Insulet (NSDQ:PODD) president & CEO Duane DeSisto is looking for a few good reps, planning to add 20 members to the company’s sales force by the end of the 1st quarter.
The reps come at a time when the pediatric patient base for Insulet’s tubeless OmniPod insulin pump is growing by leaps and bounds. Insulet’s under-10 patient population grew by 100% in 2013 and the under-18 population grew 60%, DeSisto told an audience at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare conference this week.
DeSisto characterized the pediatric population as one that’s especially interested in the OmniPod system, the only device of its kind on the U.S. market with no plastic tubing that can catch on the environment. He described the OmniPod as the "iPhone of diabetes," representing a slicker appearance and tubeless design.
"It’s unfortunate that it’s just a young group of people, but that disease is out there," DeSisto said. "If you’re a kid and you’ve been on this product, you are never going on a tube pump. If we don’t do a good jobs you may go back to shots, but you are never going on a tube pump."
Pediatric diabetics are Insulet’s fastest-growing user base, he added.
Insulet hasn’t released any financial results, but DeSisto noted that he expects to report figures in line with its updated guidance. The company had narrowed its sales forecast for the rest of the year to $244 to $250 million, from prior guidance of $242 million to $252 million. Fourth-quarter sales are expected to be between $65 million and $71 million.
PODD shares slid modestly by the close of market yesterday, closing at $36.53, a 0.8% drop on the day. Shares have lost 1.5% since the start of the year.
