Item 1. Business
Item 1. Business.
Overview
We are a medical technology company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative, minimally invasive solutions for patients with obstructive sleep apnea ("OSA"). Our proprietary Inspire system is the first and only FDA-approved neurostimulation technology that provides a safe and effective treatment for moderate to severe OSA. We have developed a novel, closed-loop solution that continuously monitors a patient’s breathing and delivers mild hypoglossal nerve stimulation to maintain an open airway. A significant body of clinical data, which includes a publication in the New England Journal of Medicine , multiple publications in leading respiratory, ear, nose and throat ("ENT") and sleep medicine journals, and more than 240 peer-reviewed publications, supports the safety and efficacy of Inspire therapy. Inspire therapy received premarket approval ("PMA") from the FDA in 2014 and has been commercially available in certain European markets since 2011. Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare ("MLHW") approved Inspire therapy to treat moderate to severe OSA in 2018. Inspire therapy is indicated for patients with moderate to severe OSA who do not have significant central sleep apnea and do not have a complete concentric collapse of the airway at the soft palate level. In addition, patients in the United States ("U.S."), Japan, and Singapore must have been confirmed to fail or be unable to tolerate positive airway pressure ("PAP") treatments, such as continuous positive airway pressure ("CPAP"), and be 18 years of age or older, though there are no similar requirements for patients in Europe. Physicians have treated more than 36,000 patients with Inspire therapy at over 1,000 medical centers across the U.S., Europe, and Asia.
Sleep apnea is a serious and chronic disease that negatively impacts a patient’s sleep, health, and quality of life. OSA is the most common form of sleep apnea. OSA occurs when a person’s breathing is interrupted during sleep by a partially or completely blocked airway and affects patients of all ages, sexes, and body types. The severity of OSA is measured by the number of partial or complete airway blockages that a patient experiences in an hour, referred to as the apnea-hypopnea index ("AHI"). Moderate OSA patients have an AHI of 15 to 30 events per hour, while severe OSA patients have an AHI of 30 more events per hour. Left untreated, OSA increases the risk of high blood pressure, hypertension, heart failure, stroke, coronary artery disease, and other life-threatening diseases.
CPAP is the leading therapy for patients with moderate to severe OSA. CPAP is delivered through a face or nasal mask that connects through a hose to a bedside air pump. In order for CPAP to be most effective, the mask must form an airtight seal on the patient’s face or nose and the mask must be worn every night. The effectiveness of CPAP has been limited by low patient compliance as many patients find the mask or treatment cumbersome, uncomfortable, and loud. When CPAP fails or cannot be tolerated, patients’ remaining treatment options consist primarily of invasive surgical procedures developed to modify or remove existing tissue in an attempt to create free air flow. These invasive surgical procedures have limited or unpredictable clinical benefit, are irreversible, and can be extremely painful.
We believe that there is both an urgent clinical need and a strong market opportunity for an alternative to CPAP that is effective and minimally invasive. Patients with CPAP intolerance are at risk of higher mortality and healthcare utilization. Two recent findings published in 2022 from large healthcare outcome databases, including Medicare and the French national healthcare insurance database, have demonstrated, in a large national cohort, the risks and costs of CPAP intolerance. Specifically, Medicare patients with untreated OSA had $20,000 in higher healthcare costs prior to their OSA diagnosis compared to those without OSA, and those with CPAP intolerance had higher risks of new cardiovascular events than those who were adherent. Similarly, the French national reimbursement database showed that in over 176,000 patients, CPAP non-adherent patients had a higher risk for mortality and new onset of heart failure than those who were adherent. These findings show the urgency of treating CPAP-intolerant OSA to improve outcomes and reduce healthcare utilization.
Inspire therapy is an innovative, closed-loop, minimally invasive solution that provides comfort and convenience, resulting in high compliance for patients with moderate to severe OSA. Once implanted, the Inspire system delivers electrical stimulation that causes a slight forward movement of the back of the tongue, which helps to
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maintain an open airway, enabling the patient to inhale freely without interruption. We believe our Inspire therapy provides the following benefits:
• Safe, effective, and durable treatment supported by compelling clinical data, including long-term efficacy results out to five years from initial treatment.
• Closed-loop system that uses a proprietary algorithm to continuously monitor patients’ breathing and provide electrical stimulation during the inspiratory phase.
• Comfortable and convenient therapy resulting in high patient satisfaction that was reported to be 90% in patients who were followed an average of 12 months from initial treatment, according to the most recent publication of our ongoing global patient registry.
• Strong patient compliance , with 80% of patients reporting continued nightly use through five years from initial treatment in our Stimulation Therapy for Apnea Reduction ("STAR") trial.
• Minimally invasive outpatient procedure with short recovery time.
• Long-lasting solution with a battery designed to last approximately 11 years without charging or maintenance.
The results from multiple clinical studies, which include seven sponsored and more than 90 independent clinical studies that evaluated several thousand patients, have shown that our Inspire therapy provides statistically significant and sustained reduction in the severity of patients’ OSA, improvement in sleep-related quality of life and reduction in snoring, as well as high patient compliance rates and a strong safety profile.
Our pivotal STAR trial was designed to demonstrate longitudinal therapy efficacy and included a randomized controlled therapy withdrawal study. The longitudinal study demonstrated an approximately 70% reduction in the median AHI in patients with moderate to severe OSA from a baseline of 29.3 events per hour to 9.0 events per hour at 12 months following initial treatment. STAR trial follow-up has shown results similar to the initial data at 18 months, three years, and five years. At five years, median AHI in patients with moderate to severe OSA remained low at 6.2 events per hour. The effectiveness of Inspire therapy was further demonstrated by the results of the randomized controlled therapy withdrawal study, in which patients in the therapy withdrawal group regressed to near-baseline AHI levels while patients in the control group that continued therapy experienced sustained therapeutic benefits.
We sell our Inspire system to hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers ("ASCs") in the U.S. and in select countries in Europe through a direct sales organization, and we sell our Inspire system in Japan and Singapore through distributors. As of December 31, 2022, we had 225 sales territories in the U.S. and 12 in Europe. Our direct sales force engages in sales efforts and promotional activities focused on ENT physicians, and sleep centers. In addition, we highlight our compelling clinical data and value proposition to increase awareness and adoption amongst referring physicians. We build upon this top-down approach with strong direct-to-consumer marketing initiatives to create awareness of the benefits of our Inspire system and drive demand through patient empowerment. This outreach helps to educate thousands of patients on our Inspire therapy.
Our U.S. customers are generally reimbursed for the cost of patient treatment by various third-party payors, such as commercial insurance providers and Medicare. We have secured positive coverage policies with many U.S. commercial payors, including virtually all large national commercial insurers, encompassing approximately 260 million covered lives in the U.S. We are in active discussions with regional commercial insurers to establish additional positive coverage policies, as well as modify existing positive coverage policies to support reimbursement of Inspire therapy. In parallel, a subset of our 25-person reimbursement team, which we refer to as our market access team, is focused on assisting patients and physicians in obtaining prior authorization approvals from commercial payors on a case-by-case basis in advance of treatment with our Inspire therapy. In addition, all seven Medicare Administrative Contractors ("MACs") provide coverage of Inspire therapy when certain coverage criteria are met. We also have a U.S. government contract for patients who are treated by the Veterans Health Administration.
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Reimbursement in other countries can often be established through a combination of private (commercial insurance) and public funding sources, or at the hospital level through innovation budgets.
We generated revenue of $407.9 million, with a gross margin of 83.8% and a net loss of $44.9 million, for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, compared to revenue of $233.4 million, with a gross margin of 85.7% and a net loss of $42.0 million, for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, and revenue of $115.4 million, with a gross margin of 84.7% and a net loss of $57.2 million, for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020. Our accumulated deficit as of December 31, 2022 was $324.3 million.
Our Competitive Strengths
We believe the continued growth of our company will be driven by the following competitive strengths:
• First to market with an innovative, closed-loop, minimally invasive solution. We have developed the first and only FDA-approved neurostimulation technology that provides a safe and effective treatment for patients with moderate to severe OSA who have been confirmed to fail or cannot tolerate PAP treatments, such as CPAP. We received a PMA from the FDA in 2014 for our Inspire therapy. Unlike CPAP, which is limited by low patient compliance primarily due to patient discomfort with the mask or device, our innovative, closed-loop, minimally invasive solution is designed to provide comfort and convenience, resulting in high compliance for patients with moderate to severe OSA. We believe we have a significant first mover advantage and momentum over future competitors, as physicians have treated more than 36,000 patients with Inspire therapy.
• Significant body of strong clinical data. We have developed a significant body of clinical data that demonstrates the safety and effectiveness, therapy adherence, and long-term sustained benefits of our Inspire therapy. The benefits of treatment with Inspire therapy have been consistent across seven sponsored and more than 90 independent clinical studies that evaluated several thousand patients and have been highlighted in more than 240 peer-reviewed publications. Data reported in these clinical studies also demonstrated a high level of overall patient satisfaction. We believe this favorable data provides us with a significant competitive advantage and will continue to support increased adoption of our Inspire therapy.
• Holistic and targeted approach to market development and patient engagement. We have established a methodical approach to market development which centers on active engagement across three key stakeholders in the OSA treatment paradigm: physicians, sleep centers, and patients. Our sales force is focused on building long-lasting relationships with ENT physicians and sleep centers as we support physicians through all aspects of a case-from diagnosis to surgical support to patient follow-up. In addition, we are highlighting our compelling clinical data set and value proposition to increase awareness and adoption amongst referring physicians. We build upon this top-down approach with a strong direct-to-consumer marketing initiative that further drives demand through patient empowerment. This outreach helps to educate thousands of patients on our Inspire therapy. Our patient call center, the Advisor Care Program, assists patients with making a connection with a qualified healthcare provider based on their specific needs. We are confident that this holistic approach to engagement across multiple constituents will continue to drive increased awareness of and demand for our Inspire therapy.
• Dedicated team focused on providing market access for patients and providers. We have a refined, efficient approach to advance patients, once identified, to placement of the Inspire system. When required, our dedicated market access team helps patients and providers work with payors to secure prior authorization approvals in advance of initial treatment. In addition, this team proactively works with payors to establish positive coverage policies when needed by highlighting the compelling clinical data and the value of our Inspire therapy. This highly effective team has been successful in helping to secure reimbursement from hundreds of commercial payors to date, and positive coverage policies from most U.S. commercial payors, including virtually all large national payors.
