed care organizations, such as pharmacy benefit managers, continue to take action to manage the utilization and control cost. Consolidation among managed care organizations has increased the negotiating power of managed care organizations and other private third-party payors. Private third-party payors, as well as governments, increasingly employ formularies to control costs by taking into account discounts in connection with decisions about formulary inclusion or favorable formulary placement. Failure to obtain or maintain timely adequate pricing or favorable formulary placement for our products, or failure to obtain such formulary placement at favorable pricing, could adversely impact revenue. Private third-party payors, including self-insured employers, often implement formularies with copayment tiers to encourage utilization of certain products and have also been raising co-payments required from beneficiaries, particularly for higher cost products. Private third-party payors also use additional measures such as value-based pricing/contracting to improve their cost containment efforts. Private third-party payors also are increasingly imposing utilization management tools, such as requiring prior authorization or requiring the patient to first fail on a lower cost product before permitting access to a higher cost product.
Many health care industry companies, including health care systems, distributors, manufacturers, providers, and insurers, are also consolidating or have formed strategic alliances. As the health care industry consolidates, competition to provide goods and services to industry participants may become more intense. This consolidation will continue to create larger enterprises with greater negotiating power, which they can try to use to negotiate price concessions or reductions for medical devices and components produced by us.
As the U.S. payor market consolidates further and we face greater pricing pressure from private third-party payors, who will continue to drive more of their patients to use lower cost alternatives, we may lose customers, our revenues may decrease and our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows may suffer.
Health care policy changes, including U.S. health care reform legislation, may have a material adverse effect on our business.
In response to perceived increases in health care costs in recent years, there have been and continue to be proposals by the federal government, state governments, regulators, and third-party payors to control these costs and, more generally, to reform the U.S. health care system. Certain of these proposals could limit the prices we are able to charge for our products or the amounts of reimbursement available for our products and could limit the acceptance and availability of our products. Further, while the United States has begun shifting to pay-for-performance rather than fee-for-service models and has been embracing many shared-risk arrangements, CMS and OIG specifically proposed to exclude medical device manufacturers from utilizing the new, more flexible Stark Law exceptions and Anti-Kickback Statute safe harbors under the Proposed Rules to Amend the Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute exceptions and safe harbors, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Regulatory Sprint to Coordinated Care. This exclusion would not allow us to avail ourselves of the protections available under these exceptions and safe harbors, inviting greater scrutiny over our shared risk arrangements. The adoption of some or all of these proposals could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Comprehensive healthcare legislation, signed into law in the United States in March 2010, titled the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010, collectively, the ACA, imposes certain stringent compliance, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements on companies in various sectors of the life sciences industry, with which we may need to comply, and enhanced penalties for non-compliance with the new and revised healthcare laws. However, there are many programs and requirements under the ACA for which the consequences are not fully understood, and it is unclear what the full impact will ultimately be from the ACA. Costs of compliance with this legislation, or any future amendments thereto, may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The ACA also focuses on a number of Medicare provisions aimed at improving quality and decreasing costs. It is uncertain at this point what negative unintended consequences these provisions will have on patient access to new technologies. The Medicare provisions include value-based payment programs, increased funding of comparative effectiveness research, reduced hospital payments for avoidable readmissions and hospital acquired conditions, and pilot programs to evaluate alternative payment methodologies that promote care coordination, such as bundled physician and hospital payments.
We cannot predict whether the ACA will be repealed, replaced, or modified, or how such repeal, replacement or modification may be timed or structured. As a result, we cannot quantify or predict what the effect of such repeal, replacement, or modification might have on our business and results of operations. However, any changes that lower reimbursement for our products could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
There are pending federal Congressional proposals that would significantly expand government-provided health insurance coverage. Proposals range from establishing a single-payor, national health insurance system (e.g., Medicare for All Act of 2019 (H.R. 1384), to more limited buy-in options that would be available to individuals above a certain age (e.g., Medicare at 50 Act (S. 470). There is also legislation that would authorize states to permit individuals to “buy-in” to their state Medicaid program (e.g., State Public Option Act (S. 489, H.R. 1277)). If enacted, these proposals will likely have a significant impact on the healthcare industry. At this stage, we cannot predict how future legislation will affect our business.
Other legal, regulatory and commercial policy influences are subjecting our industry to significant changes, and we cannot predict whether new regulations or policies will emerge from U.S. federal or state governments, foreign governments, or third-party payors. Government and commercial payors may, in the future, consider healthcare policies and proposals intended to curb rising healthcare costs, including those that could significantly affect reimbursement for healthcare products such as our systems. These policies have included, and may in the future include: basing reimbursement policies and rates on clinical outcomes, the comparative effectiveness, and costs, of different treatment technologies and modalities; imposing price controls and taxes on medical device providers; and other measures. Future significant changes in the healthcare systems in the United States or elsewhere could also have a negative impact on the demand for our current and future products. These include changes that may reduce reimbursement rates for our products and changes that may be proposed or implemented by the current or future laws or regulations.
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Risks Related to Non-Compliance with Laws, Regulations and Contractual Requirements |
We conduct business in a heavily regulated industry and if we fail to comply with applicable laws and government regulations, we could become subject to penalties, excluded from participation in government programs, and/or be required to make significant changes to our operations.
The healthcare industry generally, and our business specifically, is subject to extensive foreign, federal, state and local laws and regulations, including those relating to:
authorizations necessary for the investigation and commercial marketing of products;
the pricing of our products and services;
the distribution of our products and services;
billing for products and services;
the obligation to report and return identified overpayments;
financial relationships with physicians and other referral sources;
inducements and courtesies given to physicians and other health care providers and patients;
labeling products;
the characteristics and quality of our products and services;
confidentiality, maintenance and security issues associated with medical records and individually identifiable health and other personal information;
medical device adverse event reporting;
prohibitions on kickbacks, including the Anti-Kickback Statute and related laws and/or regulations;
any scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program;
physician and other healthcare professional payment disclosure requirements;
use and disclosure of personal health information;
privacy of health information and personal information;
data protection and data localization;
mobile communications;
patient access and non-discrimination;
patient consent;
false claims; and
professional licensure.
These laws and regulations are extremely complex and, in many cases, still evolving. If our operations are found to violate any of the foreign, federal, state or local laws and regulations which govern our activities, we may be subject to litigation, government enforcement actions, and applicable penalties associated with the violation, potentially including civil and criminal penalties, damages, fines, exclusion from participation in certain payor programs or curtailment of our operations. Compliance obligations under these various laws are oftentimes detailed and onerous, further contributing to the risk that we could be found to be out of compliance with particular requirements. The risk of being found in violation of these laws and regulations is further increased by the fact that many of them have not been fully interpreted by the regulatory authorities or the courts, particularly with respect to new and emerging technologies and remote delivery of services, and their provisions are open to a variety of interpretations.
The FDA, CMS, OIG, Department of Justice, states’ attorneys general and other governmental authorities actively enforce the laws and regulations discussed above. In the United States, medical device manufacturers have been the target of numerous government prosecutions and investigations alleging violations of law, including claims asserting impermissible off-label promotion of medical devices, payments intended to influence the referral of federal or state healthcare business, and submission of false claims for government reimbursement. While we make every effort to comply with applicable laws, we cannot rule out the possibility that the government or other third parties could interpret these laws differently and challenge our practices under one or more of these laws. This likelihood of allegations of non-compliance is increased by the fact that under certain federal and state laws applicable to our business, individuals, known as relators, may bring an action on behalf of the government alleging violations of such laws, and potentially be awarded a share of any damages or penalties ultimately awarded to the applicable government body.
Under the United States Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, medical devices are classified into one of three classes – Class I, Class II or Class III – depending on the degree of risk associated with each medical device and the extent of control needed to ensure safety and effectiveness. Our G6 has been classified as a Class II device. Class II devices are subject to various general and special controls, including the Quality System Regulations and 510(k) pre-market notification requirements.
From time to time, the FDA may disagree with the classification of a new Class II medical device and require the manufacturer of that device to apply for approval as a Class III medical device. In the event that the FDA determines that our Class II medical products should be classified as Class III medical devices, we could be precluded from marketing the devices for clinical use within the United States for months, years or longer, depending on the specific change in the classification. Reclassification of our Class II medical products as Class III medical devices could significantly increase our regulatory costs, including the timing and expense associated with required clinical trials and other costs.
Any action against us alleging a violation of these laws or regulations, even if we successfully defend against it, could cause us to incur significant legal expenses and divert our management’s time and attention from the operation of our business, and have a material effect on our business.
In addition, the laws and regulations impacting or affecting our business may change significantly in the future. Any new laws or regulations may adversely affect our business. A review of our business by courts or regulatory authorities may result in a determination that could adversely affect our operations. Also, the regulatory environment applicable to our business may change in a way that restricts or adversely impacts our operations.
Our failure to comply with laws, regulations and contract requirements relating to reimbursement of health care goods and services may subject us to penalties and adversely impact our reputation, business, financial condition and cash flows.
Our products are purchased principally by individual patients, who may be eligible for insurance coverage of their devices from various third-party payors, such as governmental programs (e.g., Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, other federal and state health benefit plans, and comparable non-U.S. programs), private insurance plans, and managed care plans. The ability of our customers to obtain appropriate reimbursement for products and servicesfrom third-party payors is critical because it affects which products customers purchase and the prices they are willing to pay. As a result, our products are subject to regulation regarding quality and cost by the U.S. Department for Health & Human Services, including CMS, as well as comparable state and non-U.S. agencies responsible for reimbursement and regulation of health care goods and services. The principal U.S. federal laws that implicate reimbursement issues include those that prohibit (i) the filing of false or improper claims for federal payment, known as the federal civil False Claims Act, (ii) unlawful inducements for the referral of business reimbursable under federally-funded health care programs, known as the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, and (iii) health care service providers from seeking reimbursement for providing certain services to a patient who was referred by a physician who has certain types of direct or indirect financial relationships with the service provider, known as the federal Physician Self-Referral law, or commonly referred to as the “Stark Law.” Many states have similar laws that apply to reimbursement by state Medicaid and other government-funded programs, as well as, in some cases, to all payors, including self-pay patients. In addition, the federal civil False Claims Act requires the reporting and returning of identified overpayments received from federal health care programs within 60 days of identification and quantification, and requires the exercise of reasonable diligence to investigate credible information regarding potential overpayments. Failure to timely refund known overpayments from federal healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, would subject a company to civil False Claims Act liability. Insurance companies can also bring a private cause of action claiming treble damages against a manufacturer for causing a false claim to be filed under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO. Additionally, as a manufacturer of U.S. FDA‑approved devices reimbursable by federal healthcare programs, we are subject to the federal Physician Payments Sunshine Act, which requires us to annually report certain payments and other transfers of value we make to U.S.-licensed physicians or U.S. teaching hospitals. On October 25, 2018, President Trump signed into law the “Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act.” This law, in part (under a provision entitled “Fighting the Opioid Epidemic with Sunshine”), extends the reporting and transparency requirements for physicians in the Physician Payments Sunshine Act, to physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and other mid-level practitioners. Reporting requirements will go into effect in 2022 for payments and transfers of value made to these additional practitioner-types in 2021.
We may be subject to these and other laws regulating the provision of, and reimbursement for, health care goods and services, both in our capacity as a medical device manufacturer and/or as a supplier of covered items and services to federal health care program beneficiaries, with respect to which items and services we submit claims for reimbursement from such programs. The laws and regulations of health care goods and services that apply to us, including those described above, are subject to evolving interpretations and enforcement discretion. As part of our compliance program, we have reviewed our sales contracts, marketing materials, and billing practices (among others) to reduce the risk of non-compliance with these and other foreign, federal and state laws. If a governmental authority was to conclude that we are not in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, we and our officers, directors and employees could be subject to criminal and civil penalties, including, for example, exclusion from participation as a supplier of product to beneficiaries covered by federal healthcare programs, including but not limited to Medicare and Medicaid. Any failure to comply with laws, regulations or contractual requirements relating to reimbursement and health care goods and services could adversely affect our reputation, business, financial condition and cash flows.
With respect to the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, Congress and the OIG have established a large number of statutory exceptions and regulatory safe harbors. An arrangement that fits squarely into an exception or safe harbor is immune from prosecution under the Anti-Kickback Statute.
We train and educate employees and marketing representatives on the Anti-Kickback Statute and their obligations thereunder, and we endeavor to comply with the applicable safe harbors. However, some of our arrangements, like many other common and non-abusive arrangements, may implicate the Anti-Kickback Statute and are not covered by a safe harbor, but
nevertheless do not present a material risk to beneficiaries or federal healthcare programs and, as such, would not likely invite government scrutiny or prosecution or warrant the imposition of sanctions. However, we cannot offer assurance that arrangements that do not squarely meet an exception or safe harbor will not be found to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute. Allegations of violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute can also trigger liability under the federal Civil Monetary Penalty Law and federal civil False Claims Act,thereby increasing the penalty structure for these violations.
Our financial relationships with referring physicians and their immediate family members must comply with the Stark Law by meeting an applicable exception. We attempt to structure our relationships to meet an exception to the Stark Law, but the regulations implementing the exceptions are detailed and complex, and we cannot assure you that every relationship complies fully with the Stark Law. Unlike the Anti-Kickback Statute, failure to meet an exception under the Stark Law results in a violation of the Stark Law, even if such violation is technical in nature. Violations of the Stark Law create overpayment liability under the federal civil False Claims Act and can also trigger separate penalties under the Civil Monetary Penalties Law. Knowing violations of the Stark Law carry increased civil monetary penalties and would likely be classified as the knowing submission of a false claim or knowingly making a false statement to the government, triggering liability under the federal civil False Claims Act. Certain Stark Law violations can also trigger exclusion from federal healthcare programs.
If we violate the Anti-Kickback Statute or Stark Law, or if we improperly bill for our services, or retain overpayments longer than 60 days after identification, or fail to act with reasonable diligence to investigate credible information regarding potential overpayments, we may be found to violate the federal civil False Claims Act, either under a suit brought by the government or by a private person under a qui tam relator, or “whistleblower,” suit.
