Abbott CEO Robert Ford touted the continuous glucose monitoring space as having “mass market potential” as users continue to be drawn to new diabetes technology.
On a Wednesday earnings call, Ford outlined a global CGM market with about 10 million current users but ample room for growth. The CEO noted there are about 100 million people with diabetes in the developed world and about 500 million globally.
“This is a market that's got mass market potential to it — as long as you stay ahead from a technology perspective, as long as you stay ahead from a scale perspective, as long as you stay ahead from a cost perspective,” Ford said.
Ford made the comment as Abbott looks to expand its already solid diabetes business by reaching new users with one of the first over-the-counter CGMs, called Lingo. Ford did not give specific sales numbers for Lingo in the U.S. but said the launch was going well, and initial reorder rates were “much higher” than in the U.K., where Abbott unveiled the product ahead of the U.S.
“Just as a reminder, we're really focusing here on a very different population with this technology,” Ford said. “We're targeting people that don't have diabetes. So it's a little bit of a different … business model, sell model. But so far, we’ve seen really, really good early interest.”
The CEO did not give a timeline for the launch of Libre Rio, the company’s second OTC glucose sensor, when questioned by an analyst. He called the sensor another arrow in the quiver that Abbott could pull out ahead of schedule if needed. However, Ford stressed that the focus is on Lingo’s launch.
Abbott also has its standard CGM product for people with diabetes, called Libre. The company hasn’t fully unleashed Libre 3 yet, according to Ford. The firm is building out manufacturing capabilities after experiencing shortages of the new device in the U.S. due to strong demand.
Ford said Abbott has invested in a new manufacturing line and has a new manufacturing facility, adding that as the company goes “into next year, that'll all be … behind us.”
Overall, Abbott’s diabetes business reported another quarter of solid growth in the third quarter: Revenue totaled $1.73 billion, an increase of roughly 17% year over year. For CGMs specifically, Ford said the devices brought in more than $1.6 billion in sales, growing 21% year over year.
The market’s potential — and current growth rate — is likely to attract even more competition going forward.
“When you've got a market that's … [$12 billion to $13 billion,] growing 15%, there'll be more players, for sure,” the CEO said. “But we feel good about our position and strategy that we built.”