• Strong research and development capabilities and comprehensive intellectual property portfolio. Our commitment to driving innovation has allowed us to achieve continuous, significant improvements of
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our Inspire therapy. For example, in 2022, we received FDA approval for additional magnetic resonance imaging ("MRI") scan conditions for use with Inspire therapy. This full-body MRI approval expanded the Inspire use labeling that previously allowed only head, neck, and extremity MRI scans. Also in 2022, the FDA approved new silicone-based stimulation and sensing leads, which provides improved manufacturability, easier system implantation, increased long-term performance, and enhanced reliability. In 2021, we received FDA approvals for our Bluetooth-enabled patient remote control, a new Inspire physician programmer platform, and an improved two-incision surgical implant procedure that eliminates one incision with a revised placement of the pressure sensing lead. We received European Conformity Marking ("CE mark") in Europe for the two-incision implant procedure in 2021. We have a comprehensive patent portfolio to protect our intellectual property and technology, with rights as of December 31, 2022 to 66 issued U.S. patents, 43 issued foreign patents, 80 pending U.S. patent applications, and 73 pending foreign patent applications that cover aspects of our Inspire system and future product concepts.
Our Strategy
Our goal is to be a global leader in providing clinically proven innovative solutions that improve sleep, quality of life, and health of patients with moderate to severe OSA. We believe the following strategies will play a critical role in achieving this goal and our future growth:
• Foster strong and consistent patient outcomes. Patient outcomes remain the single most important focus for Inspire as we scale our business, and we have a dedicated patient outcomes team furthering this mission. Our Surgical Implant Trainers are tasked with conducting physician trainings and proctoring implants. Care Pathway Specialists develop and promote consistent post-implant care protocols. Our team of Sleep Support Specialists educate and oversee local sleep lab titrations. These teams are critical to ensuring that outcomes continue to improve even as implant volumes increase around the world.
• Promote awareness among patients, ENT physicians, sleep centers, and referring physicians. We believe that many patients who have failed or cannot tolerate CPAP are unaware of our Inspire therapy as a safe and effective alternative treatment for moderate to severe OSA. We intend to continue to promote awareness of our therapy through training and educating ENT physicians, sleep centers, key opinion leaders, and various medical societies on the proven clinical benefits of Inspire therapy. In addition, we intend to continue to publish additional clinical data in various industry and scientific journals and online, and to present at various industry conferences. We also plan to continue building patient awareness through our direct-to-consumer marketing initiatives, which include paid online search, radio, social media, television, and online videos.
• Expand our sales and marketing organization to facilitate adoption of our Inspire therapy. We plan to expand our sales and marketing organization and seek to recruit and train exceptionally talented sales representatives in existing and new markets in the U.S. and in Europe to help facilitate further adoption and broaden awareness of our Inspire therapy. Our success to date in developing new markets has been primarily due to our ability to identify new regions with high volume medical centers, educate ENT and sleep physicians, help generate steady patient demand, and provide sufficient support staff to our sales representatives. We believe investing in a scalable, efficient direct sales force and continuing the development of our marketing efforts will help us broaden adoption of our Inspire therapy and drive revenue growth.
• Invest in research and development to drive innovation and expand indications. Our foundational commitment to driving innovation and improving patient lives fuels our desire for continuous product development. We intend to invest in existing and next generation technologies to further improve our products and clinical outcomes, optimize patient acceptance and comfort, and broaden the patient population that can benefit from our Inspire therapy. Recent examples of our product innovation include the next generation of the Inspire neurostimulator, which is in development, and an active project to improve the physician programmer. We have launched a cloud-based patient management system called SleepSync™ (formerly referred to as Inspire Cloud), which allows physicians to monitor patient compliance and more efficiently coordinate patient care, and in 2020, we launched the Inspire Sleep app
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for patients' smartphones. In 2021, the FDA approved our new patient remote control which is Bluetooth® enabled. An example of our efforts to expand our label indications for the Inspire system include an application to seek FDA authorization to provide therapy to the pediatric population with Down’s Syndrome, which we submitted in August 2022. Additionally, in July 2022, the Inspire system received Breakthrough Device Designation from the FDA for application to increase the upper limit of AHI to up to 100 events per hour from the original 65 events per hour, and to raise the Body Mass Index ("BMI") warning for patients with a BMI of up to 40 from the previous limit of 32.
• Further penetrate and expand into existing and new international markets. We plan to establish and strengthen our presence internationally. Our goal is to further increase sales of our Inspire therapy in existing international markets in Europe, including Germany and the Netherlands, and in the Asia Pacific region, including Japan and Singapore. We plan to expand our reach to markets in new regions, such as Australia, Hong Kong, South Korea, and China. We plan to strategically invest in new markets based on our assessment of market size and opportunity and prospects for compelling reimbursement coding and coverage.
Our Solution for OSA
Overview of Inspire Therapy
Our proprietary Inspire system is the first and only FDA-approved closed-loop neurostimulation technology that provides a safe and effective treatment for moderate to severe OSA. Our Inspire system consists of a remote control and three implantable components:
• a pressure sensing lead, which detects when the patient is attempting to breathe;
• a neurostimulator, which houses the electronics and battery power for the device; and
• a stimulation lead, which delivers electrical stimulation to the hypoglossal nerve.
The image below depicts the location of the Inspire system under the patient’s skin:
A pressure sensing lead is used to monitor the patient’s breathing. Our proprietary algorithm tracks breathing patterns and the neurostimulator delivers electrical stimulation at the start of inspiration. This electrical stimulation of the hypoglossal nerve causes a slight forward movement of the back of the tongue that helps maintain an open airway, thereby preventing obstructive events and enabling the patient to inhale freely.
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To receive the Inspire system, patients undergo a short outpatient surgical procedure, typically lasting about 90 minutes, during which the neurostimulator, sensing lead, and stimulation lead are implanted. The procedure is minimally invasive and performed with two small incisions. Patients typically recover quickly and are able to resume normal activities in just a few days. Initial activation of the system occurs 30 days after the implantation. After the initial activation, the patient is instructed to use the therapy each night by turning on their Inspire system before going to sleep using their remote control.
The following pictures depict the Inspire neurostimulator, shown with a quarter for scale, and the patient remote control, shown in hand for scale.
Patients turn their Inspire system on when they plan to go to sleep and turn it off when they awaken. The device has a programmed delay, typically 30 minutes, to allow patients to fall asleep naturally before the device activates. It then monitors the patient’s breathing and delivers mild stimulation to the hypoglossal nerve at the start of the inspiratory phase, causing a slight forward movement at the back of the tongue to maintain an open airway during the inspiratory phase of respiration. The therapy is designed to provide stimulation for each breath to prevent obstructive events.
The following pictures depict the anatomy of a patient experiencing an OSA event. The patient’s soft palate and the base of the patient’s tongue are obstructing the patient’s airway and limiting airflow to the lungs.
Obstructed Airway
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The following pictures depict the anatomy of the patient after mild stimulation of the hypoglossal nerve, which caused the patient's tongue to move forward slightly, opening the patient's airway and restoring airflow to the lungs.
Open Airway
The effectiveness of Inspire therapy to relieve OSA is objectively measured during a sleep study or polysomnogram. A sleep study records a patient’s breathing, airflow, and blood oxygen levels before and after activating the device. Before activation, the patient experiences multiple periods of interrupted breathing, and oxygen levels repeatedly drop before the patient experiences a transient arousal that allows air intake. The polysomnogram below shows that after activating Inspire therapy, the patient exhibited a more regular breathing pattern, higher and more consistent blood oxygen levels, and fewer or no transient arousals.
Polysomnogram Before and After Activation of Inspire System
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Benefits of Inspire Therapy
We believe our Inspire therapy overcomes many of the limitations of CPAP and other current treatments of moderate to severe OSA by providing the following key benefits:
• Safe, effective, and durable treatment. Results from our clinical studies provide compelling safety and efficacy data regarding the clinical benefits of Inspire therapy as many as five years after initial treatment. The results from our STAR trial, a five-year follow-up phase III pivotal trial, demonstrated an approximately 70% reduction in the median AHI from a baseline of 29.3 events per hour to 9.0 events per hour at 12 months following initial treatment. STAR trial follow-up has shown similar results to the initial data at 18 months, three years, and five years. At five years, median AHI remained low at 6.2 events per hour.
• Closed-loop system. The Inspire system uses a proprietary algorithm to continuously monitor a patient’s breathing and provide electrical stimulation during the inspiratory phase, working with the body’s natural actions to keep the airway open during the breathing cycle.
• Comfortable and convenient therapy resulting in high patient satisfaction. Data reported in the most recent publication of our ongoing ADHERE patient registry, which we established to follow patients who have been implanted with an Inspire system, demonstrated that patients used Inspire therapy an average of 5.7 hours per night an average of 12 months after initial treatment, with overall patient satisfaction reported to be at 90%.
• Strong patient compliance. Results from our STAR trial demonstrated that 80% of patients continue to use Inspire therapy on a nightly basis five years after initial treatment.
• Similar outcomes and usage as CPAP. Several independent clinical studies demonstrating Inspire therapy has similar improvements in symptoms, and similar nightly usage as CPAP.
• Minimally invasive outpatient procedure. The Inspire system’s implantable components are placed during an approximately 90-minute outpatient procedure. The procedure is minimally invasive and performed with two small incisions. Patients typically recover quickly and are able to resume normal activities within a few days.
• Long-lasting solution. Our Inspire system uses a battery designed to last approximately 11 years without charging or maintenance.
Commercialization of Inspire Therapy
In the U.S., before we can market a new medical device, or a new use of, new claim for or significant modification to an existing product, we must first receive FDA clearance or approval. We obtained PMA for our Inspire system in 2014. Additionally, we received a certificate of conformity for commercialization of our Inspire system in Europe in 2010 which allowed us to affix the CE mark on our device. Japan's MLHW approved Inspire therapy to treat moderate to severe OSA in 2018 and was formally added to the Japan National Health Insurance Payment Listing in 2021. Reimbursement in Singapore is handled through hospital innovation budgets or private health insurance sources . In 2020, the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration approved Inspire therapy to treat moderate to severe OSA, and we are currently seeking reimbursement coverage in Australia.
To commercialize our Inspire system, both in the U.S. and Europe, we focus on physician and patient awareness and adoption of our Inspire therapy. To achieve this, our commercialization strategy primarily consists of our direct sales force engaging in sales efforts and promotional activities focused on ENT physicians and sleep centers and highlighting our compelling clinical data and value proposition. Our direct sales force utilizes strong direct-to-consumer marketing initiatives to create awareness of the benefits of our Inspire system. We intend to make significant investments building our sales and marketing organization by increasing the number of U.S. sales representatives and continuing our direct-to-consumer marketing efforts in existing and new markets throughout the U.S. and Europe.
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In Japan and Singapore, our commercialization approach is through exclusive distribution partners, who are responsible for local sales and promotional activities focused on ENT physicians, sleep centers, and community awareness. We work closely with the distributors to ensure a globally consistent approach and effective employee and customer training are in place.
In addition, a significant part of our commercialization effort consists of supporting our customers through the reimbursement process. Most commercial U.S. insurers now cover Inspire therapy. For those payors that do not have a positive policy, Inspire provides robust prior authorization support to our customers. Medicare also has positive coverage for all states, and we have a U.S. government contract for patients who are treated by the Veterans Health Administration.