If we or our suppliers or distributors fail to comply with ongoing regulatory requirements, or if we have unanticipated problems with our products, the products could be subject to restrictions or withdrawal from the market.
Any product for which we obtain marketing approval, clearance or authorization will be subject to continual review and periodic inspections by the FDA and other regulatory bodies, which may include inspection of our manufacturing processes, post-approval clinical data and promotional activities for such product. The FDA’s Medical Device Reporting, or MDR, regulations require that we report to the FDA any incident in which our product may have caused or contributed to a death or serious injury, or in which our product malfunctioned and, if the malfunction were to recur, it would likely cause or contribute to a death or serious injury.
If FDA determines that there is a reasonable probability that a device intended for human use would cause serious, adverse health consequences or death, the agency may issue a cease distribution and notification order and a mandatory recall order. We may also decide to recall a product voluntarily if we find a material deficiency, including unacceptable risks to health, manufacturing defects, design errors, component failures, labeling defects, or other issues. Recalls of our products could divert the attention of our management and have an adverse effect on our reputation, financial condition, and operating results.
We and our suppliers are also required to comply with the FDA’s Quality System Regulation, or QSR, and other regulations which cover the methods and documentation of the design, testing, production, control, selection and oversight of suppliers or contractors, quality assurance, labeling, packaging, storage, complaint handling, shipping and servicing of our products. The FDA enforces the QSR through unannounced inspections.
Compliance with ongoing regulatory requirements can be complex, expensive and time-consuming. Failure by us or one of our suppliers or distributors to comply with statutes and regulations administered by the FDA, competent authorities and other regulatory bodies, or failure to take adequate response to any observations, could result in, among other things, any of the following actions:
warning letters or untitled letters that require corrective action;
delays in approving, or refusal to approve, our CGM systems;
fines and civil or criminal penalties;
unanticipated expenditures;
FDA refusal to issue certificates to foreign governments needed to export our products for sale in other countries;
suspension or withdrawal of clearance or approval by the FDA or other regulatory bodies;
product recall or seizure;
administrative detention;
interruption of production, partial suspension, or complete shutdown of production;
interruption of the supply of components from our key component suppliers;
operating restrictions;
court consent decrees;
FDA orders to repair, replace, or refund the cost of devices;
injunctions; and
criminal prosecution.
The effect of these events can be difficult to quantify. If any of these actions were to occur, it would harm our reputation and cause our product sales and profitability to suffer. In addition, we believe events that could be classified as reportable events pursuant to MDR regulations are generally underreported by physicians and users, and any underlying problems could be of a larger magnitude than suggested by the number or types of MDRs filed by us. Furthermore, our key component suppliers may not currently be or may not continue to be in compliance with applicable regulatory requirements.
Even if regulatory approval or clearance of a product is granted, the approval or clearance may be subject to limitations on the indicated uses for which the product may be marketed or contain requirements for costly post-marketing testing or surveillance to monitor the safety or effectiveness of the product. Later discovery of previously unknown problems with our products, including software bugs, unanticipated adverse events or adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency, manufacturing problems, or failure to comply with regulatory requirements such as the QSR, MDR reporting, or other post-market requirements may result in restrictions on such products or manufacturing processes, withdrawal of the products from the market, voluntary or mandatory recalls, fines, suspension of regulatory approvals, product seizures, injunctions, the imposition of civil or criminal penalties, or criminal prosecution. In addition, our distributors have rights to create marketing materials for their sales of our products, and may not adhere to contractual, legal or regulatory limitations that are imposed on their marketing efforts.
We may be liable for contamination or other harm caused by materials that we handle, and changes in environmental regulations could cause us to incur additional expense.
Our research and development and clinical processes involve the handling of potentially harmful biological materials as well as hazardous materials. We are subject to international and domestic (including federal, state and local) laws, rules and regulations governing the use, handling, storage and disposal of hazardous and biological materials and we incur expenses relating to compliance with these laws and regulations. If violations of environmental, health and safety laws occur, we could be held liable for damages, penalties and costs of remedial actions. These expenses or this liability could have a significant negative impact on our financial condition. We may violate environmental, health and safety laws in the future as a result of human error, equipment failure or other causes. Environmental laws could become more stringent over time, imposing greater compliance costs and increasing risks and penalties associated with violations. We are subject to potentially conflicting and changing regulatory agendas of political, business and environmental groups. Changes to or restrictions on permitting requirements or processes, hazardous or biological material storage or handling might require an unplanned capital investment or relocation. Failure to comply with new or existing laws or regulations could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We could become the subject of governmental investigations, claims and litigation.
Health care companies are subject to numerous investigations by various governmental agencies. Further, under the False Claims Act, private parties have the right to bring qui tam, or “whistleblower,” suits against companies that submit false claims for payments to, or improperly retain overpayments from, the government. Some states have adopted similar state whistleblower and false claims provisions. Depending upon whether the underlying conduct alleged in such inquiries or investigations could be considered systemic, the resolution could have a material, adverse effect on our financial position and results of operations.
Governmental agencies and their agents, such as CMS Medicare Administrative Contractors and other CMS contractors, as well as the OIG, state Medicaid programs, and other state and federal agencies may conduct audits of our operations, relating to covered items and services including those furnished to beneficiaries, health care providers and distributors. Commercial and government-funded managed care payors may conduct similar post-payment audits,. Depending on the nature of the conduct found in such audits and whether the underlying conduct could be considered systemic, the resolution of these audits could have a material adverse effect on our financial position and results of operations. We perform internal audits and monitoring to identify any potential issues.
CMS contracts with Recovery Audit Contractors, or RACs, on a contingency fee basis to conduct post-payment reviews to detect and correct improper payments in the fee-for-service Medicare program. The ACA expanded the RAC program’s scope to include managed Medicare plans and Medicaid claims. RAC denials are appealable; however, there currently are significant delays in the assignment of new Medicare appeals to Administrative Law Judges, which negatively impacts our ability to appeal RAC payment denials. In addition, CMS employs various other program integrity contractors – including zone program integrity contractors, or ZPICs, Medicaid integrity contractors, or MICs, and unified program integrity contractors, or UPICs – to perform post-payment audits of claims and identify overpayments, and state Medicaid agencies and other contractors have increased their review and audit activities as well.
We are not presently aware of any governmental investigations involving our executives or us. However, any future
investigations of our executives, our managers or us could result in significant liabilities or penalties to us, as well as adverse publicity. Should we be found out of compliance with any of these laws, regulations or programs, depending on the nature of the findings, our business, our financial position and our results of operations could be negatively impacted.
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Risks Related to the Privacy and Security |
We are subject to complex and evolving U.S. and foreign laws and regulations and other requirements regarding privacy, data protection, security, and other matters. Many of these laws and regulations are subject to change and uncertain interpretation, and could result in claims, changes to our business
practices, monetary penalties, increased cost of operations, or declines in user growth or engagement, or otherwise harm our business.
We are subject to a number of foreign, federal and state laws and regulations protecting the use, disclosure, and confidentiality of certain patient health and personal information, including patient records, and restricting the use and disclosure of that protected information. These laws include foreign, federal andinformation, including state medical privacy laws, breach notification laws, the Health Insurance Portability and consumer protectionAccountability Act, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 (HIPAA), the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the UK Data Protection Act and the UK GDPR, and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), among others . As our customer base grows to include U.S. federal government agencies, Dexcom may also need comply with Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program and Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification requirements. These frameworks, in addition to similar laws being enacted by other states and counties, impose stringent cybersecurity standards and potentially significant non-compliance penalties, involve the expenditure of significant resources, the investment of significant resources and the investment of significant time and effort to comply. As these laws and regulations continue develop in the United States and internationally, we may be required to expend significant time and resources in order to update existing processes or implement additional mechanisms as necessary to ensure compliance with such cybersecurity laws.
In addition, foreign data protection, privacy, and other laws and regulations can be more restrictive than those in the United States. For example, data localization laws in some countries generally mandate that certain types of data collected in a particular country be stored and/or processed within that country. We may be subject to inquiries, investigations and audits in Europe and around the world, particularly in the areas of consumer and data protection, which will arise in the ordinary course of business and may increase in frequency as we continue to grow and expand our operations. Legislators and regulators may make legal and regulatory changes, or interpret and apply existing laws, in ways that make our products less useful to our customers, require us to incur substantial costs, expose us to unanticipated civil or criminal liability, or cause us to change our business practices. These changes or increased costs could negatively impact our business and results of operations in material ways.
In the ordinary course of our business, we collect and store sensitive data, such as our proprietary business information and that of our clients, contractors, vendors and others as well as personally identifiable information of our customers, vendors and others, which data may include full names, social security numbers, addresses, and birth dates, in our data centers and on our networks. Our employees, contractor and vendors may also have access to and may use personal health information in the ordinary course of our business. The secure processing, maintenance and transmission of this information is critical to our operations. Despite our security measures and business controls, our information technology and infrastructure may be vulnerable to attacks by hackers, breaches due to employee, contractor or vendor error, or malfeasance or other disruptions or subject to the inadvertent or intentional unauthorized release of information. Any such occurrence could compromise our networks and the information stored thereon could be accessed, publicly disclosed, lost or stolen. Any such access, disclosure or other loss of information could (i) result in legal claims or proceedings, and liability under laws that protect the privacy of personal information and regulatory penalties, (ii) disrupt our operations and the services we provide to our clients or (iii) damage our reputation, any of which could adversely affect our profitability, revenue and competitive position.
As we grow and expand our administrative, customer support or IT support services, we may also utilize the services of personnel and contractors located outside of the United States to perform certain functions. While we make every effort to review our applicable contracts and other payor requirements, a local, state, or federal government agency or one of our customers may find the use of offshore resources to be a violation of a legal or contractual requirement, which could result in termination of the contractual relationship, penalties, or changes in our business operations that could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Additionally, while we have implemented industry standard security measures for offshore access to protected health information and other personal information, unauthorized access or disclosure of such information by offshore personnel could (i) result in legal claims or proceedings, and liability under laws that protect the privacy of personal information and regulatory penalties, (ii) disrupt our operations and the services we provide to our clients, (iii) damage to our reputation or (iv) result in the termination of contractual relationships, penalties or the loss of coverage, any of which could adversely affect our profitability, revenue and competitive position.
Security breaches and other disruptions couldthat compromise our information and expose us to liability which wouldcould cause our business and reputation to suffer and could subject us to substantial liabilities.
The Administrative Simplification Provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as amended, and implementing regulations, or HIPAA extensively regulate the use and disclosure of individually identifiable health information, known as “protected health information,” and require covered entities, including health plans and most health care providers, to implement administrative, physical and technical safeguards to protect the security of such information. Certain provisions of the security and privacy regulations
apply to business associates (entities that handle protected health information on behalf of covered entities), and business associates are subject to direct liability for violation of these provisions. In addition, a covered entity may be subject to penalties as a result of a business associate violating HIPAA, if the business associate is found to be an agent of the covered entity.
Dexcom is a covered entity under HIPAA and may also function in a business associate capacity to other covered entities.
Covered entities must report breaches of unsecured protected health information to affected individuals without unreasonable delay and notification must also be made to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, or OCR and, in certain situations involving large breaches, to the media. Various U.S. state laws and regulations may also require us to notify affected individuals and state agencies in the event of a data breach involving individually identifiable information.
Violations of the HIPAA privacy and security regulations may result in criminal and civil penalties. The OCR enforces the regulations and performs compliance audits. In addition to enforcement by OCR, state attorneys general are authorized to bring civil actions seeking either injunction or damages in response to violations that threaten the privacy of state residents. OCR may resolve HIPAA violations through informal means, such as allowing a covered entity to implement a corrective action plan, but OCR has the discretion to move directly to impose monetary penalties and is required to impose penalties for violations resulting from willful neglect. We follow and maintain a HIPAA compliance plan, which we believe complies with the HIPAA privacy and security regulations, but there can be no assurance that OCR or other regulators will agree. The HIPAA privacy regulations and security regulations have and will continue to impose significant costs on us in order to comply with these standards.
There are numerous other laws and legislative and regulatory initiatives at the federal and state levels addressing privacy and security concerns. For example, from time-to-time, the OCR issues bulletins that outline its interpretations of HIPAA as applied to specific use cases. On December 1, 2022, OCR issued a bulletin on the requirements under HIPAA for online tracking technologies (e.g., cookies, pixels) to protect the privacy and security of health information. This bulletin outlined OCR’s position on the use of online tracking technology vendors, when certain information received by such vendors constitutes protected health information under HIPAA, and accordingly, when business associate agreements must be executed between covered entities, like Dexcom, and such vendors. Dexcom is assessing its responsibilities under the bulletin and determining its next steps in order to comply with OCR’s guidance in the bulletin.
We also remain subject to federal or state privacy-related laws that are more restrictive than the privacy regulations issued under HIPAA. These laws vary and could impose additional penalties. For example, the Federal Trade Commission uses its consumer protection authority to initiate enforcement actions in response to alleged privacy and data security violations. California recently enacted the California Consumer Privacy Act, or CCPA, which goescame into effect January 1, 2020.2020, was amended and expanded by the California Privacy Rights Act, or CPRA, passed on November 3, 2020, which took effect January 1, 2023. The CCPA and CPRA, among other things, creates newcreate data privacy obligations for covered companies and provides newprovide privacy rights to California residents, including the right to opt out of certain disclosures of their information. The CCPA also creates a private right of action with statutory damages for certain data breaches, thereby potentially increasing risks associated with a data breach. The California Attorney General clarifying regulations will not be finalized until 2020.In addition, other states have, or may, enact similar legislation. It remains unclear what, if any, additional modifications will be made to this legislation or how it will be interpreted. Therefore theThe effects of the CCPA and CPRA are significant and will likely require us to modify our data processing practices, and may cause us to incur substantial costs and expenses to comply.comply, particularly given our base of operations in California. There are also a number of other legislative proposals worldwide, including in the United States at both the federal and state level, that could impose additional and potentially conflicting obligations in areas affecting our business.
