Omnipod 5 details- Omnipod CEO Interview Shacey Petrovic

Shacey Petrovic, JC, it is so incredible to have you here today. Thank you so much for doing this.

I think it is fabulous, Camille. How many... do you know how many days or months of pods that is?

Fantastic. So actually these are... challenge, but it's been amazing. And then we painted them, put some LED lights inside. It's a house party item that everyone loves.

Oh, I kind of take this credit as my dad that has been part of this. I only painted some of the pods. He is the man behind this, so massive yes, without him.

And I think the pod remains today really differentiated, really customer preferred, because it's just so remarkable. You know, it's wearable, waterproof, discreet. I think it's also really elegant and novel. You know, there's a lot of technology, very sophisticated, strongly patented technology in that small footprint that you're wearing. So we haven't messed with a lot of it. We have focused primarily over the years on size and on quality and reliability. And so the pod that you're wearing today is about 20% smaller than future generations, and that's both in footprint and in profile. And then you know, we've also seen just tremendous progress on quality and... much more like a smartphone than like a piece of medical equipment. And that's because Omnipod DASH really takes the foundation of that first generation Omnipod system and it embedded Bluetooth technology into the pod, which then enabled the pod to communicate with other devices, including this new modernized touch screen PDM. So really remarkable transformation there, I think. The touch screen device really interfaces very similar to a smartphone and provides a really great user experience. And you know, we're not resting there. Our research and development team continues... everything that we do on the innovation front is really geared towards creating simple products that just deliver great outcomes and reduce burden for people with diabetes, and obviously the people that care for them. You know, we're really focused on simplicity and burden reduction.

You also have a personal connection with type 1 because isn't your father a type 1? Is that right?

And he is also a podder. I was going to ask that actually.

Around of you carrying, not caring for, you know, having a relationship with your parent who's a type 1, that's amazing. So if his pod fails, you are the tech support?

No, that's reason. And so he's using DASH, I would assume?

Yes, we will get back to that. And... or diabetes tech and that's female leadership. I don't have any statistics from here, but the fact of the matter is you are the first female CEO that I get to talk to, because it is not a very diverse industry, I would argue, the diabetes space. So this was your personal opinion from your kind of helicopter point of view. If you had to look at the industry, so CGM, pump companies, non-profits, payers, national health service, all of those stakeholders within the diabetes space, have you seen change in the industry? What's your take on that?

Yeah, well, I mean, it's true that today it is still somewhat of a rare... female. So I see it in diabetes, I see it in med tech, and I see it in the board room growing in impact. And you know, I think diversity, gender diversity but all forms of diversity, is really important to us here at Insulet. And it's not just because of performance, and we know diversity drives better performance, that's actually proven. But we also think about it because we serve a very large and very diverse group of patients or people living with diabetes. And in fact, early last year we celebrated a great milestone for our company: we now have more than a quarter of a million people across the globe that use Omnipod. So you... as diverse as the customers that we serve, so that we can really better understand unmet needs and better address those unmet needs. And so we do a bunch of things to foster a more diverse, more equitable workforce at Insulet, and we believe that that will help us better serve our customers and our market. Because as you know, diabetes impacts everybody of all different ages and all different backgrounds, and we want to be best positioned to serve them. So yeah, I think diversity is really important. I see it changing. It has not been as fast as I think many of us would like to see, but I do see signs of it across the board in executive ranks and in the board room really changing.

About it, I should preface everything I'm about to say by reminding everybody that Omnipod 5 today is under review at the FDA, so it is not yet available in any market. But we're working very hard to make it available, and we could not be more excited about Omnipod 5. It will be the world's first tubeless automated insulin delivery system, and it will integrate with Dexcom's G6 sensor. The system itself is very novel because each disposable pod will have on it a very sophisticated software algorithm. That algorithm will speak directly to... and really exciting impact. And you know, I think because one thing that's very exciting about it is because the algorithm will reside in the pod and not, for example, on the PDM or another device, it means that a user will be able to go for a run or take a shower and stay in closed loop control. So that should provide just incredible ease of use for our users. And we're focused obviously on delivering better outcomes. So there are some other highly differentiated features about the system. One is that the system will allow the user to target different set points, glucose set points. There's also a great feature called HypoProtect, and this is a mode that the system can run in with the touch of a button. You can turn on HypoProtect, and the system is designed to reduce the risk of hypoglycemia during times where you might be at higher risk, like for example exercise. So a really thoughtfully designed system. Hundreds, if not thousands, of patients were involved in the design of the system. It's been under development at Insulet for about six years now, and obviously in strong partnership with Kevin and his team at Dexcom. They've been wonderful partners for us, and we know that there are many users like...