Treatment with Inspire Therapy
Patient Selection
Inspire therapy is indicated for patients with moderate to severe OSA (AHI of 15 to 65) who do not have significant central sleep apnea and do not have a complete concentric collapse of the airway at the soft palate level. Patients undergo a drug-induced sleep endoscopy performed by an ENT surgeon in order to confirm that they satisfy this anatomical requirement. In addition, patients in the U.S. and Japan must have been confirmed to fail or be unable to tolerate PAP treatments, such as CPAP, and be 18 years of age or older, though there are no similar requirements for patients in Europe. Patients who fail PAP are those that are not able to eliminate moderate to severe OSA despite PAP usage. Patients who cannot tolerate PAP treatments are those who either are unable to use PAP more than five nights per week for at least four hours per night, or who are unwilling to use PAP treatment.
Implantation
The Inspire system is implanted under general anesthesia through two small incisions. One incision is under the lower jaw, where the stimulation lead is attached around a distal branch of the hypoglossal nerve that is responsible for forward movement of the tongue. A second incision in the upper right chest below the clavicle is used to implant the neurostimulator, which houses all the electronics and battery power for the device, and a pressure sensing lead to monitor the breathing cycle. The functionality of the Inspire system is tested in the operating room to verify proper placement of the stimulation and pressure sensing leads. The wires for the electrodes are tunneled under the skin and the incisions are closed. The Inspire system is powered by an internal battery that is designed to last approximately 11 years without needing to be recharged. After this time, the neurostimulator is replaced during a simple outpatient procedure.
The implantation procedure is performed in an outpatient setting and surgery is completed in approximately 90 minutes. Patients may experience mild discomfort and swelling at the incision sites for a few days that is usually managed with over-the-counter pain medications. Patients can return home and resume a normal diet shortly after completion of the procedure and resume most daily activities within a few days. The only restriction on their activity is to avoid strenuous activities until the incisions have had time to heal.
Activation
Patients are allowed to heal for a month before the Inspire system is activated through a wireless connection to the device in the clinician’s office. The initial activation is performed by the clinician using a programming tablet that is able to turn the system on as well as change various parameters such as the strength, timing, and duration of the stimulation pulse, the stimulating electrode configuration, and the sensitivity of respiration detection. With the exception of pulse strength, the factory default settings are used in the majority of patients. The pulse strength is initially adjusted to the lowest level required to move the tongue forward without causing discomfort.
Patients receive a remote control that they use to turn their Inspire system on when they plan to go to sleep and to turn it off when they awaken. The device has a programmed delay, typically 30 minutes, to allow patients to fall asleep naturally before the device activates. It then delivers mild stimulation to the hypoglossal nerve, causing the tongue to move as the patient is inhaling. The remote enables patients to adjust the strength of the stimulation to
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optimize their therapy and comfort. The range of control given to patients is limited to avoid setting the strength of the stimulation to an ineffective or excessively high level. Patients also have the ability to temporarily pause therapy if they awaken during the night.
Clinical Results and Studies
A significant body of published clinical evidence, which includes seven sponsored and more than 90 independent clinical studies that evaluated several thousand patients, supports the safety and effectiveness of Inspire therapy. The results of the STAR trial, our phase III pivotal clinical trial that served as the basis for the FDA approval of our PMA application, were published in the New England Journal of Medicine , and the results of additional clinical studies have been published in more than 240 peer-reviewed publications. We have established a global patient registry, which we refer to as our ADHERE patient registry, to collect data on safety, effectiveness, weekly usage, overall compliance, and satisfaction from patients who have been implanted with an Inspire system. The table below highlights key findings from certain of these studies and data from our ADHERE patient registry, including significant improvements in objective sleep measures and patient-reported quality of life measures, strong therapy compliance, and a favorable safety profile.
STAR Trial (1)
German
Post-Market
Study (1)
ADHERE
Patient Registry (2)
TJUH and
UPMC
Evaluation (3)
Number of Inspire therapy patients 124 97 56 1,963 97
Time following implantation 12 months 5 years 12 months 12 months 3 months
AHI—Baseline 29.3 29.3 28.6 33.0 35.6
AHI—Therapy 9.0 6.2 9.5 10.2 6.3
ESS—Baseline 11 11 13 11 11
ESS—Therapy 6 6 7 6 6
FOSQ—Baseline 14.6 14.6 13.7 * *
FOSQ—Therapy 18.2 18.7 18.6 * *
Therapy compliance 86% daily; 93% 5+ days weekly 80% daily Average 39 hours per week; 89% ≥20 hours per week Average 5.6 hours per night Average >45 hours per week
* Not measured
(1) Median results
(2) Mean results
(3) Thomas Jefferson University Hospital ("TJUH") and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center ("UPMC"). Mean results
Select Recent Clinical Results and Studies
ADHERE Patient Registry
We established our ADHERE patient registry to follow patients who have been implanted with an Inspire system, with a goal of collecting data on a group of at least 5,000 patients. Data gathered on the first 1,963 patients published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine in 2022 showed that patients used Inspire therapy an average of 5.7 hours per night when measured an average of 12 months after implantation. Mean AHI was reduced from 33.0 events per hour to 10.2 events per hour and mean ESS score improved from 11 to 6 over the same period. Overall satisfaction with Inspire therapy was reported by patients to be 90%, with 92% of patients reporting that they would choose the procedure again. In addition, 91% of patients reported a better experience than CPAP. This same study demonstrated comparable outcomes across five disease severity groups.
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Inspire Therapy Improves Patient Symptoms Similarly as CPAP
In 2021, the Cleveland Clinic published on the first comparison of patient-reported outcomes between Inspire therapy and CPAP. These results showed that Inspire therapy and CPAP had a similar improvement in patient symptoms of sleepiness, daytime energy, depression, and insomnia. The results also showed that Inspire therapy patients were more likely to have a more clinically meaningful improvement in symptoms than CPAP patients. This high degree of improvement was maintained through at least one-year in the Inspire therapy patients.
A second study, published by Dr. Clemens Heiser and team at the Technical University of Munich in the Journal of Sleep and Breathing in 2022, compared two similar parallel cohorts of patients who were initiating use of Inspire therapy (n=63) or CPAP (n=63). They found that Inspire therapy patients had larger improvements in sleepiness (an eight point reduction in Epworth Sleepiness Scale (“ESS”) with Inspire therapy versus a four point reduction in ESS with CPAP), and numerically higher usage in Inspire therapy patients versus CPAP patients (five hours per night with Inspire therapy versus four hours per night with CPAP). Additionally, the objective AHI outcomes were similar in both arms. Taken together, we believe these results suggest that Inspire therapy may be superior to CPAP at improving disease.
There are now multiple studies in which Inspire showed equivalent improvements in OSA outcomes as CPAP, and similar, if not potentially higher usage than CPAP. We believe these observed improvements could translate to better disease alleviation in patients unable to tolerate CPAP.
Large-scale Insights of Over Three Million Patient Nights from Inspire SleepSync™ Patient Database Showing Real-World Results
Inspire SleepSync™ patient management system helps physicians track therapy usage and outcomes, and the results of the first three million patient nights of data were presented by Dr. Jordan Weiner at the 2022 American Academy of Otolaryngology conference and Dr. Deborah Goss at the 2022 American Association of Sleep Medicine meeting. These data, the largest to date evaluating outcomes from Inspire therapy, show the results of
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3.7 million patient-nights in 12,017 patients across 491 practices. These data showed that, in real-world use, Inspire therapy continued to show highly effective outcomes similar to the early clinical trials. Objective outcomes such as AHI and ESS were in the normalized ranges, and very high therapy usage of seven hours per night in the first 90 days, demonstrate high usage despite a previous history of CPAP intolerance.
Inspire Therapy Outcomes are Consistent in Both Majority and Minority Populations
Two 2022 publications increased our focus on evaluating Inspire efficacy across a broader range of patient race and ethnicity by leveraging the ADHERE registry, which is a database of real-world Inspire therapy outcomes. The first publication from Dr. Meena Khan and team, published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine , demonstrated that both White and Non-White patients had similar improvements in sleep apnea severity, with no notable differences in usage, AHI, or sleepiness. Similarly, a second analysis by Dr. Linda Magaña, presented at the 2022 meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology, examined the differences between Hispanic / Latino and non-Hispanic / non-Latino patients, and found that it demonstrated comparable outcomes. While there is an opportunity to continue to improve the adoption of Inspire therapy in minority populations, given the higher incident rates and under diagnosis in these groups, we believe these two analyses provide additional evidence that Inspire therapy is equally effective across race and ethnicity.
Comparison of Sleep Surgery Complication Rates versus Inspire Therapy
A 2021 paper published in Otolaryngology – Open Journal found that Inspire therapy had a lower complication rate and shorter hospital length of stay compared with sleep surgery, despite the fact that the Inspire population was older and had more co-morbidities. Combined with previous studies on sleep surgery outcomes, we believe these data demonstrate that Inspire therapy may improve outcomes compared to traditional sleep surgery in selected patients.
In 2022, a larger analysis was repeated on a national outcomes database, comparing post-operative operative safety and complication rates between Inspire therapy implants (n=1,201) versus palate surgery (n=3,364), which was the predominant OSA surgery prior to the introduction of Inspire therapy (Dr. Ryan Nord, Otolaryngology – Open Journal , 2022). This analysis found that Inspire therapy was safer than palate surgeries. Inspire therapy implantation had a much lower risk of emergency room readmission and complication rates in the first 90 days after surgery.
We believe a reduction in post-operative complication rates may help reduce clinical utilization costs versus traditional sleep surgery. Taken together, we believe these data suggest that Inspire therapy should be considered first prior to any traditional airway surgery.
Sales and Marketing
We have established a methodical approach to market development which centers on active engagement across three key stakeholders in the OSA treatment paradigm: patients, physicians, and sleep centers.
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We sell our Inspire system through a direct sales force that primarily targets ENT physicians and sleep centers in the U.S. and Europe, and through distributors in Japan and Singapore. The implant procedure for our Inspire therapy is typically performed by an ENT physician or in some cases by a neurosurgeon. We also focus on sleep centers because they diagnose and manage large volumes of patients with sleep apnea and are often an important referral base for ENT physicians. In addition, because OSA is sometimes diagnosed during other procedures, we have developed programs to help educate general practitioners and specialists in other fields, such as cardiovascular surgeons, electrophysiologists, and dentists, regarding our Inspire therapy.
We have 225 sales territories in the U.S. and 12 in Europe. We seek to recruit sales representatives with strong sales backgrounds, direct experience developing markets with new technologies, and core knowledge of medical device coding, reimbursement, and the prior authorization process. In our Asian markets, we rely on our distribution partner for local sales and promotional activities.
We also utilize direct communication channels to inform and educate patients about Inspire therapy and to enable them to connect with active clinical sites that offer our Inspire systems. Our primary methods of patient outreach are Facebook, Google ad placements, radio advertisements (either local or satellite), and television advertisements (either local or national). The objective of this outreach is to bring patients to our website, where they can find educational materials and videos on sleep apnea and the use and benefits of our Inspire therapy, contact information for physicians and clinical sites, and information regarding community awareness events.
