Lifeward Q2 2025 Earnings Call Transcript

Quartr
Provided by Quartr
August 14, 2025

Key Takeaways

  • Positive Sentiment: FDA clearance secured for the ReWalk 7 Personal Exoskeleton with over 20 units installed in the US and CE clearance nearing completion in Europe.
  • Positive Sentiment: Transitioned to in-house manufacturing of the ReWalk exoskeleton, yielding cost savings, quality control improvements, and enhanced production flexibility.
  • Neutral Sentiment: Q2 revenue was $5.7 M (down 15% YoY but up 14% QoQ), driven by record ReWalk Medicare placements and an 86% increase in the qualified US pipeline since Q3 2024.
  • Positive Sentiment: Quarterly cash burn improved to $3.9 M from $5.6 M a year ago, ending the period with $5.1 M in cash and no debt.
  • Negative Sentiment: Full-year 2025 guidance was reset to $24–26 M in revenue and a non-GAAP net loss of $12–14 M, reflecting a more conservative outlook.
AI Generated. May Contain Errors.
Earnings Conference Call
Lifeward Q2 2025
00:00 / 00:00

There are 6 speakers on the call.

Speaker 4

Today, and welcome to the second quarter 2025 Lifeward conference call. All participants will be in listen-only mode. If you do need assistance, please signal a conference specialist by pressing the star key followed by zero. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To ask a question, you may press star, then one on a touch-tone telephone. To withdraw your question, please press star, then two. Please note this event has been recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Mr. Almog Adar. Please go ahead.

Speaker 3

Thank you, Alicia. Good morning and welcome to Lifeward's second quarter 2025 earnings call. I am Almog Adar, Lifeward's Chief Financial Officer, and with me on today's call is Mark Grant, our President and Chief Executive Officer. Earlier this morning, Lifeward issued a press release detailing financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2025. The press release and webcast of this call can be accessed through the Investor Relations section of the Lifeward website at golifeward.com. Before we get started, I would like to remind everyone that any statement made on today's conference call that expresses a belief, expectation, projection, forecast, anticipation, or intent regarding future events and the company's future performance may be considered a forward-looking statement within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act.

Speaker 3

These forward-looking statements are based on information available to Lifeward management as of today and involve risks and uncertainties, including those noted in our press release and our filing with the SEC. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statement. Lifeward specifically disclaims any intent or obligation to update this forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future development, or otherwise except as required by law. A replay will be available shortly after the completion of the call, accessible from the dial-in information in today's press release. The archived webcast will be available in the Investor Relations section of our website at golifeward.com. For the benefit of those who may be listening to the replay or the archived webcast, this call was held and recorded on August 14, 2025.

Speaker 3

Since that date, Lifeward may have made subsequent announcements related to the topic discussed, please reference the company's most recent press release and SEC filings for the most up-to-date information. With that, I will turn the call over to Lifeward's President and CEO, Mark Grant.

Speaker 1

Thank you, Almog. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. I'm Mark Grant. It's a privilege to speak with you on my first earnings call as Lifeward's President and Chief Commercial Officer. Over the past several weeks, I've met with our teams, customers, and partners, and I've been inspired by the positive energy and deep commitment that runs through this company. Lifeward is built on a foundation of innovation, purpose, and patient-centered delivery, and I intend to build on that strength as we move forward. Our strategy is clear: delivering life-changing solutions efficiently and at scale, guided by an unwavering commitment to the patients at the heart of everything we do. That means accelerating commercial adoption across all of our products, expanding our portfolio with cutting-edge solutions, and holding ourselves accountable through the operational rigor needed to deliver sustainable results for customers and shareholders alike.

Speaker 1

I also live this mission personally. A little over 20 years ago, I experienced a spinal cord injury that resulted in left leg paralysis and a long, difficult recovery, a journey in which I could have directly benefited from Lifeward's portfolio. That experience, combined with more than two decades of global medical device leadership and commercial execution, operations, and payer engagement, gives me a very unique perspective on both patient needs and the path to delivering our solutions at scale. Frankly, it started even earlier than my injury. Decades spent with my father-in-law, one of the first deans of disability support services in the university system, left an indelible mark with me.