We are also subject to laws and regulations in foreign countries covering data privacy and other protection of health and employee information that may be more onerous than corresponding U.S. laws, including in particular the laws of Europe.
For instance, in the European Union, increasingly stringent data protection and privacy rules that have and will continue to have substantial impact on the use of patient data across the healthcare industry became effective in May 2018. The EU General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, applies across the European Union and includes, among other things, a requirement for prompt notice of data breaches to data subjects and supervisory authorities in certain circumstances and significant fines for non-compliance. The GDPR fine framework can be up to 20 million euros, or up to 4 %4% of the company’s total global turnover of the preceding fiscal year, whichever is higher. The GDPR also requires companies processing personal data of individuals residing in the European Union to comply with EU privacy and data protection rules, even if the company itself does not have a physical presence in the European Union. Noncompliance could result in the imposition of fines, penalties, or orders to stop noncompliant activities. Due to the strong consumer protection aspects of the GDPR, companies subject to its purview are allocating substantial legal costs to the development of necessary policies and procedures and overall compliance efforts. Data transfer risk remains a potential issue as certain Data Protection Authorities continue to raise concerns
about the transfer of data to the United States. Though a new framework may be put in place, it may be challenged as well. We expect continued costs associated with maintaining compliance with GDPR into the future, and these provisions as interpreted by EU agencies, could negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
In addition to the laws discussed above, we may see more stringent state and federal privacy legislation in the future, as the increased cyber-attacks during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic have once again put a spotlight on data privacy and security in the U.S. and other jurisdictions. We cannot predict where new legislation might arise, the scope of such legislation, or the potential impact to our business and operations.
Cybersecurity risks and cyber incidents could result in the compromise of confidential data or critical data systems and give rise to potential harm to customers, remediation and other expenses, expose us to liability under HIPAA, consumer protection laws, or other common law theories, subject us to litigation and federal and state governmental inquiries, damage our reputation, and otherwise be disruptive to our business and operations.
Cyber incidents can resultThere are numerous and evolving risks to our cybersecurity and privacy from deliberate attackscyber threat actors. These cyber threat actors, whether internal of external to the Company, are becoming more frequent, sophisticated and coordinated in their attempts to access data, including third parties with whom the Company conducts business through, without limitation, malicious software; data privacy breaches by employees, insiders or unintentional events. Weothers with authorized access; cyber of phishing-attacks; ransomware; attempts to gain unauthorized access to our data and systems; and other electronic security breaches. In the ordinary course of business, we collect and store sensitive information on our networks sensitive information,network, including intellectual property, proprietary business information and personally identifiable information of individuals, such as our customers and employees. The secure maintenance of this information and technology is critical to our business operations. We have implemented and deploy multiple layers of security measures to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of this data and the systems and devices that store and transmit such data. We utilize current security technologies, and our defenses are monitored and routinely tested internally and by external parties. Despite these efforts, threats from malicious persons and groups, new vulnerabilities and advanced new attacks against information systems create risk of cybersecurity incidents. These incidents can include, but are not limited to, gaining unauthorized access to digital systems for purposes of misappropriating assets or sensitive information, corrupting data, or causing operational disruption. Because the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, disable or degrade service, or sabotage systems change frequently and may not immediately produce signs of intrusion, we may be unable to anticipate these incidents or techniques, timely discover them, or implement adequate preventative measures.
Additionally, in response to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we modified our business practices and initially implemented telework policies for certain categories of “non-essential” employees to the extent possible. We have since adopted a hybrid workplace model for our employees. Our hybrid workplace allows us to work together globally to bring our life-changing products to as many people as possible. This means we have some employees who work primarily onsite, some who work primarily offsite, and others who flex in and out of the office based on the needs of the business and the individual. We recognized the need for flexibility in our physical workplace during the COVID-19 pandemic, but also noted the potential benefits of a hybrid workplace to expand and retain our talent pool and reduce our real estate needs. The hybrid workplace does, however, introduce additional operational risk, including increased cybersecurity risk. These cyber risks include, among other risks, increased phishing, malware, and other cybersecurity attacks, vulnerability to, or disruptions of, our information technology infrastructure and systems to support remote operations, increased risk of unauthorized access, use or dissemination of confidential information, limited ability to restore the systems in the event of a systems failure or interruption, greater risk of a security breach resulting in destruction, alteration or misuse of valuable information, including proprietary business information and personally identifiable information of individuals, all of which could expose us to risks of data or financial loss, litigation and liability.
These threats can come from a variety of sources, ranging in sophistication from an individual hacker to malfeasance by employees, consultants or other service providers toincluding criminal hackers, state-sponsored attacks.intrusions, industrial espionage and employee malfeasance. Cyber threats may be generic, or they may be custom-crafted against our information systems. Over the past several years, cyber-attacks have become more prevalent and much harder to detect and defend against. These threat actors may be able to penetrate our security measures, breach our information technology systems, misappropriate or compromise confidential and proprietary information of our company and our customers, cause system disruptions and shutdowns, or introduce ransomware, malware, or vulnerabilities into our products, systems, and networks or those of our customers and partners. Our network and storage applications, as well as those of our contractors, may be vulnerable to cyber-attack, malicious intrusion, malfeasance, loss of data privacy or other significant disruption and may be subject to unauthorized access by hackers, employees, consultants or other service providers. In addition, hardware, software or applications we
develop or procure from third parties may contain defects in design or manufacture or other problems that could unexpectedly compromise information security.security or other problems that unexpectedly could interfere with the operation of our products. Unauthorized parties may also attempt to gain access to our systems or facilities through fraud, trickery or other forms of deceiving our employees, contractors and temporary staff.
There canWhile we maintain cybersecurity insurance coverage there is no guarantee that it will be no assurancesufficient to cover the financial, legal, business, or reputational losses that may result from an interruption or breach of our systems. Our cybersecurity insurance includes coverage for a breach event covering expenses for notification, credit monitoring, investigation, crisis management, public relations and legal advice. Our cybersecurity insurance also provides coverage in relation to regulatory action defense including oversight, investigations and disclosure obligations as well as fines and penalties, potential payment card industry fines and penalties and costs related to cyber extortion; however, damages and claims arising from such incidents may not be covered and/or may exceed the amount of any coverage and do not cover the time and effort we will notincur investigating and responding to any incidents, which may be significant.
We are and may continue to be subject to cybersecurity incidents that bypass our security measures,measures. Such incidents may impact the integrity, availability or privacy of personal health information or other data subject to privacy laws or disrupt our information systems, devices or business, including our ability to deliver services to our customers. As a result, cybersecurity, physical security and the continued development and enhancement of our controls, processes and practices designed to protect our enterprise, information systems and data from attack, damage or unauthorized access remain a priority for us. As cyber threats continue to evolve, we may be required to expend significant additional resources to continue to modify or enhance our protective measures or to investigate and remediate any cybersecurity vulnerabilities. The occurrence of any of these events could result in:
•harm to customers;
•business interruptions and delays;
•the loss, misappropriation, corruption or unauthorized access of data;data, confidential information or intellectual property;
•litigation, including potential class action litigation, and potential liability under privacy, security and consumer protection laws or other applicable laws;
•reputational damage;
•significant remediation costs, including liability for stolen customer or employee information, repairing system damage, or providing benefit to affected customers or employees;
•increase to insurance premiums; and
•foreign, federal and state governmental inquiries, violations or sanctions, any of which could have a material, adverse effect on our financial position and results of operations and harm our business reputation.operations.
Failure to protect our information technology infrastructure against cyber-based attacks, network security breaches, service interruptions, or data corruption could significantly disrupt our operations and adversely affect our business and operating results.
We rely on information technology and telephone networks and systems, including the Internet, to process and transmit sensitive electronic information and to manage or support a variety of business processes and activities, including sales, billing, customer service, procurement and supply chain, manufacturing, and distribution. We use enterprise information technology systems to record, process, and summarize financial information and results of operations for internal reporting purposes and to comply with regulatory financial reporting, legal, and tax requirements. System failures or outages, including any potential disruptions due to significantly increased global demand on certain cloud-based systems, or failures to adequately scale our data platforms and architectures support patient care could compromise our ability to perform these functions in a timely manner, which could harm our ability to conduct business or delay our financial reporting. Such failures could materially adversely affect our operating results and financial condition. Our information technology systems, some of which are managed by third-parties,third parties, may be susceptible to damage, disruptions or shutdowns due to computer viruses, denial-of-service attacks, phishing attacks, ransomware or other malware, attacks by computer hackers, failures during the process of upgrading or replacing software, databases or components thereof, power outages, hardware failures, telecommunication failures, user errors or catastrophic events. Although we have developed systems and processes that are designed to protect customer information and prevent data loss and other security breaches, including systems and processes designed to reduce the impact of a security breach at a third-party vendor, such measures cannot provide absolute security. In addition, certain countries have implemented or may implement legislative and technological actions that either do or can effectively regulate access to the internet, including the ability of internet service providers to limit access to specific websites or content. Other countries have attempted or
are attempting to change or limit the legal protections available to businesses that depend on the internet for the delivery of their services. If our systems are breached or suffer severe damage, disruption or shutdown and we are unable to effectively resolve the issues in a timely manner, our business and operating results may significantly suffer and we may be subject to litigation, government enforcement actions and other actions for which we could face financial liability and other adverse consequences which may include:
•additional government oversight of our operations;
•loss of existing customers;
•difficulty in attracting new customers;
•problems in determining product cost estimates and establishing appropriate pricing;
•difficulty in preventing, detecting, and controlling fraud;
•disputes with customers, physicians, and other health care professionals;
•increases in operating expenses, incurrence of expenses, including notification and remediation costs;
•regulatory fines or penalties;
•individual actions or class actions for damages;
•loss of revenues (including through loss of coverage or reimbursement);
•product development delays;
•disruption of key business operations; and
•diversion of attention of management and key information technology resources.
Unauthorized third parties may seek to accessCyber-attacks aimed at accessing our devices, or other products, and services, or related devices, products, and services, and modifymodifying or useusing them in a way inconsistent with our FDA clearances and approvals which maycould create risks to users.
Medical devices are increasingly connected to the internet, hospital networks, and other medical devices to provide features that improve healthcare and increase the ability of healthcare providers to treat patients and patients to manage their conditions. For example, we are pursuing collaborations to enable the connectivity and interoperability of our current and next-generation sensors and transmitters with third-party patient monitoring products, which may in turn be connected with the internet, hospital networks and in some cases, other medical devices. These same features may also increase cybersecurity risks and the risks of unauthorized access and use by third parties. As such, unauthorized third parties may seek to accessa cyber-attack which intrudes, disrupts, or corrupts our devices, or other products, and services, or related devices, products, and services and modifycould impact the quality-of-care patients receive or use themthe confidentiality of patient information. Additionally, modifying or using any such devices, products, or services in a way inconsistent with our FDA clearances and approvals, which may create risks to users and potential exposure to the company.
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Risks Related to our International OperationsNon-Compliance with Laws, Regulations and Contractual Requirements and Healthcare Industry Shifts |
LawsWe conduct business in a heavily regulated industry and if we fail to comply with applicable laws and government regulations, we could become subject to penalties, be excluded from participation in government programs, and/or be required to make significant changes to our operations.
The healthcare industry generally, and our business specifically, is subject to extensive foreign, federal, state and local laws and regulations, governingincluding those relating to:
•authorizations necessary for the exportclinical investigation and commercial marketing of products;
•the pricing of our products and services;
•the distribution of our products and services;
•the dispensing of our products;
•billing for or causing the submission of claims for our products and services;
•financial relationships with physicians and other referral sources;
•inducements and courtesies given to physicians and other health care providers and patients;
•labeling, advertising and promoting products;
•the characteristics and quality of our products and services;
•communications with payors and physicians and other healthcare stakeholders;
•confidentiality, maintenance and security issues associated with medical records and individually
identifiable health and other personal information;
•medical device adverse event reporting;
•prohibitions on kickbacks, including the Anti-Kickback Statute and related laws and/or regulations;
•any scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program;
•physician and other healthcare professional payment disclosure requirements;
•use and disclosure of personal health information;
•privacy of health information and personal information;
•data protection and data localization;
•mobile communications;
•patient access and non-discrimination;
•patient consent;
•false claims; and
•licensure.
These laws and regulations are extremely complex and, in many cases, still evolving. If our operations are found to violate any of the foreign, federal, state or local laws and regulations which govern our activities, we may be subject to litigation, government enforcement actions, and applicable penalties associated with the violation, potentially including civil and criminal penalties, damages, fines, exclusion from participation in certain payor programs or curtailment of our operations. Compliance obligations under these various laws are oftentimes detailed and onerous, further contributing to the risk that we could be found to be out of compliance with particular requirements. The risk of being found in violation of these laws and regulations is further increased by the fact that many of them have not been fully interpreted by the regulatory authorities or the courts, particularly with respect to new and emerging technologies and remote delivery of services, and their provisions are open to a variety of interpretations.
The FDA, CMS, OIG, OCR, FTC, Department of Justice, states’ attorneys general and other governmental authorities actively enforce the laws and regulations discussed above. In the United States, medical device manufacturers have been the target of numerous government prosecutions and investigations alleging violations of law, including claims asserting impermissible off-label promotion of medical devices, payments intended to influence the referral of federal or state healthcare business, and submission of false claims for government reimbursement. While we make every effort to comply with applicable laws, we cannot rule out the possibility that the government or other third parties could interpret these laws differently and challenge our practices under one or more of these laws. This likelihood of allegations of non-compliance is increased by the fact that under certain federal and state laws applicable to our business, individuals may bring an action on behalf of the government alleging violations of such laws, and potentially be awarded a share of any damages or penalties ultimately awarded to the applicable government body.
The FDA and the FTC share oversight of medical device promotion. The FDA has broad authority over device marketing (including assessment and oversight of safety and effectiveness) and over FDA-approved “promotional labeling,” while the FTC has authority over “advertising” for most medical devices (i.e., non-“restricted” devices, such as ours).