We believe our patient outreach efforts have been effective in bringing potential patients to our website and facilitating contact with our clinical sites. During 2022, we had over 13.8 million visits to our website, which generated more than 78,000 contacts with physicians throughout the year.
In 2020, we launched the Inspire Sleep app for patients' smart phones. This app is an educational tool for patients and also interfaces with SleepSync TM to allow physicians to collect clinical data from patients directly. We continue to enhance the functionality of this app as part of our overall digital platform development. Since launch, over 60,000 copies of the app have been downloaded to smartphones.
Commercial Activities Outside of the U.S.
Our general practice is to limit commercial investments in countries until such time as there is a determined reimbursement pathway. We have 12 sales territories in Europe and we sell our products through a distributor in Japan and Singapore. We provide consistent training in Europe, Japan, and Singapore as is conducted in the U.S. and have established a support team in Europe for patient outreach and education, implant support, and device programming. In our Asian markets we assist our distribution partner with patient outreach and education initiatives. We expect to continue to scale our commercial activities in Europe as we continue to develop country-wide reimbursement in additional markets. We continue to work on the reimbursement process in Australia and hope to commercialize Inspire therapy there.
Third-Party Reimbursement
Our market access team is responsible for all of our reimbursement processes and initiatives. Our team includes 25 professionals who are focused on all key aspects of reimbursement, which include coding, payment, coverage, and prior authorization.
Coding and Payment
In the U.S., we sell our products to hospitals and ASCs. These customers in turn bill various third-party payors, such as commercial payors and Medicare, for the cost required to treat each patient.
Third-party payors require physicians and hospitals to identify the service for which they are seeking reimbursement by using CPT codes, which are created and maintained by the AMA. The procedures performed to implant, revise, or explant our device are described for billing purposes using Category I CPT codes (64582, 64583, and 64584, respectively) to identify hypoglossal nerve stimulator services. A Category I code (42975) is used for DISE, which is a required procedure to determine which patients are appropriate for Inspire therapy.
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Physician reimbursement under Medicare is based on a defined fee schedule, the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, through which payment amounts are determined by the relative values of the professional service rendered. Medicare provides reimbursement to our hospital customers under the hospital outpatient prospective payment system ("OPPS") which provides bundled amounts generally intended to reimburse the hospital for all facility costs related to procedures performed in the hospital outpatient setting. Under OPPS, the 2023 national average Medicare payment to the hospital for this procedure is $29,358, which is intended to cover the hospitals’ costs for the device and facilities and resources required for the implantation procedure. The 2023 Medicare national average ASC reimbursement rate is $25,180. The physician’s professional services are reimbursed separately under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. The 2023 Medicare national average physician fee for the implant is $873. The 2023 Medicare national average reimbursement rate for the DISE procedures is $97.
Reimbursement rates from commercial payors vary depending on the procedure performed, the commercial payor, contract terms, and other factors.
Commercial Payor and Government Program Coverage
A core pillar of our reimbursement strategy involves broadening our third-party payor coverage when possible. We continue to have active discussions with commercial payors to establish new and modify existing positive coverage policies by highlighting our compelling and robust clinical data, increased patient demand, and support from leading medical societies and key opinion leaders. We have been successful in obtaining prior authorization approvals from most commercial payors for the Inspire device and procedure. Historically, commercial payors cover approximately 70% of Inspire implants in the U.S. We estimate that the majority of patients who meet the FDA indication for Inspire therapy are covered by commercial insurance companies and we have secured coverage policies with virtually all major national commercial payors.
All seven MACs provide coverage of Inspire therapy when certain coverage criteria are met. Medicare beneficiaries have historically accounted for approximately 25% of all Inspire system implantations in the U.S. In addition, we have a contract with the U.S. government that covers implantations of our Inspire system performed in Veterans Affairs and military hospitals, which account for approximately 5% of all Inspire system implantations historically in the U.S.
Prior Authorization Approval Process
A second pillar of our reimbursement strategy includes leveraging our market access team to assist patients and physicians in obtaining appropriate prior authorization approvals in advance of treatment. We believe our market access team is highly effective in working with patients and physicians to obtain prior authorizations for our Inspire system including assisting with the appeals process. We have received hundreds of prior authorization approvals from all of the largest commercial payors, for example Anthem, Cigna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, United Healthcare, and Humana. We believe we will continue to benefit from this efficient prior authorization process.
Reimbursement Outside of the U.S.
Outside the U.S., reimbursement levels vary significantly by country and by region within some countries. Reimbursement is obtained from a variety of sources, including government-sponsored and private health insurance plans, and combinations of both. Some countries require additional clinical data before granting or expanding coverage and reimbursement for our products. In general, obtaining broad-based reimbursement and adequate payment for new technologies is more difficult in these markets than in the U.S. Some countries require new medical technologies to not only be safe and effective, but also to be able to demonstrate clinical benefits that outweigh the costs when compared to the standard of care. As in the U.S., reimbursement decisions can change, resulting in the elimination or reduction of reimbursement payments, which could adversely affect our financial results and our ability to invest in and grow our business.
We currently have country wide reimbursement in Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Japan. We are in the final process to have the Inspire IV system included in the French Haute Autorité De Santé listing of products and services qualifying for reimbursement (LPPR) of approved technologies for reimbursement across the French health system. We are similarly awaiting publication of a nationwide positive national health reimbursement
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decision in Belgium. We continue to pursue permanent reimbursement in target markets across the Asia Pacific, including Australia, and Europe, including Spain, the United Kingdom, and the Nordic region.
Research and Development
Product Evolution and Next Generation Products
The first Inspire device was developed by Medtronic Inc. (now Medtronic Public Limited Company), or Medtronic, in the early 1990s as a radio frequency controlled device that required an external apparatus to deliver electrical stimulation to the hypoglossal nerve. The first fully implantable, respiration-sensing, closed-loop Inspire system was developed shortly thereafter. Based on the initial clinical trial results, which were published in 2001, Medtronic began developing what became known as our Inspire II system, introducing a new, more durable stimulation lead and lower-power neurostimulator, and relocating the respiratory sensing lead to between the intercostal muscle layers.
After our 2007 inception and contemporaneous spin-off of the Inspire business from Medtronic, our primary focus was to requalify the Inspire II system and resume clinical trial activity. We completed a phase I feasibility trial along with a phase II dosing or patient selection trial in 2009. In 2011, we began our phase III pivotal STAR trial. The STAR trial was completed and published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2014 and we received PMA in 2014. Additionally, the device was CE marked for commercialization in Europe in 2010.
We continue to invest in advancing our Inspire system with the goal of providing patients more effective and less invasive therapy for OSA. In 2017, we released the Inspire IV neurostimulator, which is 40% smaller than the previous version while maintaining approximately 11 years of battery life. Patients with this version of the Inspire system are now able to undergo an MRI scan of the head or extremities. The Inspire IV device was launched in the U.S. in 2017, and in Europe in 2018.
Our newly designed respiratory sensing lead was developed in 2017 and was approved by the FDA in 2019. This lead was introduced in Europe in 2018 and in the U.S. in 2019. The lead has a significantly smaller profile, including a reduction in diameter of 49 percent as compared to the prior design. This smaller profile is intended to simplify surgical placement along with several other features to enable easier implanting, and potentially reduce surgical time for an ENT surgeon.
Our next generation of the Inspire neurostimulator is in development, and we also have an active project to improve the physician programmer. Our Bluetooth®-enabled patient remote control was approved by the FDA in December 2021 and the initial commercial launch occurred in 2022. We have launched a cloud-based patient management system called SleepSync™, which allows physicians to monitor patient compliance and more efficiently coordinate patient care. In 2020, we launched the Inspire Sleep app for patients' smart phones. The first version of the app was an educational tool, and the second version interfaces with the Inspire Cloud and allows physicians to collect clinical data from patients directly. We continue to enhance the functionality of this app as part of our overall digital platform development.
SleepSync™ and our app are initial steps in establishing interconnectivity between the patient and their healthcare provider with a long-term plan to improve outcomes by tracking patient activity and adherence, and monitoring for any issues with device use.
Additional Indications
We have sought and continue to seek to expand the approved indications for our Inspire therapy. For instance, in 2020, we received FDA approval for an expanded age-range of patients who can be treated with Inspire therapy, which now includes 18 to 21-year old patients. In August 2022, we submitted an application to seek FDA authorization to provide therapy to the pediatric population with Down’s Syndrome. Additionally, in July 2022, the Inspire system received Breakthrough Device Designation from the FDA for application to increase the upper limit of AHI to up to 100 events per hour from the original 65 events per hour, and to raise the BMI warning for patients with a BMI of up to 40 from the previous limit of 32.
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Our research and development team focuses on the products currently under development, including our clinical studies that include efforts to improve patient selection, expand indications, and simplify patient management, as well as feasibility studies in which we are evaluating new ways to deliver neuromodulation for OSA therapy and different design configurations to enhance product functionality for future generations of the Inspire system. One example is our PREDICTOR study, which completed enrollment of 300 patients in 2022, which aims to remove the DISE requirement for patients less likely to have concentric collapse.
Competition
Our industry is subject to rapid change from the introduction of new products and technologies and other activities of industry participants. We compete as a second-line therapy in the OSA treatment market for patients with moderate to severe OSA.
We consider our primary competition to be other neurostimulation technologies designed to treat OSA, though we are currently the only such technology approved for commercialization in the U.S. by the FDA. Outside the U.S., we compete with LivaNova and Nyxoah. LivaNova, which markets an open-loop neurostimulation device, is currently conducting clinical trials of its device in the U.S. Nyxoah markets an open-loop bilateral hypoglossal nerve stimulation device in certain countries outside the U.S. and is conducting its first pivotal trial as it seeks FDA approval in the U.S. A dug candidate produced by Apnimed is entering a Phase 3 clinical trial to assess the viability of its pharmaceutical to treat OSA. We believe other emerging businesses are in the early stages of developing neurostimulation devices or early-stage pharmaceutical approaches.
We also compete, both within and outside of the U.S., with invasive surgical treatment options such as UPPP, maxillomandibular advancement ("MMA") and robotic tongue reduction surgery, and, to a lesser extent, oral appliances, which are primarily used in the treatment of mild to moderate OSA. We do not believe we directly compete with CPAP or other types of PAP devices because in the U.S., Inspire therapy is only indicated for patients who have been confirmed to fail or cannot tolerate PAP treatments, such as CPAP.
We believe that the primary competitive factors in the OSA treatment market are:
• company, product, and brand recognition;
• product safety, efficacy, reliability, and durability;
• quality and volume of clinical data;
• effective marketing to and education of patients, physicians, and sleep centers;
• product ease of use and patient comfort;
• sales force experience and access;
• product support and service;
• technological innovation, product enhancements, and speed of innovation;
• pricing and revenue strategies;
• procedure costs to patients;
• effectiveness of reimbursement teams and strategies; and
• dedicated practice development and clinical training teams.