Speaker 1

He played a pivotal role in instituting Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and in driving the support and execution that led to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as well as the 2008 Amendments Act, Title II and Title III of the FDA, and the Fair Housing Act, all of which established a well-grounded foundation for me to build upon during my life and my career. As you can see from me stepping into this role, it's not just a professional milestone. It's a personal mission, one that combines deep empathy with the drive for continuous innovation and operational discipline. My commitment is to ensure that we stay ahead of the market needs, expand access to our solutions, and deliver tangible, lasting impact. Now let's move on to some recent accomplishments.

Speaker 1

In Q2 2025, revenue was $5.7 million, also reflecting a record quarter for REWALK Medicare placements. As you remember, in March, we achieved FDA clearance for our REWALK 7 Personal Exoskeleton, the latest innovation in the REWALK pipeline that introduces new features streamlined for accessibility and ease of use in everyday environments. Improved battery life, push button control, seamless stair curb activation, and cloud connectivity. To date, over 20 systems, over 20 REWALK 7 units have been installed in the U.S., with overwhelmingly positive feedback from both patients and therapists. We're currently in the final stages of attaining CE clearance for REWALK 7 and look forward to a similar response with our subsequent launch in Europe. On the operations side, we completed the transition to in-house manufacturing of the REWALK Personal Exoskeleton, delivering cost savings, improved quality control, and greater production flexibility.

Speaker 1

Additionally, as part of our consolidation efforts, we've finalized the closure of our AlterG manufacturing facility in Fremont, California. In the U.S., we've continued to expand our payer base for the REWALK Personal Exoskeleton. Our partnership with CoreLife, a division of NuMotion, has accelerated our lead pipeline and processing timelines for workers' compensation plans. We've also continued to work with the Medicare Administrative Contractors, the MACs, to achieve clarity on case submission requirements, and we received a recent ruling by an administrative law judge affirming that REWALK Personal Exoskeleton is reasonable and necessary for medical beneficiaries. As a result of these and other achievements, we improved our quarterly cash flow to $3.9 million, down from $5.6 million in Q2 2024, also $5.5 million in Q2 2025, driven by operational efficiencies, facility consolidations, and other reduction initiatives.

Speaker 1

Now let me turn to our growth strategy, which is anchored in three core pillars that will drive sustained performance and long-term value creation. The first pillar is accelerating commercial adoption. We're building on strong momentum from recent Medicare and commercial insurer wins by reducing approval times, expanding coverage, and scaling access globally. This effort is supported by four key levers: payer expansion, channel distribution, digital engagement, and strategic alliances. By pairing innovation market access strategies with process improvements in reimbursement and collections, we aim to speed order-to-cash cycles, improve DSOs, and convert demand into revenue more efficiently. The second pillar is portfolio diversification. We are leveraging software innovation, robust hardware, and AI integration to expand capabilities to deepen customer engagement. Our innovation focus is matched by disciplined execution, ensuring that our solutions are effective, intuitive, and accessible to the broadest patient base while remaining commercially viable at scale.

Speaker 1

The third is operational excellence. We're focused on driving margin improvement, deploying capital with rigor, accelerating cash conversion through greater efficiency in reimbursement and collections. Here, innovation means continuously refining our internal processes from manufacturing to revenue cycle management. These improvements are designed to extend our financial runway, enhance our profitability, and ensure that growth translates into predictable, timely revenue. One highlight and a clear glimpse of what's possible is the performance of our GmbH team in Germany. They're operating profitably, building a strong patient community, and using their payer acceleration and market skill to move quickly in rolling out innovative new business models. These models blend accelerated commercial adoption through channel partnerships and distribution growth with disciplined execution and reimbursement, allowing faster order-to-cash and better DSO.

Speaker 1

At the same time, the team is expanding AlterG sales through targeted channel strategies and local market innovation, proving the value of our portfolio diversification approach. Operational excellence is evident in their ability to test, refine, and scale solutions rapidly, ensuring that what works in Germany can also adapt for other global markets, including the U.S. Germany has become our proving ground. Here, we push the limits of delivery, integrate customer feedback quickly, and perfect strategies before broader rollout. This approach reinforces the strength of our three pillars, delivering tangible results today while charting the course for sustainable, profitable growth tomorrow. Lastly, I know you've already heard from him, but I'm pleased to share earlier this week we appointed Almog Adar as Lifeward's Chief Financial Officer. Almog is no stranger to Lifeward.

