Building the platform
Before we get into the meat of our post today a few housekeeping items. First and foremost we have come up with a title for our upcoming Special Report which will be … wait for it … The Convergence of Forces – A look into the future of the diabetes market – Will this be the big bang or a big whiff? And YES we are still offering a discount for orders received prior to the end of this month which means time is running out to receive what is an incredible discount. To secure your copy just email us at dkliff@diabeticinvestor.com with the subject line Special Report and we’ll get you all the details.
Now onto business which this week means Lilly and Dexcom take center stage with both reporting earnings tomorrow. Frankly we aren’t expecting any surprises which likely means we might get one or two. We should also note that Livongo also reports this week, the 28th after the markets close, but will not be holding a call given their pending merger with Teladoc.
Something tells us that the Dexcom call will be more interesting than the Lilly call. It might be our trick knee or the fact that shares of the company have been rising nicely leading up the call. Now this could just be the normal let’s buy before the announcement rise or it could be the sign of something bigger in the offing. Like we said before we don’t expect any surprises but that’s usually when we get one and with Dexcom if there is one it likely will be a positive one.
With Lilly we hope to hear more about when their version of Tyler will get here but likely won’t hear much on this subject. The simple fact is until Medtronic actually launches their Tyler there is no sense of urgency for either Lilly or Novo Nordisk to launch their Tyler’s. Both Lilly and Novo are focused on their growing GLP-1 franchises with insulin becoming an afterthought. Hopefully Lilly will throw in an update on tirzepatide currently in Phase 3 a drug many see as game changing.
Not earnings-related news comes today that LifeScan continues to reposition itself from a traditional BGM company to a diabetes management company. This morning the company announced a partnership with Truepill™ which according to their press release:
“LifeScan, a world leader in blood glucose monitoring serving 20 million people with diabetes and the maker of the iconic OneTouch® brand, today announced its partnership with TruepillTM, the digital health platform powering consumer health experiences through its API-connected infrastructure. The partnership supports LifeScan’s strategic move to expand its OneTouch brand offerings beyond diabetes testing supplies to innovative digital wellness offerings for diabetes and related health conditions, including weight loss, fitness, and hypertension. The partnership will launch in November with an eCommerce platform embedded directly in the OneTouch Reveal® mobile app enabling users to buy testing supplies and wellness services from their homes. “
Now if this sounds like LifeScan, which also has a partnership with Noom®, is trying to become Livongo you don’t need to have your hearing checked as that’s exactly what they are trying to become. And of course LifeScan isn’t the only one as you can’t swing that poor dead cat without hitting companies who want to be Livongo. Listen with Teladoc valuing Livongo at $18.5 BILLION can you blame these companies. But it does make one wonder with all this coming competition did Teladoc vastly overvalue Livongo? Well it doesn’t make us wonder as we know they did.