Any action against us alleging a violation of these laws or regulations, even if we successfully defend against it, could cause us to incur significant legal expenses and divert our management’s time and attention from the operation of our business, and have a material effect on our business.
In addition, the laws and regulations impacting or affecting our business may change significantly in the future. Any new laws or regulations may adversely affect our business, including any changes in laws and regulations due to the COVID-19 pandemic or expiration of waivers and other regulatory flexibilities following expiration of the COVID-19 public health emergency declaration. A review of our business by courts or regulatory authorities may result in a determination that could adversely affect our operations. Also, the regulatory environment applicable to our business may change in a way that restricts or adversely impacts our operations.
If we or our suppliers or distributors fail to comply with ongoing regulatory requirements, or if we have unanticipated problems with our products, the products could be subject to restrictions or withdrawal from the market.
Any product for which we obtain marketing approval, clearance or authorization (and the activities related to its production, distribution, and promotion, sale, and marketing) will be subject to continual review and periodic
inspections by the FDA and other regulatory bodies, which may include inspection of our manufacturing processes, complaint handling and adverse event reporting, post-approval clinical data and promotional activities for such product. The FDA’s Medical Device Reporting, or MDR, regulations require that we report to the FDA any incident in which our product may have caused or contributed to a death or serious injury, or in which our product malfunctioned and, if the malfunction were to recur, it would likely cause or contribute to a death or serious injury.
If the FDA determines that there is a reasonable probability that a device intended for human use would cause serious, adverse health consequences or death, the agency may issue a cease distribution and notification order and a mandatory recall order. We may also decide to recall a product voluntarily if we find a material deficiency, including unacceptable risks to health, manufacturing defects, design errors, component failures, labeling defects, or other issues. Recalls of our products could divert the attention of our management and have an adverse effect on our reputation, financial condition, and operating results.
We and certain of our suppliers are also required to comply with the FDA’s Quality System Regulation, or QSR, and other regulations which cover the methods and documentation of the design, testing, production, control, selection and oversight of suppliers or contractors, quality assurance, labeling, packaging, storage, complaint handling, shipping and servicing of our products. The FDA may enforce the QSR through announced (through prior notification) or unannounced inspections.
Compliance with ongoing regulatory requirements can be complex, expensive and time-consuming. Failure by us or one of our suppliers or distributors to comply with statutes and regulations administered by the FDA, competent authorities and other regulatory bodies, or failure to take adequate response to any observations, could result in, among other things, any of the following actions:
•warning letters or untitled letters that require corrective action;
•delays in approving, or refusal to approve, our CGM systems;
•fines and civil or criminal penalties;
•unanticipated expenditures;
•FDA refusal to issue certificates to foreign governments needed to export our products for sale in other countries;
•suspension or withdrawal of clearance or approval by the FDA or other regulatory bodies;
•product recall or seizure;
•administrative detention;
•interruption of production, partial suspension, or complete shutdown of production;
•interruption of the supply of components from our key component suppliers;
•operating restrictions;
•court consent decrees;
•FDA orders to repair, replace, or refund the cost of devices;
•injunctions; and
•criminal prosecution.
The potential effect of these events can in some cases be difficult to quantify. If any of these actions were to occur, it would harm our reputation and cause our product sales and profitability to suffer. In addition, we believe events that could be classified as reportable events pursuant to MDR regulations are generally underreported by physicians and users, and any underlying problems could be of a larger magnitude than suggested by the number or types of MDRs filed by us. Furthermore, our key component suppliers may not currently be or may not continue to be in compliance with applicable regulatory requirements.
Even if regulatory approval or clearance of a product is granted, the approval or clearance may be subject to limitations on the indicated uses for which the product may be marketed or contain requirements for costly post-marketing testing or surveillance to monitor the safety or effectiveness of the product. Later discovery of previously unknown problems with our products, including software bugs, unanticipated adverse events or adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency, manufacturing problems, or failure to comply with regulatory requirements such as the QSR, MDR reporting, or other post-market requirements may result in restrictions on such products or manufacturing processes, withdrawal of the products from the market, voluntary or mandatory recalls (through corrections or removals), fines, suspension of regulatory approvals, product seizures, injunctions, the imposition of civil or criminal penalties, or criminal prosecution. In addition, our distributors have rights to create marketing
materials for their sales of our products, and may not adhere to contractual, legal or regulatory limitations that are imposed on their marketing efforts.
Quality problems could lead to recalls or safety alerts, reputational harm, and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Quality is very important to us and our customers due to the serious and costly consequences of product failure, and our business exposes us to potential product liability risks that are inherent in the design, manufacture, and marketing of medical devices. Since the first commercial launch of our products in 2006, we have had periodic field failures related to our products and associated services, including reports of sensor errors, sensor failures, broken sensors, receiver malfunctions, audible alarms and alert failures, as well as server and transmitter failures. To comply with the FDA’s medical device reporting requirements, for example, we have filed reports of applicable field failures. Although we believe we have taken and are taking appropriate action aimed at reducing and/or eliminating field failures, we may have other product failures in the future. Product or component failures, manufacturing nonconformances, design defects, off-label use, or inadequate disclosure of product-related risks or product-related information with respect to our products, if they were to occur, could result in an unsafe condition or injury to, or death of, a patient. These problems could lead to recalls, corrections or removals of, or issuance of a safety alert relating to, our products, and could result in product liability claims and lawsuits.
Additionally, the production of our products must occur in a highly controlled and clean environment to minimize particles and other yield- and quality-limiting contaminants. Weaknesses in process control or minute impurities in materials may cause a substantial percentage of defective products. If we are not able to maintain stringent quality controls, or if contamination problems arise, our clinical development and commercialization efforts could be delayed, which would harm our business and our results of operations.
If we fail to meet any applicable product quality standards and our products are the subject of recalls or safety alerts, our reputation could be damaged, we could lose customers, our reputation could be harmed and our revenue and results of operations could decline.
Potential long-term complications from our current or future products or other CGM systems under development may not be revealed by our clinical experience to date.
Based on our experience, complications from use of our products may include sensor errors, sensor failures, broken sensors, lodged sensors or skin irritation under the adhesive dressing of the sensor. Inflammation or redness, swelling, minor infection, and minor bleeding at the sensor insertion site are also possible risks with an individual’s use of our products. However, if unanticipated long-term side-effects result from the use of our products or other glucose monitoring systems we have under development, we could be subject to liability and the adoption of our systems may become more limited. With respect to our G6 systems, our clinical trials have been limited to ten days of continuous use. It is possible that the data from our clinical studies and trials may not be indicative of long-term patient outcomes. We cannot assure you that repeated, long-term use would not result in unanticipated adverse effects, potentially even after the sensor is removed.
We may never receive approval, marketing authorization or clearance from the U.S. FDA and other governmental agencies to market additional CGM systems, expanded indications for use of current and future generation CGM systems, future software platforms, or any other products under development.
In March 2018, via the de novo process, the FDA classified the G6 and substantially equivalent devices of this generic type (i.e., “integrated continuous glucose monitoring systems” or “iCGMs”) into Class II, meaning that going forward products of this generic type may utilize the 510(k) pathway. Since then we have received 510(k) clearances for modifications to the G6 and approval for G7.
Any subsequent modifications of our cleared products that could significantly affect their safety or effectiveness (for example, a significant change in design or manufacture), or that would constitute a major change in its intended use, will require us to obtain a new 510(k) clearance or could require a new de novo submission or a PMA. The FDA requires each manufacturer to make this determination initially, but the FDA may review any such decision and may disagree with a manufacturer’s determination. If the FDA disagrees with a manufacturer’s determination, the FDA may require the manufacturer to cease marketing and/or recall the modified device until appropriate clearance or approval is obtained. Under these circumstances, the FDA may also subject a manufacturer to significant regulatory fines or other penalties.
If future product candidates are not deemed by the FDA to meet the criteria for submission under the 510(k) pathway, or for down-classification under the de novo process or otherwise, we would need to pursue a PMA. The PMA process requires us to prove the safety and effectiveness of our systems to the FDA’s satisfaction. This process can be expensive, prolonged and uncertain, requires detailed and comprehensive scientific and human
clinical data, and may never result in the FDA granting a PMA. The FDA’s de novo classification of our G6 system under the generic name “integrated continuous glucose monitoring system,” makes it a predicate device for future 510(k) submissions. Complying with this classification requires ongoing compliance with the general controls required by the federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act and the special controls specified by the FDA’s G6 order as a Class II device. Any future system or expanded indications for use of current generation systems will require approval of the applicable regulatory authorities. In addition, we intend to seek either 510(k) clearances or PMA approvals for certain changes and modifications to our existing software platform, but cannot predict when, if ever, those changes and modifications will be approved.
The FDA can refuse to grant a 510(k) clearance or a de novo request for marketing authorization, or delay, limit or deny approval of a PMA application or supplement for many reasons, including:
•the system may not be deemed by the FDA to be substantially equivalent to appropriate predicate devices under the 510(k) pathway;
•the system may not satisfy the FDA’s safety or effectiveness requirements;
•the data from pre-clinical studies and clinical trials may be insufficient to support clearance or approval;
•the manufacturing process or facilities used may not meet applicable requirements; and
•changes in FDA approval policies or adoption of new regulations may require additional data.
Even if approved or cleared by the FDA or foreign regulatory agencies, future generations of our CGM systems, expanded indications for use of current and future generation CGM systems, our software platforms or any other CGM system under development, may not be cleared or approved for the indications that are necessary or desirable for successful commercialization. We may not obtain the necessary regulatory approvals or clearances to market these CGM systems in the United States or outside of the United States. Any delay in, or failure to receive or maintain, clearance or approval for our products could prevent us from generating revenue from these products. The uncertain timing of regulatory approvals for future generations of our products could subject our current inventory to excess or obsolescence charges, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.
Our failure to comply with laws, regulations and contract requirements relating to reimbursement of health care goods and services may subject us to penalties and adversely impact our business.reputation, business, financial condition and cash flows.
The U.S. DepartmentWe are subject to laws, regulations and contractual requirements regulating the provision of, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, and the Bureau of Industryreimbursement for, health care goods and Security at the U.S. Department of Commerce, administer certainservices in our capacity as a medical device manufacturer. The laws and regulations of health care goods and services that restrict U.S. persons and, in some instances, non-U.S. persons, in conducting activities, and transacting business with or making investments in certain countries, governments, entities and individuals subjectapply to U.S. economic sanctions. Due to our international operations, weus, including those described above, are subject to evolving interpretations and enforcement discretion. We have in place a compliance program, through which we seek to reduce common industry risks of noncompliance with U.S. federal and state and applicable foreign laws in areas such as sales contracts, marketing materials, referral source relationships, programmatic offerings, and billing practices (among others), monitor for compliance, and address non-compliance if identified. If a governmental authority were to conclude that we are not in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, which are complex, restrictwe and our business dealings with certain countriesofficers, directors and individuals,employees could be subject to criminal and are constantly changing. Further restrictions may be enacted, amended, enforced or interpreted in a manner that materially impacts our operations.
Violations of these regulations are punishable by civil penalties, including fines, denial of export privileges, injunctions, asset seizures, debarment from government contracts and revocations or restrictions of licenses, as well as criminal finesadministrative sanctions such as exclusion from participation in federal healthcare programs, including but not limited to Medicare and imprisonment. We have established procedures designedMedicaid. Any failure to assistcomply with our compliance with such laws, regulations or contractual requirements relating to reimbursement and regulations. However, we have only limited experience dealing with these lawshealth care goods and regulations and we cannot guarantee that our procedures will effectively prevent us from violating these regulations in every transaction in which we may engage. Any such violationservices could adversely affect our reputation, business, financial condition and cash flows.
Our products are purchased principally by individual patients, who may be eligible for insurance coverage of their devices from various third-party payors, such as governmental programs (e.g., Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, other federal and state health benefit plans, and comparable non-U.S. programs), private insurance plans, and managed care plans. The ability of our customers to obtain appropriate reimbursement for products and servicesfrom third-party payors is critical because it affects which products customers purchase and the prices they are willing to pay. As a result, our products are subject to regulation regarding quality and cost by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, including CMS, as well as comparable state and non-U.S. agencies responsible for reimbursement and regulation of health care goods and services. The principal U.S. federal laws relating to reimbursement include those that prohibit (i) the filing of false or improper claims for federal payment, known as the federal civil False Claims Act, (ii) unlawful inducements for the referral of items and services reimbursed by Federal health care programs, known as the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, and (iii) the Civil Monetary Penalties Law, including its prohibitions on Beneficiary Inducement. Many states have similar laws that apply to reimbursement by state Medicaid and other government-funded programs, as well as, in some cases, to all payors, including self-pay patients. Insurance companies can also bring a private cause of action claiming treble damages against a manufacturer for causing a false claim to be filed under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations
Act, or RICO. Additionally, as a manufacturer of FDA‑approved or -cleared devices reimbursable by federal healthcare programs, we are subject to the federal Physician Payments Sunshine Act, which requires us to annually report certain payments and other transfers of value we make to certain U.S.-licensed health care professionals and U.S. teaching hospitals, and under an expansion of the law to physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and other mid-level practitioners.
With respect to the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, Congress and the OIG have established a large number of statutory exceptions and regulatory safe harbors that protect financial relationships with our customers and referral sources. An arrangement that fits squarely into an exception or safe harborwill not be deemed to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute.
We train and educate employees and marketing representatives on the Anti-Kickback Statute and their obligations thereunder, and we endeavor to comply with the applicable safe harbors. However, some of our arrangements, like many other common and non-abusive arrangements, may implicate the Anti-Kickback Statute and are not covered by a safe harbor, but nevertheless we do not believe them to present a significant risk to beneficiaries or federal healthcare programs and, as such, appear unlikely to invite government scrutiny or prosecution, warrant the imposition of sanctions, or be found to violate the statute. However, we cannot offer assurance that the government or a whistleblower would agree with our position that certain arrangements fall within a safe harbor, or that arrangements that do not squarely meet an exception or safe harbor will not be found to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute. Allegations of violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute can also trigger liability under the federal Civil Monetary Penalty Law and federal civil False Claims Act, thereby increasing the penalty structure for these violations.