Some other OSA treatments against which we compete, such as oral appliances, MMA, and UPPP, have a greater penetration into the OSA treatment market. Oral appliances and some other surgical treatments are better
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known to ENT physicians, sleep centers and the other physicians on whom we rely for referrals, but we believe physician awareness of our Inspire therapy is increasing.
We also compete with other medical technology companies to recruit and retain qualified personnel.
Intellectual Property
We rely on a combination of patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret laws, and confidentiality and invention assignment agreements to protect our intellectual property rights. As of December 31, 2022, we had rights to 66 issued U.S. patents, which will expire between 2023 and 2040 assuming all required fees are paid, 80 pending U.S. patent applications, 43 issued foreign patents, and 73 pending foreign patent applications. Our patents cover aspects of our current Inspire system and future product concepts. Some of the issued foreign patents and pending foreign patent applications preserve an opportunity to pursue patent rights in multiple countries.
There is no active patent litigation involving any of our patents and we have not received any notices of patent infringement.
As of December 31, 2022, we had 143 pending and registered trademark filings worldwide, some of which may apply to multiple countries.
We also rely, in part, upon unpatented trade secrets, know-how and continuing technological innovation, and may in the future rely upon licensing opportunities, to develop and maintain our competitive position. We protect our proprietary rights through a variety of methods, including confidentiality and assignment agreements with suppliers, employees, consultants, and others who may have access to our proprietary information.
Our pending patent applications may not result in issued patents, and we cannot ensure that any current or subsequently issued patents will adequately protect our products or provide us with any competitive advantage. While there is no active litigation involving any of our patents or other intellectual property rights and we have not received any notices of patent infringement, we may be required to enforce or defend our intellectual property rights against third parties in the future. See Part I., "Item 1A. Risk Factors — Risks Related to Intellectual Property Matters” for additional information regarding these and other risks related to our intellectual property portfolio and their potential effect on us.
License Agreement with Medtronic
In 2007, we entered into an assignment and license agreement with Medtronic ("the Assignment and License Agreement") pursuant to which Medtronic assigned certain patents and trademarks to us and granted to us a worldwide, royalty-free license to certain other patents and technical information to make, use, import and sell products, and to practice methods in the field of electrical stimulation of the upper airway for the treatment of OSA ("the Field"). We share co-exclusive rights with Medtronic under this license; however, Medtronic may not exercise its rights unless we make an assignment for the benefit of our creditors, file or have filed against us a bankruptcy petition or go into receivership. We also granted to Medtronic certain worldwide, royalty-free, exclusive licenses to the patents Medtronic assigned to us, as well as other intellectual property (including but not limited to Technical Information (as defined in the Assignment and License Agreement)) that applies to a device and methods with certain specifications for use in the Field, to make, use, import and sell products, and to practice methods outside of the Field. The licenses granted are perpetual and irrevocable.
Manufacturing and Supply
We rely on third-party suppliers to manufacture our Inspire system and its components. Outsourcing manufacturing reduces our need for capital investment and reduces operational expense. Additionally, outsourcing provides expertise and capacity necessary to scale up or down based on demand for our Inspire system. We select our suppliers to ensure that our Inspire system and its components are safe and effective, adhere to all applicable regulations, are of the highest quality, and meet our supply needs. We employ a rigorous supplier assessment, qualification, and selection process targeted to suppliers that meet the requirements of the FDA and the International Organization for Standardization and quality standards supported by internal policies
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and procedures. Our quality assurance process monitors and maintains supplier performance through qualification and periodic supplier reviews and audits.
Certain components used in our Inspire system are supplied by single-source suppliers. Our suppliers manufacture the components they produce for us and test our components and devices to our specifications. We intend to maintain sufficient levels of inventory to enable us to continue our operations while we obtain another supplier in the event that one or more of our single-source suppliers were to encounter a delay in supply or end supply.
We have experienced and continue to experience supply disruptions which began during the COVID pandemic, but have managed to avoid any significant supply and inventory issues or delay in implant procedures due to those issues, although there can be no assurance that we will avoid significant supply disruptions in the future.
Government Regulation
Our products and our operations are subject to extensive regulation by the FDA and other federal and state authorities in the U.S., as well as comparable authorities in the European Economic Area ("EEA") and Japan, and in Australia (where our products are approved for sale but where we have not yet commercialized them). In the U.S., our products are subject to regulation as medical devices under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act ("FDCA") as implemented and enforced by the FDA. The FDA regulates the development, design, non-clinical and clinical research, manufacturing, safety, efficacy, labeling, packaging, storage, installation, servicing, recordkeeping, premarket clearance or approval, import, export, adverse event reporting, advertising, promotion, marketing and distribution, and import and export of medical devices to ensure that medical devices distributed domestically are safe and effective for their intended uses and otherwise meet the requirements of the FDCA.
In addition to U.S. regulations, we are subject to a variety of regulations in the EEA governing clinical trials and the commercial sales and distribution of our products. Whether or not we have or are required to obtain FDA clearance or approval for a product, we will be required to obtain authorization before commencing clinical studies and to obtain marketing authorization or approval of our products under the comparable regulatory authorities of countries outside of the U.S. before we can commence clinical studies or commercialize our products in those countries. The approval process varies from country to country and the time may be longer or shorter than that required for FDA clearance or approval.
FDA Premarket Clearance and Approval Requirements
Unless an exemption applies, each medical device commercially distributed in the U.S. requires either FDA clearance of a 510(k) premarket notification or PMA. Under the FDCA, medical devices are classified into one of three classes-Class I, Class II, or Class III-depending on the degree of risk associated with each medical device and the extent of manufacturer and regulatory control needed to ensure its safety and effectiveness. Class I includes devices with the lowest risk to the patient and are those for which safety and effectiveness can be assured by adherence to the FDA’s General Controls for medical devices, which include compliance with the applicable portions of the FCA's Quality System Regulation ("QSR"), facility registration and product listing, reporting of adverse medical events, and truthful and non-misleading labeling, advertising, and promotional materials. Class II devices are subject to the FDA’s General Controls, and special controls as deemed necessary by the FDA to ensure the safety and effectiveness of the device. While most Class I devices are exempt from the 510(k) premarket notification requirement, manufacturers of most Class II devices are required to submit to the FDA a premarket notification under Section 510(k) of the FDCA requesting permission to commercially distribute the device. The FDA’s permission to commercially distribute a device subject to a 510(k) premarket notification is generally known as 510(k) clearance. Under the 510(k) process, the manufacturer must submit to the FDA a premarket notification demonstrating that the device is “substantially equivalent” to either a device that was legally marketed prior to May 28, 1976, the date upon which the Medical Device Amendments of 1976 were enacted, or another legally marketed device that was cleared through the 510(k) process.
Devices deemed by the FDA to pose the greatest risks, such as life-sustaining, life-supporting or some implantable devices, or devices that have a new intended use, or use advanced technology that is not substantially equivalent to that of a legally marketed device, are placed in Class III, requiring approval of a PMA.
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Some pre-amendment devices are unclassified, but are subject to the FDA’s premarket notification and clearance process in order to be commercially distributed.
Our currently marketed Inspire products are Class III devices which have received PMA.
PMA Pathway
In a PMA, the manufacturer must demonstrate that the device is safe and effective, and the PMA must be supported by extensive data, including data from preclinical studies and human clinical studies. The PMA must also contain a full description of the device and its components, a full description of the methods, facilities and controls used for manufacturing, and proposed labeling. Following receipt of a PMA, the FDA determines whether the application is sufficiently complete to permit a substantive review. If the FDA accepts the application for review, it has 180 days under the FDCA to complete its review of a PMA, although in practice, the FDA’s review often takes significantly longer, and can take up to several years. An advisory panel of experts from outside the FDA may be convened to review and evaluate the application and provide recommendations to the FDA as to the approvability of the device. The FDA may or may not accept the panel’s recommendation. In addition, the FDA will generally conduct a preapproval inspection of the applicant or its third-party manufacturers’ or suppliers’ manufacturing facility or facilities to ensure compliance with the QSR.
The FDA will approve the new device for commercial distribution if it determines that the data and information in the PMA constitute valid scientific evidence and that there is reasonable assurance that the device is safe and effective for its intended use(s). The FDA may approve a PMA with post-approval conditions intended to ensure the safety and effectiveness of the device, including, among other things, restrictions on labeling, promotion, sale and distribution, and collection of long-term follow-up data from patients in the clinical study that supported PMA or requirements to conduct additional clinical studies post-approval. The FDA may condition PMA on some form of post-market surveillance when deemed necessary to protect the public health or to provide additional safety and efficacy data for the device in a larger population or for a longer period of use. In such cases, the manufacturer might be required to follow certain patient groups for a number of years and to make periodic reports to the FDA on the clinical status of those patients. Failure to comply with the conditions of approval can result in material adverse enforcement action, including withdrawal of the approval.
Certain changes to an approved device, such as changes in manufacturing facilities, methods, or quality control procedures, or changes in the design performance specifications, which affect the safety or effectiveness of the device, require submission of a PMA supplement. PMA supplements often require submission of the same type of information as a PMA, except that the supplement is limited to information needed to support any changes from the device covered by the original PMA and may not require as extensive clinical data or the convening of an advisory panel. Certain other changes to an approved device require the submission of a new PMA, such as when the design change causes a different intended use, mode of operation, and technical basis of operation, or when the design change is so significant that a new generation of the device will be developed, and the data that were submitted with the original PMA are not applicable for the change in demonstrating a reasonable assurance of safety and effectiveness.
Clinical Studies
Clinical studies are almost always required to support a PMA and are sometimes required to support a 510(k) submission. All clinical investigations of investigational devices to determine safety and effectiveness must be conducted in accordance with the FDA’s investigational device exemption ("IDE") regulations which govern investigational device labeling, prohibit promotion of the investigational device, and specify an array of recordkeeping, reporting and monitoring responsibilities of study sponsors and study investigators. If the device presents a “significant risk” to human health, as defined by the FDA, the FDA requires the device sponsor to submit an IDE application to the FDA, which must become effective prior to commencing human clinical studies. A significant risk device is one that presents a potential for serious risk to the health, safety or welfare of a patient and either is implanted, used in supporting or sustaining human life, substantially important in diagnosing, curing, mitigating or treating disease or otherwise preventing impairment of human health, or otherwise presents a potential for serious risk to a subject. An IDE application must be supported by appropriate data, such as animal and laboratory test results, showing that it is safe to test the device in humans and that the testing protocol is
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scientifically sound. The IDE will automatically become effective 30 days after receipt by the FDA unless the FDA notifies the company that the investigation may not begin. If the FDA determines that there are deficiencies or other concerns with an IDE for which it requires modification, the FDA may permit a clinical study to proceed under a conditional approval. An IDE supplement must be submitted to, and approved by, the FDA before a sponsor or investigator may make a change to the investigational plan that may affect its scientific soundness, study plan or the rights, safety or welfare of human subjects.
