Founder, President, Chief Executive Officer & Chairman, ZYNEX INC
Zynex Inc. CEO Highlights growth and Innovation in Pain Management and Hospital Monitoring
Zynex Inc CEO Thomas Sandgaard joined Steve Darling from Proactive to detail the impressive growth and cutting-edge ...
About Thomas Sandgaard
Thomas Sandgaard, founder and CEO of Zynex, has been discussing the company's growth and product development in multiple media appearances. He stated that Zynex expects to reach $200 million in revenue in 2024, up from $13 million in 2016, and projected long-term revenue of $800 million in the pain management division. Sandgaard described the company's flagship NextWave device and noted that the sales force has grown to nearly 500 representatives, with plans to add 300 more. He also announced FDA clearance for a new TensWave device, which he said is intended for patients who cannot use the NextWave or when insurance prefers a TENS device. Sandgaard has also highlighted the company's hospital monitoring division, which he said has four products in development. He described a laser-based pulse oximetry device as a potential "game changer" that could more accurately measure oxygen, carbon monoxide, and methemoglobin levels, and could help detect sepsis. Sandgaard noted that the monitoring division has not yet generated revenue but that one product is nearing FDA submission. He also mentioned that Zynex has helped over one million patients with pain management and emphasized the company's focus on non-addictive alternatives to opioids.
Transcript (18 segments)
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Host0:02
Welcome back inside our proactive newsroom. And joining me now is Thomas Sandgaard. He is the CEO of Zynex. And Thomas, it's great to see you. How are you?
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Thomas Sandgaard0:10
Good morning, Steve. How are you doing?
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Host0:12
I'm doing very well, thank you. Excited to learn a bit more about the company and what you're up to. Tell me a little bit about Zynex.
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Thomas Sandgaard0:19
It's Zynex as a medical device company, and we make devices for two sectors. Pain management. We also make devices for hospital monitoring. The company is 28 years old. I founded it in a one bedroom 28 years ago. And this year, we'll see 200 million in revenue. Just 7 or 8 years ago, we only had 11 million in revenue. So we've been growing fast. And we continue to grow at a double digit percentage. And we pay very close attention to always being profitable and having a positive cash flow along the way. We've been very successful in doing so, so much that we've been able to buy back stock $80 million year over the past few years and invest tens of millions of dollars in our hospital monitoring patients so far.
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Host1:11
Let's talk about those two divisions. Let's begin with the hospital monitoring. Tell me a little bit about that particular division and really the successes that you're seeing.
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Thomas Sandgaard1:20
In hospital monitoring, we have four game changing products on the way. There's no revenue in that division yet, even though one in particular is very close, so we can launch it here. We expect to file the application with the FDA here late later this year in the fourth quarter and hopefully get clearance in the beginning. It's a product that I call it a much better mousetrap in the biggest medical device market in the world, which is pulse oximetry. We have a product that will be trying to gain as much market share as possible. Not only are we able to more accurately detect oxygen levels in the blood the same way it's done today with a finger clip, but we will also be able to accurately detect carbon monoxide levels, reduced hemoglobin and myoglobin. And I think these days it resonates a lot with people that we are able to accurately measure oxygen levels when someone has dark skin pigmentation. That's a significant flaw with the devices on the market today. Other than that, we have three other products on the way: a noninvasive blood volume monitor, early detection of sepsis, and also a monitoring device that can detect total hemoglobin levels, so you don't need to take that blood sample and wait a long time to get the results; you get that instantly without taking any blood. So those are the products on the way in the monitoring division.
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Host3:08
You look at the other side, and that's the pain side of things. This affects millions upon millions of people around the world suffering with pain. You've come up with some pretty interesting products to help with that.
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Thomas Sandgaard3:22
Yes. I'm proud to say that we have the best in class devices in that division too, and we've helped more than a million patients so far. Something that's very important considering the opioid crisis. And we continue to grow. Not only do we have great products, but we also have a strong fundamental sales force that can get out into every corner of the country to get prescriptions from physicians that see patients in pain. All insurances generally cover our devices. And we expect long term revenues to eventually hit or exceed 800 million. And this is all powered by NextWave.
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Host4:04
Tell me a little bit about these products. They really go down and pinpoint the pain relief.
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Thomas Sandgaard4:12
That's right. The NextWave devices are not only part of what I consider our flagship, but it's also the product we currently generate the most revenue on. It's a very easy sell to physicians. It's a device that primarily utilizes current by electrotherapy, typically around the area of pain. It's very often prescribed by an orthopedic surgeon after surgery: a knee surgery, hip, shoulder, ankle. There are so many applications where it helps relieve pain so you take less medication or none, increase blood circulation, heal much faster, and have much better outcomes, faster recovery, and happier patients and physicians who continue to prescribe it because of the results. We have a number of other products too: cervical traction, braces, cold therapy, compression, and other electrotherapy devices.
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Host5:35
I would imagine that R&D is a big part of what you do at Zynex. Is that accurate?
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Thomas Sandgaard5:42
It certainly is in the monitoring division. We do have R&D efforts ongoing in the pain management division, but on another level it's more maintenance. Occasionally we come out with a new iteration of a product. For example, a product derived from the NextWave to TENSWave, which just received FDA clearance. That's basically broadening the offering we have in pain management.
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Host6:11
You mentioned you started the company 28 years ago from one room, and now you've been recognized as one of the top workplaces in the US. That must be exciting from humble beginnings.
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Thomas Sandgaard6:30
Yes. The first many years, I think the first four years, there was only one person working at the company: that was me, traveling all over the country, also doing customer service and the first beginnings of developing the first products, dealing with the FDA. Basically doing everything. And then to now having 1,200 people. As you mentioned, we have a great culture here. We have people that are very happy about working, not just because of the purpose of helping patients in pain, but also the culture we have around here. As I normally say, culture is not something you develop by sending out motivational emails or putting posters on the wall. Culture is the people that walk in the door every morning. People don't change, so it's all about hiring the right people. I think we've been very successful doing that and building a great company with great people.
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Host7:30
Lastly, Thomas, 28 years ago you had a vision of where the company would go. Looking today and forward, what's your vision? Has it changed or is it still what you thought it would be?
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Thomas Sandgaard7:46
That's a good question. I think it's pretty much the same. Things never happen in a straight line, and obviously we've had ups and downs and very difficult times. But if you look at it in the big picture, it actually turned out a little better than what I thought it would be 28 years ago. And we have a long runway. As I mentioned, two years out we should hit 800 million in revenue in the pain management division, and there's huge potential in the monitoring division.
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Host8:22,
Absolutely. Thomas, thank you so much. Good to get caught up on where you're at. Congratulations on your success.
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Thomas Sandgaard8:29,
Thank you. Great day.