During the period in which we directly billed Medicare, our financial relationships with referring physicians and their immediate family members were required to comply with the federal Physician Self-Referral law, commonly referred to as the Stark Law, by meeting an applicable exception. Unlike the Anti-Kickback Statute, failure to meet an exception under the Stark Law results in a violation of the Stark Law, even if such violation is unintentional. Violations of the Stark Law create overpayment liability under the federal civil False Claims Act and can also trigger separate penalties under the Civil Monetary Penalties Law. Knowing violations of the Stark Law carry increased civil monetary penalties and would likely be classified as the knowing submission of a false claim or knowingly making a false statement to the government, triggering liability under the federal civil False Claims Act. Certain Stark Law violations can also trigger exclusion from participation in federal healthcare programs. Historical violations of the Stark Law, if any, could continue to give rise to liability during the six year statute of limitations period.
Managed care trends and consolidation in the health care industry could have an adverse effect on our revenues and results of operations.
Private third-party payors and other managed care organizations, such as pharmacy benefit managers, continue to take action to manage utilization and control costs. Consolidation among managed care organizations has increased the negotiating power of managed care organizations and other private third-party payors. Private third-party payors, as well as governments, increasingly employ formularies to control costs by taking into account discounts in connection with decisions about formulary inclusion or favorable formulary placement. Failure to obtain or maintain timely adequate pricing or favorable formulary placement for our products, or failure to obtain such formulary placement at favorable pricing, could adversely impact revenue. Private third-party payors, including self-insured employers, often implement formularies with co-payment tiers to encourage utilization of certain products and have also been raising co-payments required from beneficiaries, particularly for higher-cost products. Private third-party payors also use additional measures such as value-based pricing/contracting to improve their cost-containment efforts. Private third-party payors also are increasingly imposing utilization management tools, such as requiring prior authorization or requiring the patient to first fail on a lower-cost product before permitting access to a higher-cost product.
Many health care industry companies, including health care systems, distributors, manufacturers, providers, and insurers, are also consolidating or vertically integrating, or have formed strategic alliances. As the health care industry consolidates, competition to provide goods and services to industry participants may become more intense. This consolidation will continue to create larger enterprises with greater negotiating power, which they can try to use to negotiate price concessions or reductions for medical devices and components produced by us.
As the U.S. payor market consolidates further and we face greater pricing pressure from private third-party payors, who will continue to drive more of their patients to use lower cost alternatives, we may lose customers, our revenues may decrease and our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows may suffer.
If we are unable to successfully complete the pre-clinical studies or clinical trials necessary to support additional PMA, de novo, or 510(k) applications or supplements, we may be unable to commercialize our CGM systems under development, which could impair our business, financial condition and operating results.
To support current and any future additional PMA, 510(k), de novo applications or supplements, we together with our partners, must successfully complete pre-clinical studies, bench-testing, and in some cases clinical trials that will demonstrate that the product is safe and effective. Product development, including pre-clinical studies and clinical trials, is a long, expensive and uncertain process and is subject to delays (including any potential delays due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic) and failure at any stage. Furthermore, the data obtained from the studies and trials may be inadequate to support approval of an application and the FDA may request additional clinical data in support of those applications, which may result in significant additional clinical expenses and may delay product approvals. While we have in the past obtained, and may in the future obtain, an investigational device exemption, or IDE, prior to commencing clinical trials for our products, FDA approval of an IDE application permitting us to conduct testing does not mean that the FDA will consider the data gathered in the trial to be sufficient to support approval of a PMA, de novo or 510(k) application or supplement, even if the trial’s intended safety and effectiveness endpoints are achieved.
Changes to the regulatory landscape may impact our ability to obtain marketing authorization for future product developments.
Development or changes to the FDA or foreign regulatory approval standards and processes, including both legal and policy changes, could also delay or prevent the approval of our products submitted for review. For example, medical device cybersecurity continues to be an area of focus for and evolving guidance from FDA.
Additionally, at the end of 2022, Congress passed the Food and Drug Omnibus Reform Act of 2022, or FDORA which (among other things), and similarly to the 2022 FDA Guidance, requires device sponsors to submit clinical trial diversity action plans outlining the goals for increasing representation of participants from racial and ethnic minority populations that have been underrepresented in clinical trials.
Any change in the laws or regulations that govern the clearance and approval processes relating to our current and future products could make it more difficult and costly to obtain clearance or approval for new products, or to produce, market and distribute existing products. The failuredata contained in our submissions, including data drawn from our clinical trials, may not be sufficient to support clearance or approval of our products or additional or expanded indications. Medical device company stock prices have declined significantly in certain circumstances where companies have failed to meet expectations in regards to the timing of regulatory approval. If the FDA’s response causes product approval delays, or is not favorable for any of our products, our stock price (and the market price of our senior convertible notes) could decline substantially. It is uncertain how these potential changes may impact our ability to gain clearance or approval from FDA for our products in the future.
The commencement or completion of any of our clinical trials may be delayed or halted, or be inadequate to support approval of FDA marketing applications or supplements, for numerous reasons, including, but not limited to, the following:
•the FDA or other regulatory authorities do not approve a clinical trial protocol or a clinical trial, or place a clinical trial on hold;
•patients do not enroll in clinical trials at the rate we expect;
•patients or study site personnel who do not comply with clinical trial protocols;
•patient follow-up does not occur at the rate we expect;
•patients experience adverse side effects;
•patients die during a clinical trial, even though their death may not be related to our products;
•institutional review boards and third-party clinical investigators may delay or reject our clinical trial protocol;
•third-party clinical investigators decline to participate in a trial or do not perform a trial on our anticipated schedule or consistent with the investigator agreements, clinical trial protocol, good clinical practices or other FDA or institutional review board requirements;
•we or third-party organizations do not perform data collection, monitoring or analysis in a timely or accurate manner or consistent with the clinical trial protocol or investigational or statistical plans;
•third-party clinical investigators have significant financial interests related to us or the study that the FDA deems to make the study results unreliable, or we or clinical investigators fail to disclose such interests;
•regulatory inspections of our clinical trials or manufacturing facilities may results in allegations or findings of noncompliance and, among other things, require us to undertake corrective action or suspend or terminate our clinical trials;
•changes in governmental regulations, policies or administrative actions applicable to our trial protocols;
•the interim or final results of the clinical trial are inconclusive or unfavorable as to safety or efficacy; and
•the FDA concludes that the results from our trial and/or trial design are inadequate to demonstrate safety and effectiveness of the product.
Further, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and associated shelter-in-place orders could limit or restrict our ability to initiate, conduct or continue our clinical trials. Delays and disruption in our clinical trials could results in delays for expanded FDA clearance or approval of our products. We are unable to predict the length of such delays or the scope of the ongoing impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on our clinical trials at this time. We are continuing to monitor this situation and to explore methods of remote monitoring, remote clinical assessments and other similar delivery methods to permit the continuation of clinical trial activities.
The results of pre-clinical studies or other forms of early product testing do not necessarily predict future clinical trial results, and prior clinical trial results might not be repeated in subsequent clinical trials. Additionally, the FDA may disagree with our interpretation of the data from our pre-clinical studies, product testing, and clinical trials, or may find the clinical trial design, conduct or results inadequate to prove safety or effectiveness, and may require us to pursue the development of additional data, which could further delay the approval of our products. If we are unable to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of our products in our clinical trials to the FDA’s satisfaction, where clinical data are required, we will be unable to obtain regulatory approval to market our products in the United States. In addition, the data we collect from our current clinical trials, our pre-clinical studies and other clinical trials may not be sufficient to support FDA approval, even if our endpoints are met.
We may also conduct clinical studies to demonstrate the relative or comparative effectiveness of CGM systems for the treatment of diabetes. These types of studies, which often require substantial investment and effort, may not show adequate, or any, clinical benefit or value for the use of CGM systems.
Our CGM systems currently have regulatory marketing authorization limited to individual patient home-use, and have otherwise not received clearance or approval from the FDA or other regulators for use in hospital or other in-patient facility settings, although the FDA has advised us that it will not object to the use of our CGM systems in such settings during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our potential supply of our CGM systems for use in this environment during the COVID-19 pandemic may present risks to our business.
We have received, and may continue to receive, numerous inquiries from hospitals around the country about the use of our CGM devices to remotely monitor COVID-19 patients admitted into the hospital. Extension of CGM system use to hospitalized patients during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic allows hospital staff to monitor glucose remotely in patients and may reduce patient/provider interactions, which could help limit viral exposure for hospital staff and help conserve personal protective equipment. In the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the FDA has permitted for regulatory flexibility in a variety of specific circumstances, to expedite the development and availability of critical medical products that may be helpful in COVID-19-related efforts.
Following direct communication with the FDA regarding the potential use of our CGM devices in a hospital or other in-patient setting, the FDA notified us on April 1, 2020 that in an exercise of its enforcement discretion it will not object, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, to Dexcom providing CGM devices and support to users to enable real-time remote patient monitoring in hospitals and other healthcare facilities, to support COVID-19 healthcare-related efforts, so long as we provide certain FDA-specified information with respect to the unique challenges that CGM technologies can raise in the hospital environment.
As a condition of its exercise of enforcement discretion, the FDA has advised that we communicate the following information related to implementing the use of CGM systems for remote monitoring of hospitalized patients:
•Hospitals should consider whether they have the resources and expertise necessary to adequately implement CGM use and provide appropriate training to healthcare providers.
•CGM glucose results are less accurate than blood glucose results obtained using traditional testing methods (e.g., lab glucose, blood glucose meters). Users should consider all CGM glucose information (e.g., trend) along with individual glucose values, and interpret CGM results in the context of the full clinical picture.
•CGM systems are subject to interferences that may generate falsely high and falsely low glucose readings. Levels of interference depend on drug concentration; substances that may not significantly interfere in non-hospitalized patients may interfere when used in the hospital setting because of higher dose levels. Most drugs used in hospital or critical care settings have not been evaluated and their interference with CGM systems is unknown. Known interferences vary by CGM brand, and can include Acetaminophen, Ascorbic acid, Hydroxyurea, or other reducing drugs/ compounds.
•Poor peripheral blood perfusion may cause inaccurate sensor readings. CGM results should be interpreted considering accompanying patient conditions and medications. Other clinical conditions may also cause inaccurate readings.
Our provision of our CGM systems to hospitals and other healthcare facilities for use during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic have and will continue to have the above notice.
In February 2022, we received Breakthrough Device designation for our G6 CGM system in the hospital setting. The FDA’s Breakthrough Device designation is designed to expedite the development and regulatory review of medical devices that hold the potential for more effective treatment or diagnosis of life-threatening or irreversibly debilitating disease or condition.
We are not actively promoting nor do we plan to actively promote our CGM devices (and related support) for inpatient use, but if we supply them to such facilities as currently permitted by the FDA, this supply could present an increased risk of product liability claims and associated damages should an adverse event occur. Given that our CGM devices have not yet been fully evaluated or tested by either us or the FDA to the extent that would be required in standard circumstances for product development and marketing authorization, there could be unknown or unanticipated risks presented by use in this environment.
The FDA can also decide, at any time, to change its position regarding its Breakthrough Device Designation and/or enforcement discretion for our devices, and require that we seek marketing authorization for this additional intended use by submitting a 510(k) premarket notification, or that we seek and obtain Emergency Use Authorization. The FDA may determine this policy has expired if the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic subsides or the federal public health emergency declaration is lifted and there is no longer an urgent need to use our CGM systems for remote patient monitoring during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
As we are unable to predict the duration or ultimate impact of the provision of our CGM systems to hospitals and other healthcare facilities for use during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic at this time, we do not yet know the ultimate impact to our business or financial results. We will continue to monitor the situation closely.
We depend on clinical investigators and clinical sites to enroll patients in our clinical trials and other third parties to manage the trials and to perform related data collection and analysis, and, as a result, we may face costs and delays that are outside of our control.
We rely on clinical investigators and clinical sites to enroll patients in our clinical trials, and other third parties to manage the trial 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. If these clinical investigators and clinical sites fail to enroll a sufficient number of patients in our clinical trials or fail to ensure compliance by patients with clinical protocols or fail to comply with U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Actregulatory requirements, we will be unable to complete these trials, which could prevent us from obtaining regulatory approvals for our products. Our agreements with clinical investigators and similar worldwide anti-bribery laws in non-U.S. jurisdictionsclinical sites for clinical testing place substantial responsibilities on these parties and, if these parties fail to perform as expected, our trials could materially adversely affect our business and result in civil and/be delayed or criminal sanctions.
The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act,terminated. If these clinical investigators, clinical sites or other third parties do not carry out their contractual duties or obligations or fail to meet expected deadlines, or if the UK Bribery Act and similar worldwide anti-bribery laws in non-U.S. jurisdictions generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to non-U.S. government officials and, in some instances, other persons for the purpose of obtainingquality or retaining business. Becauseaccuracy of the predominanceclinical data they obtain is compromised due to their failure to adhere to our clinical protocols, regulatory requirements or for other reasons, our clinical trials may be extended, delayed or terminated, or the clinical data may be rejected by the FDA, and we may be unable to obtain regulatory approval for, or successfully commercialize, our products.
As a result of government-sponsoredthe ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many healthcare systems aroundfacilities were or remain closed or available on a limited basis for non-emergent and elective services. Accordingly, our clinical investigators may not have an opportunity to recruit and enroll patients in our clinical trials and there may be less interest by patients to participate. We cannot predict the world, mosttrajectory of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the impact of variants, the length or impact of current shelter-in-place orders or any limitation on the provision of non-emergent health services or the normal operation of our customer relationships outside ofclinical sites. Therefore, we cannot predict the United States are with governmental entitiesultimate impact that such restrictions may have on our clinical trial enrollment and are therefore potentially subject to such anti-bribery laws. Global enforcement of anti-corruption laws has increased substantially in recent years, with more frequent voluntary self-disclosures by companies, aggressive investigations and enforcement proceedings byresults.