Speaker 1

Having served more than five years in senior finance roles within the company, Almog's proven track record here at Lifeward gives me full confidence in his ability to strengthen performance, improve operating efficiency, and progress toward long-term profitability. I'm looking forward to working closely with him to accelerate execution and unlock more of Lifeward's growth potential. Almog, welcome to your new role and over to you.

Speaker 3

Thanks, Mark. I'm pleased to be speaking with you in my first week as Lifeward's Chief Financial Officer. Having spent more than five years in senior finance roles here, I've developed a deep understanding of our product, market, and operations, complemented by prior leadership experience outside Lifeward. This combination enables me to contribute not only as a financial leader but also as a strategic partner in guiding the company's direction. Lifeward has a strong foundation, an innovative product portfolio, a talented team, and a mission that is deeply meaningful to me: improving the quality of life for the people we serve. As CFO, my focus will be on maintaining rigorous financial oversight, aligning resources with the highest impact opportunities, and managing our cash position prudently to support sustainable long-term growth. With that, let's turn to our financial results for the quarter.

Speaker 3

As we review our results, I will cover both GAAP and non-GAAP figures. The non-GAAP results exclude the items detailed in the reconciliation table in today's earnings release, and in our view, provide a clear picture of the company's underlying operating performance. I'm encouraging you to refer to the GAAP results and the reconciliation table. As we go through the second quarter 2025 financials, year over year, Lifeward reported revenues of $5.7 million in Q2 2025 compared to $6.7 million in the second quarter of 2024, a decrease of $1 million or about 15%. Quarter over quarter, revenue increased approximately 14% from $5 million in Q1 2025, driven primarily by higher sales of REWALK systems in Germany. Now, let's break it down by product line on a year-over-year basis.

Speaker 3

Revenue from our traditional products and services, which include the REWALK Personal Exoskeleton, the MyoCycle FES System, and the ReStore Exo-Suit, totaled $2.5 million in Q2 2025 compared to $3.1 million in Q2 2024, a decrease of about $600,000 or 19%. The prior year period included about $700,000 of Medicare-related revenue recognized for submissions made in 2023 and the first quarter of 2024. Excluding the one-time revenue recognition in Q2 2024, Medicare-related sales grow year over year. We also continue to improve REWALK sales, achieving our highest quarterly total of units placed to Medicare beneficiaries since its schedule established in April 2024. Our pipeline of qualified leads continues to expand and advance, with more cases moving into later stages of the claim process, positioning us for future conversion to sales.

Speaker 3

Revenue from AlterG products and services was $3.2 million in Q2 2025, down from $3.6 million in Q2 2024, primarily due to the timing of deliveries to international distributors. The pipeline of high-probability leads remains strong and is expected to support higher deliveries in the second half of the year. Across both product lines, our commercial pipelines remain healthy. For the REWALK product line, we saw our third consecutive quarter of pipeline growth, ending the quarter with more than one-third qualified leads in process in the U.S., reflecting an 86% increase in our active pipeline since Q3 2024. In Germany, we had 46 leads in process at the quarter end, including 34 active rentals, which historically convert to sales within three to six months. For AlterG, we closed the quarter with 15 systems in backlog.

Speaker 3

The high-probability lead pipeline provides visibility into anticipated demand, and we continue to focus on converting these leads into orders. Moving to gross profit, in the second quarter of 2025, our GAAP gross profit was $2.5 million, or 43.9% of revenue, compared to $2.8 million, or 41.1% in the second quarter of 2024. On a non-GAAP basis, for the second quarter of 2025, gross profit was $2.5 million, or 44% of revenue, compared to $3.1 million, or 46.9% in the second quarter of 2024. The year-over-year change in non-GAAP margin primarily reflects the absence of a one-time benefit from Medicare-related revenue recognized in last year's second quarter, for which the related cost has been recorded in prior periods. GAAP operating expenses were $9.1 million in the second quarter of 2025, compared to $7.2 million in the second quarter of 2024.

