Piper does not expect Tandem Diabetes recall after report of patient death

Shares of Tandem Diabetes (TNDM) moved lower today after a report of a patient death surfaced on the FDA's Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience database stating that, according to the coroner, an individual's blood glucose level was very low when they died, Piper Jaffray analyst JP McKim tells investors in a research note. The patient was using Tandem's T:Slim insulin pump with the Basal-IQ feature, which suspends the delivery of insulin when a patient is going low, adds the analyst. "While this event is certainly tragic, unfortunately some patients experience such issues and ultimately expire while on insulin pumps," says McKim. The analyst does not believe this issue will cause a recall of the Tandem Diabetes pump or impact its ability to get new products approved. With that said, McKim highlights the design of Insulet's (PODD) OmniPod, which he notes cannot inject all of its insulin into a patient at once, making it an "extremely safe product." As such, if some patients are worried about using a traditional tubed insulin pump from the patient death report, Insulet would be the beneficiary, contends the analyst. However, he reiterates an Overweight rating on Tandem Diabetes, saying today's news is likely just a negative headline rather than significantly impactful to its business. The stock in midday trading is off the day's lows but remains down 3%, or $1.98, to $57.23.