Health care policy changes, including U.S. and foreign governmental agencies, and assessment of significant fines and penalties against companies and individuals. Our international operations create the risk of unauthorized payments or offers of payments by one of our employees, consultants, sales agents, or distributors, because these parties are not always subject to our direct oversight and control. It is our policy to implement safeguards to educate our employees and agents on these legal requirements and discourage improper practices. However, our existing safeguards and any future improvementshealth care reform legislation, may prove to be less than effective, and our employees, consultants, sales agents, or distributors may engage in conduct for which we might be held responsible. In addition, the government agencies may seek to hold us liable for successor liability for anti-corruption law violations committed by any companies in which we invest or that we acquire. Any alleged or actual violations of these regulations may subject us to government scrutiny, severe criminal or civil sanctions and other liabilities, including exclusion from government contracting, and could disrupt our business, and result inhave a material adverse effect on our business.
In response to perceived increases in health care costs in recent years, there have been and continue to be proposals by the federal government, state governments, regulators, and third-party payors to control these costs and, more generally, to reform the U.S. health care system. Certain of these proposals could limit the prices we are able to charge for our products or the amounts of reimbursement available for our products and could limit the acceptance and availability of our products.
In November 2020, the OIG published a Special Fraud Alert addressing manufacturer Speaker Programs, signaling both a more narrow government view of AKS compliance with respect to such programs as well as the potential for increased enforcement in this space by government oversight agencies such as the OIG and DOJ. On March 18, 2022, the Advanced Medical Technology Association, or AdvaMed, announced revisions to its Code of Ethics on Interactions with Health Care Professionals (“Code”). The revised Code, effective June 1, addressed concerns noted in the OIG’s Special Fraud Alert, addressing things like virtual meetings, speaker programs and alcohol at events. The revised Code also addresses value-based care arrangements. We continue to assess industry responses to the Special Fraud Alert and have and may continue to make modifications to certain aspects of our speaker programs, which may have a detrimental impact on our ability to educate healthcare providers about our products and to promote use of our products, which may lead to decreased product sales and negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Current uncertainty in global economic and political conditions makes it particularly difficult to predict product demand and other related matters and makes it more likely that our actual results could differ materially from expectations.
Our operations and performance depend on worldwide economic and political conditions. These conditions have been adversely impacted by continued global economic uncertainty, political instability and military hostilities in multiple geographies, concerns over the potential downgrade of U.S. sovereign debt and continued sovereign debt, monetary and financial uncertainties in Europe and other foreign countries. These include potential reductions in the overall stability and suitability of the Euro as a single currency, given the economic and political challenges facing individual Eurozone countries.
These conditions have made and may continue to make it difficult for our customers and potential customers to afford our products, and could cause our customers to stop using our products or to use them less frequently. If that were to occur, our revenue may decrease and our performance may be negatively impacted. In addition, the pressure on consumers to absorb more of their own health care costs has resulted in some cases in higher deductibles and limits on durable medical equipment, which may cause seasonality in purchasing patterns. Furthermore, during economic uncertainty, our customers have had job losses and may continue to have issues gaining timely access to sufficient health insurance or credit, which could result in their unwillingness to purchase products or impair their ability to make timely payments to us. We cannot predict the reoccurrence of any economic slowdown or the strength or sustainability of the economic recovery, worldwide,Comprehensive healthcare legislation, signed into law in the United States in March 2010, titled the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010, collectively, the ACA, imposes certain stringent compliance, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements on companies in various sectors of the life sciences industry, and enhanced penalties for non-compliance. Despite the ACA going into effect over a decade ago, there have been numerous legal and Congressional challenges to the law’s provisions and the effect of certain provisions have made compliance costly.
We cannot predict what additional new legislation, agency priorities, and rulemaking may be on the horizon as the United States continue to reassess how it pays for healthcare. As a result, we cannot quantify or inpredict what impact any changes might have on our industry. Thesebusiness and other economic factorsresults of operations. However, any changes that lower reimbursement for our products could have a material adverse effect onmaterially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
WeOther legal, regulatory and commercial policy influences are subjectsubjecting our industry to a variety of risks duesignificant changes, and we cannot predict whether new regulations or policies will emerge from U.S. federal or state governments, foreign governments, or third-party payors. Government and commercial payors may, in the future, consider healthcare policies and proposals intended to our international operationscurb rising healthcare costs, including those that could adverselysignificantly affect reimbursement for healthcare products such as our business, our operations or profitabilitysystems. These policies have included, and operating results.
Our operationsmay in countries outsidethe future include: basing reimbursement policies and rates on clinical outcomes, the comparative effectiveness, and costs, of different treatment technologies and modalities; imposing price controls and taxes on medical device providers; and other measures. Future significant changes in the healthcare systems in the United States which accountedor elsewhere could also have a negative impact on the demand for approximately 21% of our revenuescurrent and future products. These include changes that may reduce reimbursement rates for the twelve months ended December 31, 2019, are accompanied by certain financialour products and other risks. In addition to opening offices in Austria, Canada, Germany, the Philippines, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, in connection with distributor acquisitions and otherwise, we intend to continue to pursue growth opportunities in sales outside the United States, especially in Asia (including Japan and Korea) and Europe, and we may increase our use of administrative and support functions from locations outside the United States, which could expose us to greater risks associated with our sales and operations. As we pursue opportunities outside the United States, we may become more exposed to these risks and our ability to scale our operations effectivelychanges that may be affected. Additionally, we may experience difficulties in scaling these functions from locations outside the United States and may not experience the expected cost efficiencies.
Our profitability and international operations are, and will continue to be, subject to a number of risks and potential costs, including:
local product preferences and product requirements;
longer-term receivables than are typical in the United States;
fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates;
less intellectual property protection in some countries outside the United States than exists in the United States;
trade protection measures and import and export licensing requirements;
workforce instability;
fluctuations in trade policy and tariff regulations;
political and economic instability; and
the potential payment of U.S. income taxes on certain earnings of our subsidiaries outside the United States upon repatriation.
While it is impossible for us to predict whether these and other proposals will beproposed or implemented or how they will ultimately impact us, they may materially impact our results of operations if, for example, our profits earned abroad are subject to U.S. income tax, or we are otherwise disallowed deductions as a result of these profits.
As another example, changes in foreign currency exchange rates may reduce the reported value of our foreign currency denominated revenues, expenses, and cash flows. We cannot predict changes in currency exchange rates, the impact of exchange rate changes, nor the degree to which we will be able to manage the impact of currency exchange rate changes.
As a final example, on June 23, 2016, the United Kingdom, or U.K., held a referendum in which voters approved an exit from the European Union, commonly referred to as “Brexit.” As a result of the referendum, the U.K. government is negotiating the terms of the U.K.’s future relationship with the European Union. Although it is unknown what those terms will be, it is possible that there will be greater restrictions on imports and exports and on the movement of people between the U.K. and European Union countries, and increased regulatory complexities.
Failure to obtain any required regulatory authorization in foreign jurisdictions will prevent us from marketing our products abroad.
We conduct limited commercial and marketing efforts in Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and New Zealand with respect to our CGM systems and may seek to market our products in other regions in the future. Outside the United States, we can market a product only if we receive a marketing authorization and, in some cases, pricing approval, from the appropriate regulatory authorities. The authorization and/or approval procedure varies among countries and can involve additional testing, and the time required to obtain any required authorization or approval may differ from that required to obtain FDA marketing authorization(s). The foreign regulatory authorization or approval process may
include all of the risks associated with obtaining FDA marketing authorization(s) in addition to other risks. We may not obtain foreign regulatory authorizations or approvals on a timely basis, if at all. Obtaining a marketing authorization from the FDA does not ensure authorization or approval by regulatory authorities in other countries, and authorization or approval by one foreign regulatory authority does not ensure authorization or approval by regulatory authorities in other foreign countries or by the FDA. In addition, in order to obtain the authorization to market our products in certain foreign jurisdictions, we may need to obtain a Certificate to Foreign Government from the FDA. The FDA may refuse to issue a Certificate to Foreign Government in certain instances, including without limitation, during the pendency of any outstanding warning letter. As a result, we may not be able to file for regulatory approvalscurrent or marketing authorizations and may not receive necessary approvalsfuture laws or authorizations to commercialize our products in any market outside the United States on a timely basis, or at all.
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Risks Related to Intellectual Property Protection and Use |
We are subject to claims of infringement or misappropriation of the intellectual property rights of others, which could prohibit us from shipping affected products, require us to obtain licenses from third parties or to develop non-infringing alternatives, and subject us to substantial monetary damages and injunctive relief. We may also be subject to other claims or suits.
Third parties have asserted, and may assert, infringement or misappropriation claims against us with respect to our current or future products. We are aware of numerous patents issued to third parties that may relate to aspects of our business, including the design and manufacture of CGM sensors and membranes, as well as methods for continuous glucose monitoring. Whether a product infringes a patent involves complex legal and factual issues, the determination of which is often uncertain. Therefore, we cannot be certain that we have not infringed the intellectual property rights of such third parties or others. Our competitors may assert that our CGM systems or the methods we employ in the use of our systems are covered by U.S. or foreign patents held by them. We have in the past settled some such allegations and may need to do so again in the future. For example, in July 2014, we entered into a Settlement and License Agreement with Abbott to settle all pending patent infringement legal proceedings brought by Abbott against us which is set to expire on March 31, 2021. This risk is exacerbated by the fact that there are numerous issued patents and pending patent applications relating to self-monitored glucose testing systems in the
medical technology field. Because patent applications may take years to issue, there may be applications now pending of which we are unaware that may later result in issued patents that our products infringe. There could also be existing patents of which we are unaware that one or more components of our system may inadvertently infringe. As the number of competitors in the market for CGM systems grows, the possibility of patent infringement by us or a patent infringement claim against us increases. If we are unable to successfully defend any such claims as they may arise or enter into or extend settlement and license agreements on acceptable terms or at all, our business operations may be harmed. We have been and continue to be involved in various patent infringement actions including:
On March 28, 2016, AgaMatrix, Inc., or AgaMatrix, filedin the past. For example, in July 2014, we entered into a Settlement and License Agreement with Abbott to settle all pending patent infringement lawsuitlegal proceedings brought by Abbott against us, inwhich expired on March 31, 2021. Since the U.S. District Courtexpiration of that agreement, we and certain Abbott entities have served complaints for the District of Oregon, asserting that certain of our products infringe three patents held by AgaMatrix. (After filing suit, AgaMatrix reorganized its business and the Court granted AgaMatrix’s motion to substitute the newly created entity WaveForm Technologies, Inc., as the plaintiff following AgaMatrix’s transfer of the three asserted patents to WaveForm.) DexCom filed petitions for inter partes review with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, or PTAB, of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, challenging each of the three asserted patents as being unpatentable in view of prior art. The PTAB issued a Final Written Decision for each of the first two patents on February 28, 2018, where the PTAB found the majority of asserted claims from the first patent unpatentable and the remaining claims under review not unpatentable. The PTAB found all claims under review from the second patent not unpatentable. On September 12, 2018, the PTAB found all of the asserted claims in the third patent unpatentable. In October 2018, we filed in the District Court a motion for summary judgment that all remaining asserted claims are invalid. The District Court granted that motion and, on August 23, 2019, entered judgment in our favor. On September 6, 2019, WaveForm appealed the judgment. The appeal is pending and no hearing date has been set.
We have also filed several lawsuits against AgaMatrix. We filed a patent infringement, lawsuitvalidity, and other patent-related actions against AgaMatrixeach other in multiple jurisdictions, inside and outside the United States District Court for the Central District of California, or C.D. Cal.,States. We intend to vigorously pursue our claims and defenses in which a Final Judgment of non-infringement was entered by the C.D. Cal judge on February 23, 2018these cases to protect our intellectual property and affirmed on appeal by the Federal Circuit on March 7, 2019. AgaMatrix was awarded attorneys’ fees for this lawsuit. As of December 31, 2019, we have accrued an immaterial amount for those fees. The fee decision is currently on appeal to the Federal Circuit. On September 15, 2017, we filed a patentdefend against Abbott’s infringement lawsuit against AgaMatrix in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, asserting certain single-point blood glucose monitoring products of AgaMatrix infringe two patents held by us. In addition, on September 18, 2017, we filed a Complaint against AgaMatrix in the International Trade Commission, referred to as the ITC, requesting that the ITC institute an investigation and issue an order excluding certain products of AgaMatrix from importation into or sale in the United States based on AgaMatrix’s infringement of the same two patents asserted in the Delaware litigation. The investigation was terminated by the ITC on April 4, 2019 with a finding of non-infringement. The decision is currently on appeal.
Neither the outcome of these lawsuits nor the amount and range of potential loss associated with the lawsuits can be assessed at this time. Other than the attorneys’ fees described above, as of December 31, 2019 we have accrued no amounts for contingent losses associated with these suits.allegations.
Any infringement or misappropriation claim could cause us to incur significant costs, place significant strain on our financial resources, divert management’s attention from our business and harm our reputation. In addition, if the relevant patents are upheld as valid and enforceable and we are found to infringe such patents, we could be prohibited from selling any of our products that is found to infringe unless we could obtain licenses to use the technology covered by the patent or are able to design around the patent. We may be unable to obtain a license on terms acceptable to us, if at all, and we may not be able to redesign our products to avoid infringement. We may be unable to maintain or renew licenses on terms acceptable to us, if at all, and we may be prohibited from selling any of our products that required the technology covered by the relevant licensed patents. Even if we are able to redesign our products to avoid an infringement claim, we may not receive FDA approval for such changes in a timely manner or at all.