In addition, the study must be approved by, and conducted under the oversight of, an Institutional Review Board ("IRB") for each clinical site. The IRB is responsible for the initial and continuing review of the IDE, and may pose additional requirements for the conduct of the study. If an IDE application is approved by the FDA and one or more IRBs, human clinical studies may begin at a specific number of investigational sites with a specific number of patients, as approved by the FDA. If the device presents a non-significant risk to the patient, a sponsor may begin the clinical study after obtaining approval for the study by one or more IRBs without separate approval from the FDA, but must still follow abbreviated IDE requirements, such as monitoring the investigation, ensuring that the investigators obtain informed consent, and labeling and record-keeping requirements.
During a study, the sponsor is required to comply with the applicable FDA requirements, including, for example, study monitoring, selecting clinical investigators and providing them with the investigational plan, ensuring IRB review, adverse event reporting, record keeping, and prohibitions on the promotion of investigational devices or on making safety or effectiveness claims for them. The clinical investigators in the clinical study are also subject to FDA regulations and must obtain patient informed consent, rigorously follow the investigational plan and study protocol, control the disposition of the investigational device, and comply with all reporting and recordkeeping requirements. Additionally, after a study begins, we, the FDA or the IRB could suspend or terminate a clinical study at any time for various reasons, including a belief that the risks to study subjects outweigh the anticipated benefits.
Expedited Development and Review Programs
Following passage of the 21st Century Cures Act, the FDA implemented the Breakthrough Devices Program, which is a voluntary program offered to manufacturers of certain medical devices and device-led combination products, including ours, that may provide for more effective treatment or diagnosis of life-threatening or irreversibly debilitating diseases or conditions. The goal of the program is to provide patients and health care providers with more timely access to qualifying devices by expediting their development, assessment and review, while preserving the statutory standards for FDA marketing authorization. The program is available to medical devices that meet certain eligibility criteria, including that the device provides more effective treatment or diagnosis of life-threatening or irreversibly debilitating diseases or conditions, and that the device meets one of the following criteria: (i) the device represents a breakthrough technology, (ii) no approved or cleared alternatives exist, (iii) the device offers significant advantages over existing approved or cleared alternatives, or (iv) the availability of the device is in the best interest of patients. Breakthrough Device designation provides certain benefits to device developers, including more interactive and timely communications with FDA staff, use of post-market data collection, when scientifically appropriate, to facilitate expedited and efficient development and review of the device, opportunities for efficient and flexible clinical study design, and prioritized review of premarket submissions.
Post-market Regulation
After a device is cleared or approved for marketing, numerous and pervasive regulatory requirements continue to apply. These include:
• establishment registration and device listing with the FDA;
• QSR requirements, which require manufacturers, including third-party manufacturers, to follow stringent design, testing, control, documentation, and other quality assurance procedures during all aspects of the design and manufacturing process;
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• labeling and marketing regulations, which require that promotion is truthful, not misleading, fairly balanced, provide adequate directions for use, and that all claims are substantiated, and also prohibit the promotion of products for unapproved or “off-label” uses and impose other restrictions on labeling; FDA guidance on off-label dissemination of information and responding to unsolicited requests for information;
• clearance or approval of product modifications to 510(k)-cleared devices that could significantly affect safety or effectiveness or that would constitute a major change in intended use of one of our cleared devices, or approval of a supplement for certain modifications to PMA devices;
• medical device reporting regulations, which require that a manufacturer report to the FDA if a device it markets may have caused or contributed to a death or serious injury, or has malfunctioned and the device or a similar device that it markets would be likely to cause or contribute to a death or serious injury, if the malfunction were to recur;
• correction, removal, and recall reporting regulations, which require that manufacturers report to the FDA field corrections and product recalls or removals if undertaken to reduce a risk to health posed by the device or to remedy a violation of the FDCA that may present a risk to health;
• complying with the new federal law and regulations requiring Unique Device Identifiers (UDI) on devices and also requiring the submission of certain information about each device to the FDA’s Global Unique Device Identification Database (GUDID);
• the FDA’s recall authority, whereby the agency can order device manufacturers to recall from the market a product that is in violation of governing laws and regulations; and
• post-market surveillance activities and regulations, which apply when deemed by the FDA to be necessary to protect the public health or to provide additional safety and effectiveness data for the device.
Our manufacturing processes are required to comply with the applicable portions of the QSR, which cover the methods and the facilities, controls for the design, manufacture, testing, production, processes, controls, quality assurance, labeling, packaging, distribution, installation, and servicing of finished devices intended for human use. The QSR also requires, among other things, maintenance of a device master file, device history file, and complaint files. As a manufacturer, our facilities, records, and manufacturing processes are subject to periodic scheduled or unscheduled inspections by the FDA. Our failure to maintain compliance with the QSR or other applicable regulatory requirements could result in the shut-down of, or restrictions on, our manufacturing operations and the recall or seizure of our products. The discovery of previously unknown problems with any of our products, including unanticipated adverse events or adverse events of increasing severity or frequency, whether resulting from the use of the device within the scope of its clearance or off-label by a physician in the practice of medicine, could result in restrictions on the device, including the removal of the product from the market or voluntary or mandatory device recalls.
The FDA has broad regulatory compliance and enforcement powers. If the FDA determines that we failed to comply with applicable regulatory requirements, it can take a variety of compliance or enforcement actions, which may result in any of the following sanctions:
• warning letters, untitled letters, fines, injunctions, consent decrees, and civil penalties;
• recalls, withdrawals, or administrative detention or seizure of our products;
• operating restrictions or partial suspension or total shutdown of production;
• refusing or delaying requests for 510(k) marketing clearance or PMAs of new products or modified products;
• withdrawing 510(k) clearances or PMAs that have already been granted;
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• refusal to grant export or import approvals for our products; or
• criminal prosecution.
Foreign Regulation
In order for us to market our products in countries outside the U.S., we must obtain regulatory approvals or certifications and comply with extensive product and quality system regulations in other countries. These regulations, including the requirements for approvals, clearance or certifications and the time required for regulatory review, vary from country to country. Some countries have regulatory review processes that are substantially longer than U.S. processes. Failure to obtain regulatory approval or certification in a timely manner and meet all of the local requirements including language and specific safety standards in any foreign country in which we plan to market our products could prevent us from marketing products in such countries or subject us to sanctions and fines.
Regulation of Medical Devices in the European Union
The European Union (“EU”) has adopted specific directives and regulations regulating the design, manufacture, clinical investigation, conformity assessment, labeling and adverse event reporting for medical devices.
Until May 25, 2021, medical devices were regulated by Council Directive 93/42/EEC (the “EU Medical Devices Directive”), and Directive 90/385/EEC (“AIMDD”) which have been repealed and replaced by Regulation (EU) No 2017/745 (the “EU Medical Devices Regulation”). Our current certificates have been granted under the EU Medical Devices Directive and the AIMDD whose regime is described below. However, as of May 26, 2021, some of the EU Medical Devices Regulation requirements apply in place of the corresponding requirements of the EU Medical Devices Directive and the AIMDD with regard to registration of economic operators and of devices, post-market surveillance and vigilance requirements. Pursuing marketing of medical devices in the EU will notably require that our devices be certified under the new regime set forth in the EU Medical Devices Regulation when our current certificates expire.
Medical Devices Directive
In the EU, there is currently no premarket government review of medical devices. However, all medical devices placed on the EU market must meet the essential requirements, including the requirement that a medical device must be designed and manufactured in such a way that it will not compromise the clinical condition or safety of patients, or the safety and health of users and others . In addition, the device must achieve the performance intended by the manufacturer and be designed, manufactured, and packaged in a suitable manner.
Compliance with the essential requirements is a prerequisite for CE mark without which medical devices cannot be marketed or sold in the EU. To demonstrate compliance with the essential requirements, medical device manufacturers must undergo a conformity assessment procedure, which varies according to the type of medical device and its (risk) classification. Except for low-risk medical devices ( Class I non-sterile, non-measuring devices ), where the manufacturer can self-assess the conformity of its products with the essential requirements (except for any parts which relate to sterility or metrology) , a conformity assessment procedure requires the intervention of a notified body. Notified bodies are independent organizations designated by EU member states to assess the conformity of devices before being placed on the market. A notified body would typically audit and examine a product’s technical dossiers and the manufacturers’ quality system. If satisfied that the relevant product conforms to the relevant essential requirements, the notified body issues a certificate of conformity, which the manufacturer uses as a basis for its own declaration of conformity. The manufacturer may then apply the CE mark to the device, which allows the device to be placed on the market throughout the EU.
Throughout the term of the certificate of conformity, the manufacturer will be subject to periodic surveillance audits to verify continued compliance with the applicable requirements. In particular, there will be a new audit by the notified body before it will renew the relevant certificate(s).
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Medical Devices Regulation
On April 5, 2017, the EU Medical Devices Regulation was adopted with the aim of ensuring better protection of public health and patient safety. The EU Medical Devices Regulation establishes a uniform, transparent, predictable and sustainable regulatory framework across the EU for medical devices and ensures a high level of safety and health while supporting innovation. Unlike the EU Medical Devices Directive and the AIMDD, the EU Medical Devices Regulation is directly applicable in EU member states without the need for member states to implement into national law. This aims at increasing harmonization across the EU.
Devices lawfully placed on the market pursuant to the EU Medical Devices Directive or the AIMDD prior to May 26, 2021 may generally continue to be made available on the market or put into service until May 26, 2025, provided that the requirements of the transitional provisions are fulfilled. In particular, the certificate in question must still be valid. However, even in this case, manufacturers must comply with a number of new or reinforced requirements set forth in the EU Medical Devices Regulation, in particular the obligations described below.
The EU Medical Devices Regulation requires that before placing a device, other than a custom-made device, on the market, manufacturers (as well as other economic operators such as authorized representatives and importers) must register by submitting identification information to the electronic system (Eudamed), unless they have already registered. The information to be submitted by manufacturers (and authorized representatives) also includes the name, address and contact details of the person or persons responsible for regulatory compliance. The new Regulation also requires that before placing a device, other than a custom-made device, on the market, manufacturers must assign a unique identifier to the device and provide it along with other core data to the unique device identifier (“UDI”) database. These new requirements aim at ensuring better identification and traceability of the devices. Each device – and as applicable, each package – will have a UDI composed of two parts: a device identifier (“UDI-DI”) specific to a device, and a production identifier (“UDI-PI”) to identify the unit producing the device. Manufacturers are also notably responsible for entering the necessary data on Eudamed, which includes the UDI database, and for keeping it up to date. The obligations for registration in Eudamed will become applicable at a later date (as Eudamed is not yet fully functional). Until Eudamed is fully functional, the corresponding provisions of the EU Medical Devices Directive and the AIMDD continue to apply for the purpose of meeting the obligations laid down in the provisions regarding exchange of information, including, and in particular, information regarding registration of devices and economic operators.
