USA – Tandem Diabetes Care expects its global customer base to triple to one million by 2027 as the insulin pump manufacturer launches a slew of new products, and user growth among Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes patients is expected to skyrocket over the next five years.

During a recent virtual R&D event, CFO Leigh Vosseller stated that the company’s customer target will primarily come from capturing market share among Type 1 users as adoption by that specific population continues to grow.

Tandem executives also stated that a number of new product launches and a greater focus on Type 2 patients will help fuel the company’s growth projections.

According to Craig-Hallum analysts in a Tuesday note, reaching 1 million installed units implies roughly US$1.5 billion in sales by 2027, up from the company’s projected US$700 million in sales for 2021.

Despite the expected growth in insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors, SVB Leerink analysts were more skeptical of Tandem’s growth plans, giving rival Insulet a competitive advantage as the diabetes tech market matures.

Diabetes technology has grown rapidly in recent years, as patients continue to adopt wearable medical devices and rely more on digital health monitoring or treatment.

Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) and insulin pump manufacturers have driven user and revenue growth over the last two years, while other medtechs have been hard hit by the pandemic.

Tandem’s sales through the third quarter totaled US$492.8 million, representing a 50 percent increase over the first nine months of 2020.

In November, the company revised its year-end guidance and now anticipates sales of US$685 million to US$695 million, representing nearly 40% year-over-year growth.

Insulin pumps use to increase

The use of insulin pumps is only expected to increase in the future. Tandem’s chief strategy officer, Elizabeth Gasser, has stated that the company expects global pump adoption among Type 1 diabetes patients to increase by 1 million users over the next five years, with penetration in the U.S. and international markets reaching about 65 percent and 20 percent, respectively, by 2027.

While diabetes tech users are expected to grow steadily, competition in the space is heating up, particularly among insulin pump players.

Smaller companies, such as Tandem or Insulet, compete with larger companies, such as Medtronic, which has less market specificity but much more capital and resources.

Insulet is expected to grow in popularity over the next few years as more patients switch to pumps and automated insulin delivery (AID) systems, which automatically coordinate with CGMs to deliver insulin to patients.

Tandem and Medtronic were first to market with pumps that can be used in AID systems, ahead of Insulet.

However, Insulet’s upcoming Omnipod 5 pump with AID system capability has been touted all year as a device that will lead the market and even increase overall pump adoption.

Meanwhile, Tandem Diabetes Care has ambitious plans for the coming years, including the release of the next version of its tubed t:slim insulin pump, a series of three smaller devices to reduce and eventually eliminate tubes completely, and features that allow users to fully control their insulin pump and even deliver bolus insulin using their smartphones.

All of this was revealed at the company’s first-ever R&D Day on December 6, 2021, outlining its 5-year pipeline plan for new technology.

While medtech timelines frequently slip due to corporate priorities and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review process, Tandem expects to be able to develop and launch the majority — if not all — of these new products on a rolling basis between 2022 and 2027.

“As a diabetes care company, we realize there is not a one-size-fits-all solution to managing this complex condition,” Tandem CEO John Sheridan said. “‘Positively different’ is a sum total of our brand… As we look to the future of our hardware strategy, we are moving away from offering a single platform and will be emphasizing choice.”

When these new devices and mobile data options are released, they will most likely be compatible with Tandem’s existing products, including its Basal-IQ and Control-IQ algorithms, and will continue to integrate with the most recent Dexcom continuous glucose monitor system.

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