Any adverse determination in litigation or interference proceedings to which we are or may become a party relating to patents or other intellectual property rights could subject us to significant liabilities to third parties or require us to seek licenses from other third parties. If we are found to infringe third-party patents, a court could order us to pay damages to compensate the patent owner for the infringement, such as a reasonable royalty amount and/or profits lost by the patent owners, along with prejudgment and/or post-judgment interest. Furthermore, if we are found to willfully infringe third-party patents, we could, in addition to other penalties, be required to pay treble damages; and if the court finds the case to be exceptional, we may be required to pay attorneys’ fees for the prevailing party. If we are found to infringe third-party copyrights or trademarks or misappropriate third-party trade secrets, based on the intellectual property at issue, a court could order us to pay statutory damages, actual damages, or profits, such as reasonablyreasonable royalty or lost profits of the owners, unjust enrichment, disgorgement of profits, and/or a reasonable royalty, and the court could potentially award attorneys’ fees or exemplary or enhanced damages. Although patent and intellectual property disputes in the medical device area have often been settled through licensing or similar arrangements, costs associated with such arrangements may be substantial and would likely include ongoing royalties. We may be unable to obtain necessary intellectual property licenses on satisfactory terms. If we do not obtain any such necessary licenses, we may not be able to redesign our products to avoid infringement and any redesign may not receive FDA approval or other requisite marketing authorization in a timely manner or at all. Adverse determinations in a judicial or administrative proceeding or failure to obtain necessary intellectual property licenses could prevent us from manufacturing and selling our products, which would have a significant adverse impact on our business. If litigation were to be initiated by intellectual property owners, there could significant legal fees and costs incurred in defending litigation (which may include filing administrative actions to attack the intellectual property) as well as a potential monetary settlement payment to the owners, even if the matter is resolved before going to trial. Moreover, the owners may take an overly aggressive approach and/or include multiple allegations in a single litigation.
In addition, from time to time, we are subject to various claims, complaints and suitslegal actions arising out of the ordinary course of business, including commercial insurance, product liability or employment relatedemployment-related matters. Although individuallyAlso, from time to time, we may bring claims or initiate lawsuits against various third parties with respect to matters arising out of the ordinary course of our business, including commercial and employment-related matters. We do not expect these claims or suitsbelieve we are party to any currently pending legal proceedings, the outcome of which could have a material adverse effect on DexCom,our business, financial condition or results of operations. There can be no assurance that existing or future legal proceedings arising in the aggregate they may divert significant time and resources fromordinary course of business or otherwise will not have a material adverse effect on our staff.business, financial condition or results of operations.
Our inability to adequately protect our intellectual property could allow our competitors and others to produce products based on our technology, which could substantially impair our ability to compete.
Our success and our ability to compete depend, in part, upon our ability to maintain the proprietary nature of our technologies. We rely on a combination of patent, copyright and trademark law, and trade secrets and nondisclosure agreements to protect our intellectual property. However, such methods may not be adequate to protect us or permit us to gain or maintain a competitive advantage. Our patent applications may not issue as patents in a form that will be advantageous to us, or at all. Our issued patents, and those that may issue in the future, may be challenged, invalidated or circumvented, which could limit our ability to stop competitors from marketing related products. In addition, there are numerous recent changes to the patent laws and proposed changes to the rules of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which may have a significant impact on our ability to protect our technology and enforce our intellectual property rights. For example, in September 2011, the United States enacted sweeping changes to its patent system under the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, including changes that would transition the United States from a “first-to-invent” system to a “first-to-file” system and alter the processes for challenging issued patents. These changes could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of our patent applications and the enforcement or defense of our issued patents.
To protect our proprietary rights, we may in the future need to assert claims of infringement against third parties. The outcome of litigation to enforce our intellectual property rights in patents, copyrights, trade secrets or trademarks is highly unpredictable, could result in substantial costs and diversion of resources, and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations regardless of the final outcome of such litigation. In the event of an adverse judgment, a court could hold that some or all of our asserted intellectual property rights are not infringed, or are invalid or unenforceable, and could award attorney fees.
Despite our efforts to safeguard our unpatented and unregistered intellectual property rights, we may not succeed in doing so or the steps taken by us in this regard may not be adequate to detect or deter misappropriation of our technology or to prevent an unauthorized third party from copying or otherwise obtaining and using our products, technology or other information that we regard as proprietary. In addition, third parties may be able to design around our patents. Furthermore, the laws of foreign countries may not protect our proprietary rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States.
We face the risk of product liability claims and may be subject to damages, fines, penalties and injunctions, among other things.
Our business exposes us to the risk of product liability claims that is inherent in the testing, manufacturing and marketing of medical devices, including those which may arise from the misuse (including system hacking or other unauthorized access by third parties to our systems) or malfunction of, or design flaws in, our products. This liability may vary based on the FDA classification associated with our devices. Notably, the classification of our G6 systemand G7 systems as a Class II medical devicedevices is likely to weaken our ability to rely on federal preemption of state law claims that assert liability against us for harms arising from use of the G6.those systems. We may be subject to product liability claims if our products cause, or merely appear to have caused, an injury. Claims may be made by customers, healthcare providers or others selling our products. The risk of product liability claims may increase nowgiven that our G5 Mobile system has obtained indicationsG6 and approved labeling in the United States, in Canada, and in the countries utilizing the CE Mark that allow for our patients to make diabetes treatment decisions with our CGM system in conjunction with only two finger sticks required for calibration of the system and our G6 doesG7 do not require confirmatory finger sticks when making treatment decisions or finger stick tests each day for calibration, although it does require finger stick tests when symptoms do not match readings and when readings are unavailable. The risk of claims may also increase if our products are subject to a product recall or seizure. An example of the difficulty of complying with the regulatory requirements associated with the manufacture of our products, we issued notifications to our customers regarding the audible alarms and alerts associated with our receivers.
Although we have insurance at levels that we believe is appropriate, this insurance is subject to deductibles and coverage limitations. Our current product liability insurance may not continue to be available to us on acceptable terms, if at all, and, if available, the coverage may not be adequate to protect us against any future product liability claims. Further, if additional products are approved for marketing, we may seek additional insurance coverage. If we are unable to obtain insurance at an acceptable cost or on acceptable terms with adequate coverage or otherwise protect against potential product liability claims, we will be exposed to significant liabilities, which may harm our business. A product liability claim, recall or other claimclaims with respect to uninsured liabilities or for amounts in excess of insured liabilities could result in significant costs and significant harm to our business.
We may be subject to claims against us even if the apparent injury is due to the actions of others or misuse of the device or a partner device. Our customers, either on their own or following the advice of their physicians, may use our products in a manner not described in the products’ labeling and that differs from the manner in which it was used in clinical studies and approved by the FDA. For example, our current systems are designed to be used by an individual continuously for up to seven days for our G4 PLATINUM and G5 Mobile system and up to 10 days for our G6 system,and G7 systems, but the individual might be able to circumvent the safeguards designed into the systems and use the products for longer than seven or 10 days. Off-label use of products by customers is common, and any such off-label use of our products could subject us to additional liability, or require design changes to limit this potential off-label use once discovered. The CE Mark and the HealthCanada and FDA approvals for our G5 Mobile system include indications that allow patients to make diabetes treatment decisions based on the information generated by such system, although both regulators still require finger stick calibrations two times per day. In addition, other regulatory agencies may in the future approve similar diabetes treatment indications. We expect that such diabetes treatment indications
could expose us to additional liability. These liabilities could prevent or interfere with our product commercialization efforts. Defending a suit, regardless of merit, could be costly, could divert management attention and might result in adverse publicity, which could result in the withdrawal of, or inability to recruit, clinical trial volunteers or result in reduced acceptance of our products in the market.
As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we have received and continue to receive, numerous requests from hospitals and healthcare facilities around the country regarding the use of our CGM devices to remotely monitor COVID-19 patients admitted into the hospital. As noted above, in 2020, the FDA informed us that they intend to exercise enforcement discretion and will not object to our provision of G6 CGM systems to such facilities for use in the inpatient setting during the pandemic. However, our CGM devices are currently approved only for in-home use by patients for the purpose of personal diabetes management and have not otherwise been cleared or approved by the FDA for hospital use. Given that the G6 CGM has not yet been fully evaluated or tested (by us or by the FDA) to the extent that would be required in standard circumstances for product development and marketing authorization, there could be unknown or unanticipated risks presented by use in this environment. To the extent that inpatient use of our CGM systems causes or contributes to an adverse event, we may be subjected to additional product liability lawsuits. Defending a suit, regardless of merit, could be costly, could divert management attention and might result in adverse publicity, which could result in reduced acceptance of our products in the market.
We could become the subject of governmental investigations, claims and litigation.
Healthcare companies are subject to numerous investigations and inquiries by various governmental agencies. Further, under the False Claims Act, private parties have the right to bring qui tam, or “whistleblower,” suits against companies that submit false claims for payments to, or improperly retain overpayments from, the government. Some states have adopted similar state whistleblower and false claims provisions. Depending upon whether the underlying conduct alleged in such inquiries or investigations could be considered systemic, any resolution of any such investigations could have a material, adverse effect on our financial position and results of operations.
Governmental agencies and their agents, such as CMS Medicare Administrative Contractors and other CMS contractors, as well as the OIG, state Medicaid programs, and other state and federal agencies may conduct audits of our operations, relating to covered items and services including those furnished to beneficiaries, health care providers and distributors. Commercial and government-funded managed care payors may conduct similar post-payment audits. Depending on the nature of the conduct found in such audits and whether the underlying conduct could be considered systemic, the resolution of these audits could have a material adverse effect on our financial position and results of operations. Our compliance program includes internal audit and monitoring functions designed to identify potential issues and facilitate remediation as appropriate.
Any future investigations of our executives, our managers or us could result in significant liabilities or penalties to us, as well as adverse publicity. Even if we are found to have complied with applicable law, the investigation or litigation may pose a considerable expense and would divert management’s attention, and have a potentially negative impact on the public’s perception of us, all of which could negatively impact our financial position and results of operations. Further, should we be found out of compliance with any of these laws, regulations or programs, depending on the nature of the findings, our business, our financial position and our results of operations could be negatively impacted.
We may be subject to fines, penalties and injunctions if we are determined to be promoting the use of our products for unapproved or improper off-label uses.uses or determined to have made claims that are untruthful or misleading or not adequately substantiated.
Although we believe ourOur marketing, promotional and educational materials and practices comply withare subject to FDCA, Federal Trade Commission Act, and other applicable laws and regulations, as may be amended from time to time, iftime. If the FDA, FTC or other regulatory body with competent jurisdiction over us, our activities or products takes the position that our marketing, promotional or other materials or activities constitute improper promotion or marketing of an unapproved or improper use, the FDA or otherthat they contain untruthful, misleading, or inadequately substantiated statements or claims, such regulatory body could request that we modify our materials or practices, or subject us to regulatory enforcement actions, including the issuance, depending on the regulatory body and the nature of the alleged violation, of a warning letter, injunction, seizure, civil fine and criminal penalties. It is also possible that other federal, state or foreign enforcement authorities might
take action if they consider promotional, marketing or other materials or activities to constitute improper promotion of an unapproved use, which could result in significant fines or penalties under other statutory authorities, such as laws prohibiting false claims for reimbursement. Recent court decisions have impacted the FDA’s enforcement activity regarding off-label promotion in light of First Amendment considerations; however, there are still significant risks in this area in part due to the potential False Claims Act exposure.
Direct-to-consumer marketing
exposure and social media effort may expose usthe FDA’s continued focus on ensuring devices are marketed in a manner consistent with their FDA-required labeling.
We are not actively promoting nor do we plan to additional regulatory scrutiny.
Our efforts toactively promote our products via direct-to-consumerG6 or G7 systems for inpatient use, but if we supply them to such facilities as currently permitted by FDA, this supply could present an increased risk of product liability claims and associated damages should an adverse event occur. Given that the G6 and G7 systems have not yet been fully evaluated or tested (by us or by the FDA) to the extent that would be required in standard circumstances for product development and marketing and social media initiatives may subject us to additional scrutiny of our practices of effective communication of risk information, benefitsauthorization, there could be unknown or claims, under the oversight of the FDA, FTC, or both.unanticipated risks presented by use in this environment.
In some instances in our advertising and promotion, we may make claims regarding our product as compared to competing products, which may subject us to heightened regulatory scrutiny, enforcement risk, and litigation risks.
The FDA applies a heightened level of scrutiny to comparative claims when applying its statutory standards for advertising and promotion, including with regard to its requirement that promotional labeling be truthful and not misleading. There is potential for differing interpretations of whether certain communications are consistent with a product’s FDA-required labeling, and FDA will evaluate communications on a fact-specific basis.
In addition, making comparative claims may draw concerns from our competitors. Where a company makes a claim in advertising or promotion that its product is superior to the product of a competitor (or that the competitor’s product is inferior), this creates a risk of a lawsuit by the competitor under federal and state false advertising or unfair and deceptive trade practices law, and possibly also state libel law. Such a suit may seek injunctive relief against further advertising, a court order directing corrective advertising, and compensatory and punitive damages where permitted by law.
Direct-to-consumer marketing and social media efforts may expose us to additional regulatory scrutiny.
Our efforts to promote our products via direct-to-consumer marketing and social media initiatives may subject us to additional scrutiny of our practices of effective communication of risk information, benefits or claims, under the oversight of the FDA, FTC, HHS-OCR, or others.We may face risks associated with acquisitions of companies, products and technologies and our business could be harmed if we are unable to address these risks.
If we are presented with appropriate opportunities, we could acquire or make other investments in complementary companies, products or technologies. We may not realize the anticipated benefit of our acquisitions, or the realization of the anticipated benefits may require greater expenditures than anticipated by us. We will likely face risks, uncertainties and disruptions associated with the integration process, including difficulties in the integration of the operations and services of any acquired company, integration of acquired technology with our products, diversion of our management’s attention from other business concerns, the potential loss of key employees or customers of the acquired businesses and impairment charges if future acquisitions are not as successful as we originally anticipate.anticipated. If we fail to successfully integrate other companies, products or technologies that we acquire, our business could be harmed. Furthermore, we may have to incur debt or issue equity or equity-linked securities to pay for any future acquisitions or investments, the issuance of which could be dilutive to our existing stockholders. In addition, our operating results may suffer because of acquisition-related costs, or amortization expenses or charges relating to acquired intangible assets.