All manufacturers placing medical devices into the market in the EU must comply with the EU medical device vigilance system. Under this system, serious incidents and Field Safety Corrective Actions (“FSCAs”) must be reported to the relevant authorities of the EU member states. Manufacturers are required to take FSCAs defined as any corrective action for technical or medical reasons to prevent or reduce a risk of a serious incident associated with the use of a medical device that is made available on the market. An FSCA may include the recall, modification, exchange, destruction or retrofitting of the device.
The aforementioned EU rules are generally applicable in the European Economic Area (“EEA”) which consists of the 27 EU member states plus Norway, Liechtenstein, and Iceland.
Brexit
Since January 1, 2021, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (“MHRA”) has become the sovereign regulatory authority responsible for Great Britain (i.e. England, Wales and Scotland) medical device market according to the requirements provided in the Medical Devices Regulations 2002 (SI 2002 No 618, as amended) that sought to give effect to EU Medical Devices Directive and AIMDD whereas Northern Ireland continues to be governed by EU rules according to the Northern Ireland Protocol. Following the end of the Brexit transitional period on January 1, 2021, new regulations require medical devices to be registered with the MHRA before being placed on Great Britain market. The MHRA only registers devices where the manufacturer or their United Kingdom (“UK”) Responsible Person has a registered place of business in the UK. Manufacturers based outside the UK need to appoint a UK Responsible Person that has a registered place of business in the UK to register devices with the MHRA.
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On June 26, 2022, the MHRA published its response to a 10-week consultation on the post-Brexit regulatory framework for medical devices and diagnostics. MHRA seeks to amend the UK Medical Devices Regulations 2002 (which are based on EU legislation, primarily the EU Medical Devices Directive and the EU In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices Directive 98/79/EC), in particular to create new access pathways to support innovation, create an innovative framework for regulating software and artificial intelligence as medical devices, reform IVD regulation, and foster sustainability through the reuse and remanufacture of medical devices. Regulations implementing the new regime were originally scheduled to come into force in July 2023, but have recently been postponed to July 2024. Devices bearing CE marks issued by EU notified bodies under the EU Medical Devices Regulation, the EU Medical Devices Directive or AIMDD are now subject to transitional arrangements. In its consultation response, the MHRA indicated that the future UK regulations will allow devices certified under the EU Medical Devices Regulation to be placed on the market in Great Britain under the CE mark until either the certificate expires or for five years after the new regulations take effect, whichever is sooner. Devices certified under the EU Medical Devices Directive or AIMDD could continue to be placed on the market until either the certificate expires or for three years after the new regulations take effect, whichever is sooner. Following these transitional periods, it is expected that all medical devices will require a UK Conformity Assessed ("UKCA") mark. Manufacturers may choose to use the UKCA mark on a voluntary basis until June 30, 2023. However, UKCA marking will not be recognized in the EU. The rules for placing medical devices on the market in Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK, differ from those in the rest of the UK. Compliance with this legislation is a prerequisite to be able to affix the UKCA mark to our products, without which they cannot be sold or marketed in Great Britain.
In addition, the Trade Deal between the UK and the EU generally provides for cooperation and exchange of information between the parties in the areas of product safety and compliance, including market surveillance, enforcement activities and measures, standardization-related activities, exchanges of officials, and coordinated product recalls. As such, processes for compliance and reporting should reflect requirements from regulatory authorities.
Similarly, we are subject to regulations and product registration requirements in many foreign countries in which we may sell our products, including in the areas of:
• design, development, manufacturing, and testing;
• product standards;
• product safety;
• product safety reporting;
• marketing, sales, and distribution;
• packaging and storage requirements;
• labeling requirements;
• content and language of instructions for use;
• clinical studies;
• record keeping procedures;
• advertising and promotion;
• recalls and field corrective actions;
• post-market surveillance, including reporting of deaths or serious injuries and malfunctions that, if they were to recur, could lead to death or serious injury;
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• import and export restrictions;
• tariff regulations, duties, and tax requirements;
• registration for reimbursement; and
• necessity of testing performed in country by distributors for licensees.
The time required to obtain clearance or certification required by foreign countries may be longer or shorter than that required for FDA clearance, and requirements for licensing a product in a foreign country may differ significantly from FDA requirements.
Federal, State, and Foreign Fraud and Abuse Laws
In addition to FDA restrictions on marketing and promotion of drugs and devices, other federal, state, and foreign laws restrict our business practices. These laws include, without limitation, foreign, federal, and state anti-kickback and false claims laws, as well as transparency laws regarding payments or other items of value provided to healthcare providers.
The federal Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits, among other things, knowingly and willfully offering, paying, soliciting or receiving any remuneration (including any kickback, bribe or rebate), directly or indirectly, overtly or covertly, in cash or in kind to induce or in return for purchasing, leasing, ordering or arranging for or recommending the purchase, lease or order of any good, facility, item or service reimbursable, in whole or in part, under Medicare, Medicaid or other federal healthcare programs. The term “remuneration” has been broadly interpreted to include anything of value, including stock, stock options, and the compensation derived through ownership interests.
Although there are a number of statutory exceptions and regulatory safe harbors protecting some common activities from prosecution, the exceptions and safe harbors are drawn narrowly. Failure to meet all of the requirements of a particular applicable statutory exception or regulatory safe harbor does not make the conduct per se illegal under the federal Anti-Kickback Statute. Instead, the legality of the arrangement will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis based on a cumulative review of all its facts and circumstances. Conduct and business arrangements that do not fully satisfy one of these safe harbor provisions may result in increased scrutiny by government enforcement authorities. Several courts have interpreted the statute’s intent requirement to mean that if any one purpose of an arrangement involving remuneration is to induce referrals of federal healthcare covered business, the federal Anti-Kickback Statute has been violated. In addition, a person or entity does not need to have actual knowledge of the statute or specific intent to violate it in order to have committed a violation.
The majority of states also have anti-kickback laws which establish similar prohibitions and in some cases may apply more broadly to items or services covered by any third-party payor, including commercial insurers and self-pay patients.
The federal civil False Claims Act prohibits, among other things, any person or entity from knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, a false or fraudulent claim for payment or approval to the federal government or knowingly making, using or causing to be made or used a false record or statement material to a false or fraudulent claim to the federal government. A claim includes “any request or demand” for money or property presented to the U.S. government. The federal civil False Claims Act also applies to false submissions that cause the government to be paid less than the amount to which it is entitled, such as a rebate. Intent to deceive is not required to establish liability under the civil federal civil False Claims Act. Moreover, a claim including items or services resulting from a violation of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute constitutes a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the federal civil False Claims Act. In addition, private parties may initiate “qui tam” whistleblower lawsuits against any person or entity under the federal civil False Claims Act in the name of the government and share in the proceeds of the lawsuit. The government may further prosecute conduct constituting a false claim under the federal criminal False Claims Act. The criminal False Claims Act prohibits the making or presenting of a claim to the government knowing such claim to be false, fictitious or fraudulent and, unlike the federal civil False Claims Act, requires proof of intent to submit a false claim.
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The Civil Monetary Penalty Law imposes penalties against any person or entity that, among other things, is determined to have presented or caused to be presented a claim to a federal healthcare program that the person knows or should know is for an item or service that was not provided as claimed or is false or fraudulent, or offering or transferring remuneration to a federal healthcare beneficiary that a person knows or should know is likely to influence the beneficiary’s decision to order or receive items or services reimbursable by the government from a particular provider or supplier.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ("HIPAA") also created additional federal criminal statutes that prohibit among other actions, knowingly and willfully executing, or attempting to execute, a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program, including private third-party payors, knowingly and willfully embezzling or stealing from a healthcare benefit program, willfully obstructing a criminal investigation of a healthcare offense, and knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing or covering up a material fact or making any materially false, fictitious or fraudulent statement in connection with the delivery of or payment for healthcare benefits, items or services. Similar to the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, a person or entity does not need to have actual knowledge of the statute or specific intent to violate it in order to have committed a violation.
Many foreign countries have similar laws relating to healthcare fraud and abuse. Foreign laws and regulations may vary greatly from country to country. For example, the advertising and promotion of medical devices is subject to some general principles set forth in EU legislation. According to the EU Medical Devices Regulation, only devices that are CE marked may be marketed and advertised in the EU in accordance with their intended purpose. Directive 2006/114/EC concerning misleading and comparative advertising and Directive 2005/29/EC on unfair commercial practices, while not specific to the advertising of medical devices, also apply to the advertising thereof and contain general rules, for example, requiring that advertisements are evidenced, balanced and not misleading. Specific requirements are defined at a national level. EU member states’ laws related to the advertising and promotion of medical devices, which vary between jurisdictions, may limit or restrict the advertising and promotion of products to the general public and may impose limitations on promotional activities with healthcare professionals. These laws, which vary between jurisdictions (thus making compliance more complex), may limit or restrict the advertising and promotion of our products to the general public and may impose limitations on our promotional activities with healthcare professionals. Many EU member states have adopted specific anti-gift statutes that further limit commercial practices for our products, in particular vis-à-vis healthcare professionals and organizations. Additionally, there has been a recent trend of increased regulation of payments and transfers of value provided to healthcare professionals or entities and many EU member states have adopted national “Sunshine Acts” which impose reporting and transparency requirements (often on an annual basis), similar to the requirements in the United States, on medical device manufacturers. Certain countries also mandate implementation of commercial compliance programs. Also, many U.S. states have similar fraud and abuse statutes or regulations that may be broader in scope and may apply regardless of payor, in addition to items and services reimbursed under Medicaid and other state programs.
Additionally, there has been a recent trend of increased foreign, federal, and state regulation of payments and transfers of value provided to healthcare professionals or entities. In the U.S., the federal Physician Payments Sunshine Act imposes annual reporting requirements on certain drug, biologics, medical supplies and device manufacturers for which payment is available under Medicare, Medicaid or CHIP for payments and other transfers of value provided by them, directly or indirectly, to physicians, as defined by statute, certain other non-physician practitioners such as physician assistants and nurse practitioners, and teaching hospitals, as well as ownership and investment interests held by physicians and their immediate family members. Manufacturers must submit reports by the 90th day of each calendar year. Many EU member states have adopted national “Sunshine Acts” which impose similar reporting and transparency requirements (often on an annual basis) on certain drug, biologics and medical device manufacturers. Certain foreign countries and U.S. states also mandate implementation of commercial compliance programs, impose restrictions on device manufacturer marketing practices and require tracking and reporting of gifts, compensation, and other remuneration to healthcare professionals and entities.
Violation of any of the federal and state healthcare laws described above or any other governmental regulations that apply to device manufacturers may result in significant penalties, including the imposition of significant civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, disgorgement, monetary fines, imprisonment, possible exclusion from participation in Medicare, Medicaid and other federal healthcare programs, contractual damages,
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reputational harm, diminished profits and future earnings, additional reporting requirements and/or oversight if the entity becomes subject to a corporate integrity agreement or similar agreement to resolve allegations of non-compliance with these laws, and curtailment of operations.
