AtriCure, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRC) Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

William Plovanic: It was [indiscernible], for your own portfolio, what’s the first product?

Mike Carrel: Yes, I mean, we think PFA can fit really well into every one of our technologies, very well as an option for people to utilize. As we’ve mentioned on this call before, we’ve definitely got programs underway, and we are making really good progress on that front, and it would be across pretty much our entire portfolio of products.

Operator: Thank you. [Operator Instructions] Our next question comes from Rick Wise with Stifel. Your line is open.

Unidentified Analyst: Hi, Mike. Hi, Angie, this is John on for Rick today. First question, just curious about pricing the quarter. And also in the year ahead, you have several product launches, just curious how it might have factored into growth here and how you’re looking at it for the rest of the year?

Angie Wirick: Hi, John, when you think about a couple of the product launches that we outlined on the call, I think we’ve said, the cryoSPHERE plus the newest technology, that we’re in the process of a limited launch currently, in our pain management business, we would expect that to launch at similar pricing to the device that’s on the market. Today, there’s a time savings benefited, we do think that most accounts will migrate over to this and there’s actually a cost savings benefit to the company, it’s a better gross margin profile. But keeping the price the same on that so not going to be a big driver of growth throughout the year, I’d say a AtriClip Flex Mini, which would be kind of next step in terms of the launch, to be determined that, at a future date warmer closer to the launch on that the way that we’re thinking about this, though, from how that factored into the guide is just looking for the impact from a volume perspective and not an uplift on a pricing perspective.

With a couple of the products in our European markets where we’ve gotten premiums in the U.S., the strategy would be the same when we launched the EnCompass clamp in Europe, it would be at a higher price than our existing devices. So that’s been factored in to kind of the outlook, again, minimal quantities in 2024, more impactful in 2025. But that has been factored into the overall guide. So taking a step back, when you look at the quality of growth for 2024, we believe most of this is driven by just sheer volume growth as we continue to penetrate each of our markets.

Unidentified Analyst: Great, that’s helpful. And just to follow-up, you talked about starting up the first LeAAPS site in Europe. And I was just curious, you saw pretty strong growth again, o-U.S. in the appendage management business. I’m just curious, maybe how LeAAPS can help get the O-U.S. business potentially growing faster, more sites interested? Just sort of any thoughts there on dependency management outside the U.S.? Thanks for taking the questions.

Mike Carrel: I think, when we think about long-term, the impact of LeAAPS, the reason we’re doing a global trial, and including both Europe and Asia in the trial, trying to get them up and running fast because it’s enrolled so fast in the U.S. is because we do want to make the standard of care changes everywhere around the globe. It’s that’s what this trial is meant to be. It’s one of the reasons to trial so large. And so we’re really excited about getting Europe up and running now and hopefully within the next 3 to 6 months getting some sites in Asia as well. So that can be truly an international trial on that front. And we believe that’s going to change adoption rates around the globe. As I mentioned, it’s only like 5% penetrated around the globe.

And so if we can improve stroke reduction in this patient population, that’s obviously a significant benefit for society. And for those patients, which we believe can change payer practices in countries throughout the world. And that is one of the reasons that we’re doing that trial. So I do think that’s going to be a critical piece for us to change care is the LeAAPS trial overall, in the short-term what we’re seeing is just a recognition with all the guideline changes that you’ve seen. First, the guidelines in the U.S. and then now era just came out recently where they made it a Class 1A guideline that you must manage the appendage, it’s basically telling everybody that they need to increase that I believe that guideline changes that we’ve seen over the last 4 months, will probably have a more dramatic effect on our business o-U.S. just because there’s so lowly penetrated at this point in time.

It takes time though, because they’ve got to work out reimbursement by country and things like that. But I do believe that there’s the potential to have some impact based on those guideline changes.

Unidentified Analyst: Thanks very helpful.

Operator: Thank you. [Operator Instructions] Our next question comes from Marie Thibault with BTIG. Your line is open.

Marie Thibault: Hi, good evening, and thanks for taking the questions. Want to revisit the LARIAT and AtriClip discussion just to try to triangulate some of the numbers you offered us. It looks like LARIAT and minimally invasive AtriClip were flat growth year-over-year at about $9 million of the U.S. appendage management revenue this quarter. And then AtriClip in the open setting, which is where we’re seeing the competition was about $27 million which grew 15.5% you said, to those numbers sound about right to you? And then secondly, is that the right way to think about kind of a similar breakdown and growth trend for those two parts for the rest of the year? Mid-teens in the open AtriClip and then flat and other appendage management, just want to make sure that we understand some of those puts and takes.