Speaker 3

The increase was largely driven by a $2.8 million goodwill impairment charge, triggered by a significant decline in our share price that created a gap between our market value and book value. This non-cash charge has no impact on our liquidity or the ongoing operational performance of the business. On a non-GAAP basis, adjusted operating expenses were $6 million in the second quarter of 2025, compared to $6.9 million in the second quarter of 2024. The decrease primarily reflects greater efficiency in reimbursement activities, improved efficiency in marketing and sales operations, and lower R&D spending after the completion of major development programs. We expect this positive trend to continue into the second half of 2025, supported by the ongoing impact of our efficiency measures. Our GAAP operating loss for the second quarter of 2025 was $6.6 million, compared to $4.4 million in the second quarter of 2024.

Speaker 3

On a non-GAAP basis, operating loss was $3.5 million, compared to $3.7 million in the same period last year. We expect our quarterly operating loss to narrow further in the second half of 2025 as sales volume continues to grow and efficiency measures take hold. We ended the second quarter of 2025 with $5.1 million in cash and cash equivalents and no debt, including approximately $1.2 million in gross profit from our ATM facility and approximately $2.6 million from our public offering completed during the quarter. Our operating cash usage in the second quarter of 2025 was $3.9 million, compared to $5.6 million in the second quarter of 2024 and $5.5 million in the first quarter of 2025. The improvements reflect the benefit of operational efficiencies and the closure of our Fremont facility. Our cash usage was still higher than expected due to two main factors.

Speaker 3

First, Medicare collection remains slower than anticipated. While we continue to submit claims and build our receivables, payments from Medicare Administrative Contractors are still not occurring on a regular cycle. We are actively working with the MACs to improve processing times and expect to see progress in the second half of 2025. Second, inventory increased due to our transition to in-house manufacturing following the conclusion of our agreement with Semena, which required us to secure long lead-time components internally. In addition, we are simultaneously supporting production for both the REWALK 6 and the REWALK 7, as we await CE approval in Europe for the REWALK 7. Over time, we expect inventory levels to decline and for this transition to drive improved gross margin and enhanced product quality. Based on our current plan, we remain a going concern with sufficient cash to fund operations into the fourth quarter of 2025.

Speaker 3

We are considering both debt and equity opportunities to support our operations and growth plans while implementing cost management plans to preserve resources and maintain focus on our core business. Lifeward is resetting its full 2025 guidance under the new management team, focusing on revenue and non-GAAP net loss as our key performance indicators. For 2025, the company now expects full revenue in the range of $24 to $26 million and a projected non-GAAP net loss in the range of $12 to $14 million. While we have adjusted our near-term outlook to reflect the current environment, our long-term growth drivers remain firmly intact. We are executing with focused discipline to capture these opportunities and position the company for sustained value creation. With that, I would like to turn the call back to Mark for further remarks.

Speaker 1

Thank you, Almog. We're committed to setting expectations responsibly. While our long-term opportunity remains significant, it's important to acknowledge that some revenue cycles in our markets are inherently extended, particularly those dependent on payer approvals and coverage decisions. At the same time, we are deliberately pacing our investments to preserve cash, sustain operational discipline, and support long-term value creation. As a result, we expect growth in the next few quarters to be more gradual than some might anticipate, with meaningful acceleration weighted toward the back half of our strategic plan and beyond. This measured approach reflects disciplined execution, ensuring every step we take advances our mission, strengthens our financial foundation, and positions Lifeward for durable, profitable growth. As your new CEO, I bring a different kind of rigor, one shaped by a track record of transformative commercial execution, relentless innovation, and operational discipline.

Speaker 1

This approach will define how we operate, how we compete, and ultimately how we win. You should expect the same high standards I've consistently upheld, standards that our patients, providers, and shareholders rightly deserve. We remain committed to developing solutions that provide, restore, and enhance independence, confidence, and quality of life for the people we serve. I look forward to sharing our continued progress with you next quarter. In closing, I want to thank the employees, customers, and shareholders for your ongoing trust and support. I'm confident that Lifeward is on the right path, one that balances bold innovation with disciplined, patient-centered execution. Operator, let's now open the line for questions.

Speaker 4

We will now begin the question and answer session. To ask a question, you may press star, then one, on your touch-tone telephone. If you're using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing the keys. At any time your question has been addressed and you would like to withdraw your question, please press star, then two. At this time, we will pause momentarily to assemble our roster. First question is from I-Eh Jen, Laidlaw & Company.