Right, so you can imagine, you put on your pod, you put on your Dexcom, and you go into automated mode where you're in closed loop control. The controller... you know, what you're controlling the system with to announce a meal, but otherwise the system is really designed to stay in closed loop control for the user. And we know with previous automated insulin delivery systems, oftentimes it was a challenge because if you disconnect your system to take a shower or do something, you're then no longer in closed loop control and you're not getting optimal results. And so the system was designed really to be incredibly simple to use and to help the user stay in closed loop for as long and as frequently and for the longest duration as possible. So we're really excited about providing users with a very simple user experience, but one that you... experience. And as I mentioned, when we think about designing these technologies, our goal really is to reduce burden. And so that is the mindset with which we went into designing Omnipod 5. And I believe that the system is going to provide just a tremendous user experience for our users. So it's currently under review at the FDA today. We are expecting clearance and limited market release sometime late this year in the United States, and we are certainly committed to bringing the technology to our European users as well, and that will follow our FDA clearance.

Yeah, Camille, it's a great question and I think just points to the challenges of innovating technologies like these. You know, the team worked very hard to optimize antennas and Bluetooth communication to provide a great user experience. Feedback from people who have been in the clinical trials has been very positive, so we feel optimistic that we're going to deliver a great experience including connectivity.

So the physicality of Omnipod 5, if someone was wearing Omnipod 5... that everybody loves. Same pod, it's just the technology that's being basically that becomes more sophisticated within that footprint. But we're maintaining the footprint and the size of the pod and just packing it with a lot of really exciting technology that we hope will deliver a wonderful user experience.

Well, you're exactly right, it is the fifth generation of Omnipod. And I think, you know, because we don't have that typical naming convention, people sometimes are not aware of how much innovation has happened in the pipeline and the fact that there have been five... and also to signal that there are more to come. There's going to be an Omnipod 6, 7, and Omnipod 8. We are really committed to continuing to invest in innovation and bring simplicity, reduced burden, and improved outcomes to our users. And to that point, we are investing significantly. Last year we doubled our product development headcount. We continue to build capabilities technically across all sorts of areas: data, software, miniaturization, artificial intelligence, to be able to continue to bring life-changing innovations to people with diabetes, which is our mission, our goal.

That's right, exactly right.

Mode, in fact it was designed to be able to move very quickly and very easily between automated mode and not automated mode. So you could technically use the system without sensor integration in an automated mode and still benefit from smartphone control.

Well, you know, I don't usually think about the next decade because so much can change, it's hard to know. But when I think about the next few years, I think there's a tremendous opportunity for continued innovation for people with diabetes. And we see the opportunity to just continue to drive more and more simplicity. And we will do that through integration with consumer technology. We... able to put on a pod, put on their sensor of choice, and be off to the races successfully managing their diabetes, maybe with just one parameter entered. You know, maybe you just enter your weight and we can go from there. We want to do as much of the math, the tech, the calculations, the burden, the work that you, my father, and others are doing every day. We want to take that work away and make the technology do that work and make your life able to be focused on everything that you love and less focused on managing and navigating your diabetes. So that's our goal. And we see the opportunity for multiple iterations on Omnipod 5 to drive more and more and more simplicity and less... has happened here. I'm sure you, in Italy, Italian Fashion Week... I can't imagine what happened to your phone that afternoon. What has that been like seeing Omnipod on the runway for Versace's fashion week in Italy?

You know, it's just incredible. I have a friend, and a friend and I have this argument because she described Omnipod as a lifestyle product, and I said Omnipod is not a lifestyle product. And she sent me the photo of Lila Moss wearing Omnipod on the runway, and she said this is absolutely a lifestyle product. You know, I just think it's wonderful to see a young woman normalize wearing her diabetes technology... with diabetes can look like. So it was just an incredible thing to see it in that forum. And you know, we personally tracked the number of views and media interactions as a result of that, and we're talking about tens of millions of people who saw her wearing her Omnipod on the runway. And great, obviously great press for Omnipod, but more importantly, just an incredible message to young people with diabetes, and living very successfully and living out loud with your diabetes and your technology. I just thought it was terrific.

It was an absolute pleasure, Camille. I'll leave you with our excitement around the future pipeline and our commitment to continue to... background and make a big impact on your life and the life of so many other people living with diabetes.

Yeah, it was a pleasure. Thank you, Camille.