Data Privacy and Security Laws
Numerous state, federal and foreign laws, regulations, and standards govern the collection, use, access to, confidentiality and security of health-related and other personal information, and could apply now or in the future to our operations or the operations of our partners. In the United States, numerous federal and state laws and regulations, including data breach notification laws, health information privacy and security laws, including HIPAA, and consumer protection laws and regulations govern the collection, use, disclosure, and protection of health-related and other personal information. In addition, certain foreign laws govern the privacy and security of personal data, including health-related data. For example, the General Data Protection Regulation (the "GDPR"), imposes strict requirements for processing the personal data of individuals within the European Economic Area, or the EEA. Privacy and security laws, regulations, and other obligations are constantly evolving, may conflict with each other to complicate compliance efforts, and can result in investigations, proceedings, or actions that lead to significant civil and/or criminal penalties and restrictions on data processing.
Healthcare Reform
The U.S. and some foreign jurisdictions are considering or have enacted a number of legislative and regulatory proposals to change the healthcare system in ways that could affect our ability to sell our products profitably. Among policy makers and payors in the U.S. and elsewhere, there is significant interest in promoting changes in healthcare systems with the stated goals of containing healthcare costs, improving quality or expanding access. Current and future legislative proposals to further reform healthcare or reduce healthcare costs may limit coverage of or lower reimbursement for the procedures associated with the use of our products. The cost containment measures that payors and providers are instituting and the effect of any healthcare reform initiative implemented in the future could impact our revenue from the sale of our products.
The implementation of the Affordable Care Act (the "ACA") in the U.S., for example, has changed healthcare financing and delivery by both governmental and private insurers substantially, and affected medical device manufacturers significantly. The ACA, among other things, provided incentives to programs that increase the federal government’s comparative effectiveness research, and implemented payment system reforms including a national pilot program on payment bundling to encourage hospitals, physicians, and other providers to improve the coordination, quality, and efficiency of certain healthcare services through bundled payment models. Additionally, the ACA expanded eligibility criteria for Medicaid programs and created a new Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute to oversee, identify priorities in, and conduct comparative clinical effectiveness research, along with funding for such research.
Since its enactment, there have been judicial, executive and Congressional challenges to certain aspects of the ACA. On June 17, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed the most recent judicial challenge to the ACA without specifically ruling on the constitutionality of the ACA. Prior to the Supreme Court’s decision, President Biden issued an executive order to initiate a special enrollment period from February 15, 2021 through August 15, 2021 for purposes of obtaining health insurance coverage through the ACA marketplace. The executive order also instructed certain governmental agencies to review and reconsider their existing policies and rules that limit access to healthcare, including among others, reexamining Medicaid demonstration projects and waiver programs that include work requirements, and policies that create unnecessary barriers to obtaining access to health insurance coverage through Medicaid or the ACA.
In addition, other legislative changes have been proposed and adopted since the Affordable Care Act was enacted. For example, the Budget Control Act of 2011, among other things, included reductions to Medicare payments to providers, which went into effect on April 1, 2013 and, due to subsequent legislative amendments to the statute, will remain in effect into 2032, with the exception of a temporary suspension from May 1, 2020 through March 31, 2022, unless additional Congressional action is taken. Additionally, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, among other things, reduced Medicare payments to several providers, including hospitals, and increased the statute of limitations period for the government to recover overpayments to providers from three to
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five years. In addition, the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 enacted on April 16, 2015, repealed the formula by which Medicare made annual payment adjustments to physicians and replaced the former formula with fixed annual updates and a new system of incentive payments began in 2019 that are based on various performance measures and physicians’ participation in alternative payment models such as accountable care organizations.
We expect additional state, federal, and foreign healthcare reform measures to be adopted in the future, any of which could limit the amounts that federal, state, and foreign governments will pay for healthcare products and services, which could result in reduced demand for our products or additional pricing pressure.
Anti-Bribery and Corruption Laws
Our U.S. operations are subject to the FCPA. We are required to comply with the FCPA, which generally prohibits covered entities and their intermediaries from engaging in bribery or making other prohibited payments to foreign officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business or other benefits. In addition, the FCPA imposes accounting standards and requirements on publicly traded U.S. corporations and their foreign affiliates, which are intended to prevent the diversion of corporate funds to the payment of bribes and other improper payments, and to prevent the establishment of “off books” slush funds from which such improper payments can be made. We also are subject to similar anticorruption legislation implemented in Europe through EU member state laws and under the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions.
Segment Information
We globally manage our business within one reportable segment. Segment information is consistent with how management reviews our business, makes investing and resource allocation decisions, and assesses our operating performance.
Seasonality
Historically, we have experienced seasonality in our first and fourth fiscal quarters, and we expect this trend to continue. In the U.S., we have experienced, and may in the future experience, higher sales in the fourth quarter as a result of patients having paid their annual insurance deductibles in full, thereby reducing their out-of-pocket costs. Conversely, in the first quarter, many U.S. patients' insurance deductibles reset, requiring more out-of-pocket costs, which negatively impacts our sales during this period.
Human Capital
We pride ourselves on our innovative and collaborative work environment, which we believe has driven our success and which we seek to uphold through a diverse workforce, generous compensation and benefits, open communication, a focus on employee health, wellbeing and engagement, and robust training and development programs.
Employees
As of December 31, 2022, we had 755 employees, of which 722 are in the U.S., 32 are in Europe and one is in Japan. We increased the number of employees by 56% during 2022 to support the rapid growth of our business.
None of our employees is subject to a collective bargaining agreement or represented by a trade or labor union. We consider our relationship with our employees to be good.
Code of Business Conduct and Ethics
Inspire is committed to conducting business in accordance with the highest ethical standards and applicable laws. We maintain, and all of our employees are expected to adhere to our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics (the “Code of Conduct”), which serves as the foundation of Inspire’s core values that drive our company’s culture. All
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employees must certify they understand and comply with the expectations contained in the Code of Conduct. We also maintain an anonymous hotline for employees to report concerns regarding violations of the Code of Conduct. In addition, our employees complete training and education at least annually on a range of important topics related to our Code of Conduct.
Compensation and Benefits
Our human capital strategies, initiatives, and outcomes are reviewed on a regular basis with our Board’s Organization and Compensation Committee to help align with the company’s overall business strategies. In 2022, the Committee engaged an independent consulting firm to assess the market competitiveness of our compensation programs and offerings. We believe strongly in providing employees with the opportunity to participate as owners of the company. All of our full-time employees are eligible to receive annual grants of stock awards, which may include stock options, restricted stock units, or performance stock units, and can elect to participate in our employee stock purchase program. Additionally, beginning in 2022, we incorporated a 401(k)-employer match for all U.S.-based employees.
We typically complete a pay equity analysis every other year at the request of the Organization and Compensation Committee. The Committee reviews the detailed analysis with an outside consulting firm and reports the results to the full Board. Based on the results of the 2021 analysis, we believe our compensation programs are fair and equitable. The next analysis is expected to be completed in 2023.
Talent Management
With our aggressive growth objectives, it is imperative that we continue to hire exceptional talent and invest in the growth and development of our existing employees. Inspire’s growth has required several strategies to attract talent and meet our headcount plans. We have a strong internal referral network in which between 50% to 60% of all hires have been from internal referrals. This is supplemented with search partners, who meet with our talent acquisition team on a quarterly basis to review and provide the most up-to-date public information so that potential candidates can fully understand the potential that employment with Inspire can offer. Our search firms’ partners include U.S. veteran, women-owned, and minority-owned organizations. Even with aggressive headcount growth, our global attrition rate has been less than 11%.
We seek to foster a culture where learning is continuous. We believe in our people and their ability to accept new responsibilities and challenges, and to grow with us to contribute to our success. We look to foster growth through professional development and learning programs, as well as practical experience leading projects or teams. To support newly promoted leaders, we have implemented a leadership program entitled, “Boss to Coach,” which is specially designed to help them succeed in their expanded roles. Additionally, we provide leadership coaching opportunities through external partners. Our leadership team participates in a talent review and succession planning exercise typically annually in order to identify organizational needs, development opportunities, and potential future leaders. This has enabled us to identify the resources and skill sets needed to meet our growth objectives.
Over 50% of our leadership promotions have been from within. In 2022, we launched tools that support individual managers as they seek to enhance their leadership skills and deepen their team’s engagement.
To encourage further professional development of our employees, in 2022 we introduced a tuition reimbursement program for those pursuing an advanced degree.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
We strive to create a culture in which all employees feel heard, respected, and valued. All new employees participate in training focused on appropriate, respectful, and inclusive workplace behavior. In 2020, we created an engaging training initiative for all employees which encourages awareness of unconscious bias and microaggressions. Building on our 2020 program, during 2021, we implemented sessions specifically for Inspire leaders to create respectful culture within their teams. The goals of these programs are to encourage broad and
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diverse viewpoints to achieve the best outcomes for our patients, customers, and employees, and to build awareness of how our own behaviors impact our colleagues.
In addition to new employee training focused on creating a harassment-free work environment, managers participate in facilitator-led training focused on the importance of inclusivity and diversity of thought. Leaders are provided information and tools that help them, with the assistance of our Human Resources team, to investigate and address issues. The program, entitled “Humanity is our Superpower,” was launched in 2022. Following the program, leaders meet as a team and review ideas for creating an environment where inclusion prospers.
During talent acquisition, our recruiting team reinforces with hiring managers the importance of seeking and engaging with diverse candidates. In order to develop a more diverse talent pool, we actively seek diverse candidates to participate in our Internship Program and routinely host activation events at college campus career fairs. We also partner with four external agencies, including veteran and women-owned organizations, to supplement field hiring with a focus on diverse candidate slates.
As of December 31, 2022, 46% of our workforce was female, and 14% identified as a member of minority racial group.
Charitable Giving
Our employees are passionate about improving the lives of others. This passion is at the core of our various philanthropic initiatives that our company and employees support, through which, we have had significant positive impact on our community over the years. As our business continues to grow and expand geographically, we intend to build upon that impact by expanding these initiatives in ways that are aligned with our community giving goals.
Environmental, Social, and Governance
As our business continues to grow and develop, we recognize the importance of making responsible business decisions for the benefit of all of our stakeholders, including our stockholders, customers, employees, partners, the communities in which we work and live, as well as the planet. To that end, we are in the process of designing, evaluating, and implementing a corporate Environmental, Social and Governance ("ESG") program and engaged an outside consultant to help us conduct a materiality assessment and develop a strategy, including short, intermediate and long-term objectives. We published our inaugural ESG Report in December 2022, which is available on our website, and expect to continue reporting on our progress to our various stakeholders annually.
Available Information
We file Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, proxy statements, amendments to such documents and other information with the SEC. Our SEC filings are available to the public over the Internet at the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov . We also make these filings available, free of charge, under the Investor Relations section of our website at www.inspiresleep.com as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish such material to, the SEC. Our Corporate Governance Guidelines, Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, ESG Report, and the charters for the committees of our Board of Directors are also available free of charge at https://investors.inspiresleep.com. Information on our website, including our Corporate Governance Guidelines, Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, ESG Report, and committee charters, is not part of this or any other report we file with, or furnish to, the SEC.