Operator

Excuse me. Good morning and thanks for taking the questions. Congratulations for being this new CFO. A couple of quick ones here. The first one is in terms of the Medicare revenue for the quarter. I didn't hear any specific. Maybe I missed it. Could you provide some colors on that?

Speaker 3

Yeah, sure. Thanks, first, Yehu. In Q2 2024, we had the one-time revenue recognition that's related to submissions that we made during 2023 and Q1 2024, approximately more $700,000. As I explained, excluding this portion of one-time item in Q2 2024, we have a growth like for the original submission that we made in Q2 2025 compared to Q2 2024 for Medicare. In addition, this is our highest quarterly revenues with the placed unit with the CMS since we launched the plan.

Operator

Okay, great. That's very helpful. You mentioned there's a number of leads in the United States as well in Germany. Could you clarify that for me? I thought that it was 130, but could you clarify that for me?

Speaker 1

Thank you for the question. The Medicare leads are greater than 130 right now, and the pipeline continues to build quarter over quarter. As you would imagine, as you've alluded to and as these questions are kind of digging into, the revenue is a bit lumpy just because we're still expanding the coverage and understanding the timing. Things continue to grow quarter over quarter.

Speaker 3

I would add to that the 130. Yeah. We have more than 130, and it's a combination. It's not only CMS, it's also Workers' Comp and VA opportunities.

Operator

Correct. Okay, great. That's very helpful. Maybe my last question is a little bit in two parts. The first one is, is the current sort of tariff situation has any impact on you? The second part of that is, given your guidance for the 2025 guidance, you will expect to grow and have the revenue, particularly in the REWALK side, have the highest so far in history. Was something that you guys feel that achievable? Thanks for taking the questions.

Speaker 3

Okay. Related to your first question related to the tariff, we are not facing any issues with the tariff because our REWALK Exoskeleton is a medical device that has some—

Speaker 1

Exemptions.

Speaker 3

Exemption, exactly. Thank you. Exemption. We are facing some tariff situations with China and Taiwan for our AlterG products, and we are working towards finding some solution here in the U.S. The effect is immaterial at this stage for us. Related to the second question and the guidance update, yes, we are expecting some growth in REWALK revenues also in Q3 and Q4 for the REWALK product.

Operator

Okay, great. That's very helpful. Again, thanks. Congrats to both of you on the new position.

Speaker 3

Thank you.

Speaker 1

Thank you. Thank you for the questions.

Speaker 4

Next question is from Swayampakula Ramakanth, H.C. Wainwright & Co.

Speaker 5

Thank you. Thanks for taking my questions. Good morning, Mark and Almog. Congratulations to both of you for your positions here. Mark, it's great. It's nothing like having a personal interest when you're coming into a new position. Starting off, you were saying in the opening remarks about 20 units of REWALK 7 having placed since approval. Are these units primarily through Medicare, private payers, VA? I'm just trying to see how well distributed these 20 units are.

Speaker 1

Yeah, that's a good question. They're distributed across all channels. Yes, we have a high focus on the CMS Medicare.

Speaker 5

Okay. Regarding the ALJ ruling, how does it benefit? Does it help in the CMS processing? Does it improve on the timing? Does it improve on getting less number of questions and pushback from the CMS? How does that ALJ ruling really help you?

Speaker 1

Based on my previous experience, and I think you remember, you know I've managed hundreds of payer contracts and government contracts across the globe in thousands of variants. As ALJ decisions come forward, they do. They shape how the policies are written, they shape coverage determination, and they also shape how the processes are actually built. It's been helpful to have those rulings, even though it's painful for a patient and for everybody involved. It's an important process and step in how we secure our current coverage.

Speaker 5

Okay. On the reimbursement itself, during that process, there was a lot of going back and forth on the dollar amount and whatnot. Now that you're introducing REWALK 7, is the reimbursement dollar amount, has it gotten better because this is an advanced mission, or you are trying to first make sure that you have more installations before worrying about reimbursement price?

Speaker 1

That's actually a really unique question because the payment is differing across all payer channels, right? Whether that's Workers' Comp, whether it's VA, whether it's private managed or Medicare. For Medicare, the REWALK 6 and REWALK 7 are the same ASP, but across the other payers, it's actually completely different. We intend to expand the reimbursement over time as we bring additional innovation forward. Right now, as you alluded to, we're really trying to penetrate the market and understand all the payer environments. I don't know that I have a comprehensive picture to be able to tell you that we could officially go change pricing right now. I think more it's about establishing this novel technology and making sure that it's got a forge-solidified place in the marketplace.