Compliance with regulations relating to public company corporate governance matters and reporting is time consumingmay strain our resources and expensive.divert management’s attention.
Many laws and regulations, notably those adopted in connection with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, new SEC regulations and The Nasdaq Stock Market listing rules, impose obligations on public companies, such as ours, which have increased the scope, complexity and cost of corporate governance, reporting and disclosure practices. Compliance with these laws and regulations, including enhanced new disclosures, has required and will continue to require substantial management time and
oversight and the incurrence of significant accounting and legal costs. The effects of new laws and regulations remain unclear and will likely require substantial management time and oversight and require us to incur significant additional accounting and legal costs. Additionally, changes to existing accounting rules or standards, such as the potential requirement that U.S. registrants prepare financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards, may adversely impact our reported financial results and business, and may require us to incur greater accounting fees.
We could be subject to changes in our tax rates, new U.S. or international tax legislation or additional tax liabilities.
We are subject to taxes in the United States and numerous foreign jurisdictions, where a number of our subsidiaries are organized. DueThe tax laws in the United States and in other countries in which we and our subsidiaries do business could change on a prospective or retroactive basis, and any such changes could adversely affect our business and financial condition. Further, due to economic and political conditions, tax rates in various jurisdictions may be subject to change. Our effective tax rates could be affected by numerous factors, including changes in the mix of earnings in countries with differing statutory tax rates, changes in the valuation of deferred tax assets and liabilities, and changes in tax laws or their interpretation, both in and outside the United States.
Our tax returns and other tax matters also are subject to examination by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and other tax authorities and governmental bodies. We regularly assess the likelihood of an adverse outcome resulting from these examinations to determine the adequacy of our provision for taxes. We cannot guarantee the outcome of these examinations. If our effective tax rates were to increase, particularly in the United States, or in other countries implementing legislation to reform existing tax legislation, including the European Union and Germany, or if the ultimate determination of our taxes owed is for an amount in excess of amounts previously accrued, our financial condition, operating results and cash flows could be adversely affected.
Valuation of share-based payments, which we are required to perform for purposes of recording compensation expense under authoritative guidance for share-based payment, involves assumptions that are subject to change and difficult to predict.
For instance, estimating the fair value of share-based payments is highly dependent on assumptions regarding the future exercise behavior of our employees and changes in our stock price. If there are errors in our input assumptions for our valuations models, we may inaccurately calculate actual or estimated compensation expense for share-based payments.
The authoritative guidance for share-based payment could also adversely impact our ability to provide accurate guidance on our future financial results as assumptions that are used to estimate the fair value of share-based payments are based on estimates and judgments that may differ from period to period. We may also be unable to accurately predict the amount and timing of the recognition of tax benefits associated with share-based payments as they are highly dependent on the exercise behavior of our employees and the price of our stock relative to the exercise price of each outstanding stock option.
For those reasons, among others, the authoritative guidance for share-based payment may create variability and uncertainty in the share-based compensation expense we will record in future periods, which could adversely impact our stock price and increase our expected stock price volatility as compared to prior periods.
Our stock price is highly volatile and investing in our stock involves a high degree of risk, which could result in substantial losses for investors.
Historically, the market price of our common stock, like the securities of many other medical products companies, fluctuates and could continue to be volatile in the future.future, especially as our business continues to grow and our business plan continues to evolve. From January 1, 20192022 through February 7, 2020,December 31, 2022, the closing price of our common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market was as high as $243.70$132.89 per share and as low as $111.38$67.99 per share. In addition, the trading prices for our common stock and other medical device companies have been highly volatile as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The market price of our common stock is influenced by many factors that are beyond our control, including the following:
Please also refer to the factors described elsewhere in this “Risk Factors” section. In addition, the stock market in general has experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated and disproportionate to the operating performance of companies in our industry. These broad market and industry factors may materially reduce the market price of our common stock, regardless of our operating performance.
Securities class action litigation has often been brought against public companies that experience periods of volatility in the market prices of their securities. Securities class action litigation could result in substantial costs and a diversion of our management’s attention and resources.
The issuance of shares by us in the future or sales of shares by our stockholders may cause the market price of our common stock to drop significantly, even if our business is performing well.
We do not intend to pay dividends for the foreseeable future.
We have never declared or paid cash dividends on our capital stock. We currently intend to retain any future earnings to finance the operation and expansion of our business, and we do not expect to declare or pay any dividends in the foreseeable future and the terms of our credit agreement restrict our ability to declare or pay any dividends. As a result, stockholders (including holders of our senior convertible notes who receive shares of our common stock, if any, upon conversion of their notes) may only receive a return on their investment in our common stock if the market price of our common stock increases.
We have indebtedness in the form of convertible senior notes, which could adversely affect our financial health and our ability to respond to changes in our business.
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 for each of the 2022 Notes and the 2023 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, each indenture for the Notes provides that we are required to repay amounts due under each indenture in the event that there is an event of default for the Notes that results in the principal, premium, if any, and interest, if any, becoming due prior to the maturity date for the Notes. There can be no assurance that we will be able to repay this indebtedness when due, or that we will be able to refinance this indebtedness on acceptable terms or at all.
As a result of our level of increased debt after the completion of the Notes Offerings:
We cannot be sure that our leverage resulting from the level of increased debt after the completion of the Notes Offerings 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. Further, even if we are able to obtain additional financing, we may be required to use such proceeds to repay a portion of our debt.
We may be unable to repurchase the Notes upon a fundamental change when required by the holders or repay prior to maturity any accelerated amounts due under the notes upon an event of default or redeem the Notes unless specified conditions are met under our credit facility,Credit Facility, and our future debt may contain additional limitations on our ability to pay cash upon conversion, repurchase or repayment of the Notes.
Holders of the Notes will have the right to require us to repurchase their Notes upon the occurrence of a fundamental change at a purchase price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the Notes to be purchased, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but not including, the fundamental change purchase date. In addition, each indenture for the Notes provides
that we are required to repay amounts due under each indenture in the event that there is an event of default for the Notes that results in the principal, premium, if any, and interest, if any, becoming due prior to the maturity date for the Notes. In addition, upon conversion of the Notes, unless we elect to deliver solely shares of our common stock to settle such conversion (other than cash in lieu of any fractional share), 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 repurchase Notes surrendered upon a fundamental change or repay prior to maturity any accelerated amounts or pay cash for Notes being converted.
In addition, our ability to purchase the Notes or repay prior to maturity any accelerated amounts under the Notes upon an event of default or pay cash upon conversions of the Notes may be limited by law, by regulatory authority or by agreements governing our indebtedness outstanding at the time, including our credit facility.Credit Facility. Under our current credit facilityCredit Facility, we are only permitted to use cash to purchase the Notes or repay prior to maturity any accelerated amounts under the Notes if we meet certain conditions that are defined under the Credit Agreement. We may not meet these conditions in the future. Our failure to repurchase Notes at a time when the repurchase is required by the respective indenture (whether upon a fundamental change or otherwise under each indenture) or
pay cash payable on future conversions of the Notes as required by the indenture would constitute a default under each indenture. A default under each indenture or the fundamental change itself could also lead to a default under agreements governing our existing or future indebtedness, including our credit facility.Credit Facility. If the repayment of the related indebtedness were to be accelerated after any applicable notice or grace periods, we may not have sufficient funds to repay the indebtedness, repurchase the Notes or make cash payments upon conversions thereof.
We may still incur substantially more debt or take other actions which would intensify the risks discussed above.
We may incur substantial additional debt in the future, subject to the restrictions contained in our debt instruments, some of which may be secured debt. We are not restricted under the terms of the indentures governing the Notes from incurring additional debt, securing existing or future debt, recapitalizing our debt, or taking a number of other actions that are not limited by the terms of the indenture governing the convertible senior notes that could have the effect of diminishing our ability to make payments on the Notes when due.
The convertible note hedge and warrant transactions may affect the value of the 2023 Notes and our common stock.
In connection with the sale of the 2023 Notes, we entered into convertible note hedge, or the 2023 Note Hedge, transactions with certain financial institutions, or option counterparties. We also entered into warrant transactions with the option counterparties pursuant to which we sold warrants for the purchase of our common stock, or the 2023 Warrants. The 2023 Note Hedge transactions are expected generally to reduce the potential dilution upon any conversion of the 2023 Notes and/or offset any cash payments we are required to make in excess of the principal amount of converted 2023 Notes. The 2023 Warrant transactions could separately have a dilutive effect to the extent that the market price per share of our common stock exceeds the exercise price of the 2023 Warrants, which is $198.38.$49.60.
The option counterparties and/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 in secondary market transactions prior to the maturity of 2023 Notes (and are likely to do so during any observation period related to a conversion of 2023 Notes, or following any repurchase of Notes by us on any fundamental change repurchase date (as defined in the indenture for the 2023 Notes) or otherwise). This activity could also cause or avoid an increase or a decrease in the market price of our common stock or the 2023 Notes, which could affect note holders’ ability to convert the 2023 Notes and, to the extent the activity occurs during any observation period related to a conversion of the 2023 Notes, it could affect the amount and value of the consideration that note holders will receive upon conversion of the 2023 Notes.
The potential effect, if any, of these transactions and activities on the market price of our common stock or the 2023 Notes will depend in part on market conditions and cannot be ascertained at this time. Any of these activities could adversely affect the value of our common stock and the value of the 2023 Notes (and as a result, the value of the consideration, the amount of cash and/or the number of shares, if any, that note holders would receive upon the conversion of the 2023 Notes) and, under certain circumstances, the ability of the note holders to convert the 2023 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 price of the 2023 Notes or 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 2023 Note Hedge 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 2023 Note Hedge transactions. Our exposure to the credit risk of the option counterparties will not be secured by any collateral. Recent global economic conditions have resulted in the actual or perceived failure or financial difficulties of many financial institutions. 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, generally, an increase in our exposure will be correlated to an increase in the market price and in the volatility of our common stock. In addition, upon a default by an option counterparty, we may suffer adverse tax consequences and 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.
Servicing our debt requires a significant amount of cash, and we may not have sufficient cash flow from our business to pay our substantial debt.
Our ability to make scheduled payments of the principal of, to pay interest on or to refinance our indebtedness, including the Notes, depends on our future financial condition and operating performance, which is subject to economic, financial, competitive and other factors beyond our control. Our business may not continue to generate cash flow from operations in the future sufficient to satisfy our obligations under the Notes, our existing indebtedness and any future indebtedness we may incur and to make necessary capital expenditures. We may not maintain a level of cash flows from operating activities sufficient to permit us to pay the principal, premium, if any, and interest on (as well as any cash due upon conversion of) our debt, including the Notes.
If we are unable to generate such cash flow, we may be required to adopt one or more alternatives, such as reducing or delaying investments or capital expenditures, selling assets, refinancing or obtaining additional equity capital on terms that may be onerous or highly dilutive. These alternative measures may not be successful and may not permit us to meet our scheduled debt servicing obligations. Further, we may need to refinance all or a portion of our debt on or before maturity, and our ability to refinance the Notes, existing indebtedness or future indebtedness will depend on the capital markets and our financial condition 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 current and future indebtedness.
Conversion of the Notes will, to the extent we deliver shares upon conversion of such Notes, dilute the ownership interest of existing stockholders, including holders who had previously converted their Notes, or may otherwise depress our stock price.
The conversion of some or all of the Notes will dilute the ownership interests of existing stockholders to the extent we deliver shares upon conversion of any of the Notes. Any sales in the public market of the common stock issuable upon such conversion could adversely affect prevailing market prices of our common stock. In addition, the existence of the Notes may encourage short selling by market participants because the conversion of the Notes could be used to satisfy short positions, or anticipated conversion of the Notes into shares of our common stock could depress our stock price.
The conditional conversion feature of the Notes, if triggered, may adversely affect our financial condition and operating results.
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 (other than cash in lieu of any fractional share), we would be required to settle a portion or all of our conversion obligation through the payment of cash, which could adversely affect our liquidity. In addition, even if holders of the Notes 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 result in a material reduction of our net working capital.
The accounting method for convertible debt securities that may be settled in cash, such as the Notes, may have a material effect on our reported financial results.
The fundamental change repurchase feature of the Notes may delay or prevent an otherwise beneficial attempt to take over DexCom.Dexcom.
The terms of the Notes require us to repurchase the Notes in the event of a fundamental change. A takeover of DexComDexcom 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 occurs prior to the maturity date of the Notes, we will in some cases be required to increase the conversion rate for a holder that elects to convert its Notes in connection with such make-whole fundamental change. Furthermore, each indenture for the Notes prohibits us from engaging in certain mergers or acquisitions unless, among other things, the surviving entity assumes our obligations under the notes. These and other provisions of each indenture may have the effect of delaying or preventing a takeover of DexCom.Dexcom.
None.
We are subject to various claims, complaints and legal actions that arise from time to time in the normal course of business, including commercial insurance, product liability, intellectual property and employment related matters. In addition, from time to time we may bring claims or initiate lawsuits against various third parties with respect to matters arising out of the ordinary course of our business, including commercial and employment related matters.
Not applicable.
We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our capital stock. We currently intend to retain any future earnings to finance the operation and expansion of our business, and we do not expect to declare or pay any dividends in the foreseeable future.
There were no unregistered sales of equity securities which have not been previously disclosed in a quarterly report on Form 10-Q or a current report on Form 8-K during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019.2022.
The graph below compares the cumulative total stockholder return on our common stock with the cumulative total returns on the Nasdaq Composite Index and the Nasdaq Medical Equipment Index over the five-year period endingended December 31, 2019.2022. The graph assumes that $100 was invested in DexComDexcom common stock and in each of the other indices on December 31, 20142017 and that all dividends were reinvested. The comparisons in the graph below are based on historical data and are not intended to forecast the possible future performance of DexCom’sDexcom’s common stock.
The graph below and related information shall not be deemed “soliciting material” or be deemed to be “filed” with the SEC, nor shall such information be incorporated by reference into any future filing, except to the extent that we specifically incorporate it by reference into such filing.