NeuroPace, Inc. (NASDAQ:NPCE) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

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Drew Ranieri: Hi, Joel. Hi, Rebecca. Thanks for taking the questions. Maybe just to go back to guidance, I know it’s been touched on a few times, but I was just hoping that you could help put a finer point on what your building in for underlying a new implant growth for 2024 because when I look back at 2023, some of the numbers that you gave, new implant growth was probably close to 50% year-over-year. You also kind of talked about that you’re absorbing some of the RNS implants from the NAUTILUS trial there. So just to help us kind of parse out like what’s being built in from an underlying utilization or new account metric perspective for your 2024 guide for RNS?

Joel Becker: Thanks, Drew. That’s a great question. We do see underlying growth here from RNS implants and really being driven off of the modern RNS story strategy that we had talked about. We see growth coming from initial implant sales from RNS as well as growth from DIXI. So we see growth across both of the product lines. And as I mentioned, when you see the growth that’s in the guidance, that growth has to overcome the impact of the NAUTILUS implants in 2023, the net change of the further diminishment of the replacement units and then that DIXI impact of full year distribution. So we do see growth across both product lines. We see growth across both those product lines that results in the double digits that we’ve got here in the guide.

We’re not breaking it out product line by product line. But we do see strong growth from both of the product lines making up the point here in the guidance and needing to overcome some of those dynamics from 2023. I know that’s not a fulminant answer to the specifics of maybe you want me to do a calculation for you for how we get there. But those are some of the ins and the outs, the underlying organic growth rate associated with adoption and utilization in our core centers and then the activities that we have underway to both expand adoption and utilization as well as initiate activities for project here and expansion of DIXI revenue then kind of being offset by some of those other dynamics that I mentioned.

Drew Ranieri: Okay. But bottom line, you’re feeling good about growing off like around the $52 million you did in initial implants for 2023.

Joel Becker: We see initial implant revenue from RNS systems as an area of growth for us in 2024.

Drew Ranieri: Okay. Great. And then just on DIXI and I appreciate you’re not going to give us like all the refinery detail that we all desire. But just as you are thinking about 2024, just give us a sense of are you expanding DIXI with existing customers? Have you kind of really spread that out around all the accounts that you had just for RNS. And I guess I’m just trying to get a sense of like where you are in the commercial progress, distribution progress for the product line. Thanks for taking the questions, Joel.

Joel Becker: Thank you, Drew. And it’s another great question. And with regard to DIXI, I think we see opportunities really across the product line with DIXI. And by that, I mean I think we see opportunities to – through service and support and through talking with centers about the modern approach to managing epilepsy patients and the use of RNS, Phase 2 monitoring being an important part of that. And so deepening the growth of SEEG electrode use in Level 4 centers is an opportunity for us to grow that part of our business even with current customers, one. Two, we absolutely see the opportunity for us to expand the base of our customer footprint. One of the opportunities associated with the distribution deal like this one is, of course, to leverage our commercial organization, and we do feel like there is an opportunity to both competitively as well as then in introducing SEEG electrodes into Level 4 centers, an opportunity for us to expand the footprint of the technology as well.

And so we’ve been really pleased with the progress that we’ve made with DIXI, but I also see opportunities in a number of different kind of vectors there to leverage the distribution relationship in our organization to broaden the adoption and utilization of DIXI as well as with RNS.

Drew Ranieri: Thanks, Joel.

Joel Becker: Thank you.

Operator: [Operator Instructions] There are no further questions at this time. Speaker, please continue.

Joel Becker: Thank you. And thank you, everyone, for joining the call tonight. Thank you for the time and for your interest in and support of NeuroPace. We look forward to and are excited about 2024. And continuing NeuroPace’s mission of transforming the lives of patients living with debilitating seizures. Thanks to all.

Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today’s conference call. Thank you for joining. You may now disconnect.

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