Speaker 5

Okay. Just a couple more. I'm sorry I'm taking too much of your time there. On the AlterG commercialization, since you know quarter after quarter, we are seeing AlterG contribution getting better, what are your plans to ensure that you actually maintain that sustainability of growth? What are the near-term milestones for that to happen?

Speaker 1

Yeah, a couple of things. One of which, it's an exceptional product, right? I actually had the chance to use it as I came on board. As I mentioned earlier in the call, I have a left leg deficiency, and it immediately picked up on that left leg deficiency to the point where they thought the system was off because I didn't disclose that I had actually had some previous injuries. I love the product. I could have used it in my therapy and healing along the way. There is a definite reinsurgence of growth that can happen with the AlterG product. We're looking at channel partners across the globe right now to figure out how to best expand that product. Also, we're looking at a renewed focus in how we actually go to market with it.

Speaker 1

It fits well within our portfolio, but our portfolio doesn't expand to all of the professional athletics and high school sports and elites. Really having some hyper-focus around those particular markets is important for us to do going forward. I think it's a really key part of our portfolio, and I do see its acceleration as we go forward.

Speaker 5

Okay. The last question is actually on the guidance and the margins. You know, the guidance came down a bit. Obviously, it's not huge numbers, but in general, you know what's the thinking behind lowering the guidance that bit? Almog, as you said, you're bringing manufacturing in-house. I know you said there was going to be some impact on the inventory at the beginning. Overall, you know what sort of margin expansion could we expect by bringing that in-house?

Speaker 3

Okay. I will start first with the margins. As you mentioned, we made the transition during Q2 from Semenna to our facility in Jokneham. This change brings with it a lot of efficiency and improvements from a lot of aspects. Some of them are in the margin area, some of them are in the quality area. We are expecting the margin to be improved for sure. I cannot provide right now a number, but there is an improvement in terms of the margin.

Speaker 5

Okay. Almog, any comments on the guidance?

Speaker 1

I think it's important to notice we moved the facility internally. We took on quite a bit of inventory, which we didn't have on our books. This is actually going to impede the margin in the short term, but that'll improve over time as well. Not only do we have value engineering in place to make sure that we actually improve the true COGS of the product, we also are just battling a little bit of inventory in the short term.

Speaker 3

There is another reason for the inventory increase. We are right now delivering two products. In Germany, we are still providing the six, and in the U.S., we are in the seven. We need to maintain parallel. Hopefully, during Q3, we'll get the CE approval, and this will affect also the inventory from this aspect. Related to your question to the guidance, can you remind me the question again?

Speaker 5

I'm just saying, you know, the reasoning behind lowering the guidance is because at one level, you're saying you expect better revenues going forward in the second half. At the same time, you're kind of lowering the guidance. Is there something that you're concerned about?

Speaker 1

There's nothing we're concerned about. The trajectory of growth that was in the previous plan is just different, right? As we've started to navigate all these different payers across the globe, the timing has not been what we've expected. As you can see from our numbers, the pipelines are growing, right? The products are expanding. The innovation is being approved. The timing is something yet to be understood. Frankly, that's why I'm here. The expertise that I've had over the last 20 years of delivering in this exact environment is the rigor that I'm going to bring to hopefully speed this up. I want to be realistic in my initial overview of the organization and set expectations correctly.

Speaker 5

Thank you. Thank you, Mark and Almog, for taking all my questions.

Speaker 1

Thank you.

Speaker 3

Thanks, Alger.

Speaker 4

Next question is from Benjamin Charles Haynor, Lake Street Capital Markets.

Speaker 2

Good morning, gentlemen. Thanks for taking the questions. First off, for me, Mark, in your experience, obviously great to see that ALJ decision. Just thinking through that, I know these things are kind of one-offs individually, but does it take a handful of these things to go your way? Is it more about an undefeated win rate or a high win rate to get people to get the policies in place that make these things go more smoothly in the future? What really trips that trigger?

