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F&P: It could be ‘long journey with COVID-19’

F&P: It could be ‘long journey with COVID-19’ Company also responds to competitor’s recall

AUCKLAND, New Zealand – Fisher & Paykel Healthcare expects new patient diagnoses for sleep therapy in the second half of its 2022 fiscal year to be at or above the previous year, but there is “uncertainty” with another uptick in the number of COVID-19 cases. 

The company reported revenue of $227 million for the first half of the year for its home care products group, which includes products used to treat obstructive sleep apnea, representing only a 0.3% increase. 

"Growth on OSA masks is dependent on new patient diagnoses, and they continue to be impacted by COVID 19 and now the supply of treatment hardware,” said CEO Lewis Gradon during a conference call to discuss the company’s latest financial results. “There continues to be a lot of uncertainty with this pandemic, especially heading into winter in the Northern Hemisphere. We’re currently seeing some countries returning to different forms of lockdown. It could be a long journey yet with COVID-19 to get to a point where business and life are more predictable.” 

F&P reported that 18% of revenues in the home care products group came from hardware and the remaining 82% from consumables. 

When asked on the call why F&P hasn’t taken advantage of disruptions in the market due to the Philips recall to increase its market share, Gradon said supply chain constraints have limited its ability to access the raw materials required to ramp up production to meet increased demand. 

“With these recent events, really, we haven’t had a lot of choice,” he said. “It’s been an absolute struggle to maintain what we were already planning. That’s been hard enough.” 

Gradon was also asked how F&P has responded to the recall, in terms of the materials used in its devices. In November, following an inspection of Philips’ manufacturing facility, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration filed a Form 438 that showed the replacement foam being used in a device marketed outside the U.S. failed one safety test for the release of volatile organic compounds. 

“When it first surfaced, we checked any firms that we (use) for any of our products and we checked the composition,” he said. “And we checked all of the required biocompatibility and toxicological testing. I don’t have to say, it’s all in place, all the required testing has been done, and as it happens, we don’t utilize this second foam at all that they’ve used.”

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