Speaker 1

Yeah, I'm definitely going to give you based on my experience because this market's a little different, you know, just from a size-wise. It's a heavy lift for everyone, right? It brings people together to solution. You're correct. You need to have a high hit rate. The product needs to be the right patient at the right time. Both of those combined actually really work well. In this type of market, I don't actually think it takes a bunch because it's a heavy lift around everyone. My previous experience is it has not taken a lot of ALJ cases to bring everybody to the table. I think everybody just wants to make sure that we're spending the healthcare dollars appropriately. I understand the process. I'm not a fan of it, but I understand it.

Speaker 1

I think your summary of it, you know, that no, it just takes a high win rate. We got to make sure we have the right patients and the right therapies. We need to actually go through the lift to get through to understand, you know, that we have the right patients for the right technologies. As we do that, we can formulate the processes with the governing bodies as well as the private payers.

Speaker 2

Got it. Do you get the sense that folks are moving more closely to putting, you know, kind of a decision in place where it's just like, "Here's what we need," and these are the criteria, or is that still a little bit amorphous?

Speaker 1

I'll give you one point, and that's probably as far as I can elaborate. Near-term claims are being processed. The further out claims that we processed a long time ago are still in the works. That would tell me that we're figuring it out both sides, right, payer and internally here at Lifeward?

Speaker 2

Okay. That's a helpful color. I appreciate the commentary on kind of the timelines not being nailed down completely yet. Maybe can you talk about, to the extent that you know, cost per pipeline addition, attrition in the pipeline, ultimate cost to successfully acquire a REWALK patient, and then, does the timeline shortening, hopefully over time, in your view, ultimately impact kind of everything in that, the cost of the additions, the attrition, and all that, all those sorts of metrics?

Speaker 1

I'll back up a step, and then I'll attempt to answer the question. First, for me, there's three areas that are core to the business. Access is key, and that's across the patient and payer market. The next is innovation is really still at our core, and we need to make sure that we capitalize on that by delivering a high-quality product and moving on into next iterations. Operational excellence, which is frankly where you're landing, needs to be our fabric. We're seeing the pipelines actually there. When you speak to attrition and everything else, I see this organization as a startup. The pipelines are growing. There's not a lot of attrition as we're finding the patients. What actually we're trying to find is how do we find partners or build ourselves to make sure we can access all the payer needs?

Speaker 1

Right now, there's not a lot of attrition in the pipeline. What's happening is we actually need to pull these pipelines through and formalize the processes so it's cleaner. There's not a lot of time for me to base on attrition metrics at this point. It's definitely something we should talk about in the future.

Speaker 2

Okay. That's helpful. Fair enough. I appreciate the commentary on what you guys have going in Germany. What kind of needs to happen here in the U.S. to duplicate some of the things, the positive things that you've seen in Germany?

Speaker 1

Yeah. One is focused execution, right? AlterG has a very specific call point in the sports arena, and we need to make sure that we're highly focused on that and getting back to those roots. Secondarily, the portfolio sale is really good. We have highly skilled clinical reps, so I'm comfortable with having REWALK and the MyoCycle products and AlterG in their portfolio. I think a focused effort here in the U.S. I think secondarily we've got to find some different channel partners. I've been exploring some things out of my past and looking forward to make sure we're using the right delivery model. Ultimately, it's all about reach. We have excellent products. They're all underpenetrated. They're all exceptional in quality. It's all about the reach penetration. Again, I'll go back to the four tenets, you know, three tenets. It's access is going to be key. It's across all portfolios.

Speaker 1

Our innovation, but I'm just picking on what it is today. Their great products are excellent in the marketplace, incredibly relevant, and still forging paths with the best names. The operational excellence is just where it's coming down to. I'm going to lean on that third one because that's the question you asked. It's really about the rigor and discipline that we take into the marketplace. That's actually what's required for us to excel.

Speaker 2

Okay. Got it. Lastly, for me, just on the MyoCycle FES System products and AlterG, what is kind of embedded in the guidance for that? I mean, do you expect growth from last year?

Speaker 1

We expect growth from last year on both product lines, yes.

Speaker 2

I think all three.

Speaker 1

Okay. Thank you, man.

Speaker 2

Yep. Thanks a lot, guys.

Speaker 4

This concludes our question and answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Mr. Mark Grant for any closing remarks.

Speaker 1

If there are no more questions, we'll go ahead and conclude the call. I appreciate everybody's attendance today. Thank you, and we're looking forward to next quarter.

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