A veteran of more than two decades in medtech, he only took over the corner office at the Dutch insulin patch pump maker in February. However, his focus on diabetes goes back much further than last winter.
When his youngest daughter was 11 months old, she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Now 18, she has worn an insulin pump for close to her entire life. The lived experience of raising someone with diabetes drove Arnold to where he is now at ViCentra.
“I’ve seen the experience firsthand,” Arnold told Drug Delivery Business News. “It’s given me a profound understanding of the daily challenges of diabetes management, both as a parent and watching my daughter deal with that as she’s grown up. And, while the technology and the innovation have been incredible, particularly over the last five or six years, there are still shortcomings with that technology.”
Arnold’s previous experience totals more than 20 years in medtech and includes about six years in the Diabetes business at Medtronic. While at Medtronic, he played a pivotal role in launching the world’s first hybrid closed-loop insulin pump system.
Now, he brings that experience to ViCentra as it advances its Kaleido insulin patch pump platform. With a planned launch and significant funding in hand, Arnold and ViCentra are looking to make the next steps with the innovative pump.
“What drew me to ViCentra was Kaleidos potential to redefine insulin therapy,” Arnold said. “The reality is, it’s not like any other pump. It’s the smallest, thinnest, lightest, most precise insulin patch pump in its class, and it’s built with premium materials that make it something that patients want to wear, not have to wear.”
About the technology
The pump offers users options in terms of wearability and comes with two durable, rechargeable pumps, eliminating the need to dispose of the pump every three days, while the infusion set lasts for that three-day span. The design aims to integrate seamlessly into the user’s daily life.
Rather than a traditional syringe pump setup, Kaleido has what Arnold labels a “micro pumping chamber” that uses valves. This allows the device to be offered at its current size and could even enable more miniaturization for future versions. It also delivers precision and has a unique blockage detection system, Arnold said.
“It’s that pumping mechanism that really serves as the inner workings of what makes this thing a special product,” Arnold said.
According to Arnold, the durable, disposable pumps provide sustainability benefits and cost benefits. They offer infusion sets at two lengths: a two-inch and 12-inch option. The two-inch set allows users to wear the pump effectively anywhere on the body.
Users control the pump using a handset with the DBLG1 algorithm from Diabeloop and Dexcom G6 sensor. With the next generation, the company will offer the DBLG2 algorithm, controllable via smartphone app, and integrate it with the latest-generation G7 sensor.
“We feel really good that, come the spring of next year, we’re going to have one of the most competitive systems in the marketplace in Europe,” Arnold said.
What’s happening at ViCentra?
ViCentra re-entered the market last year and, over the past 18 months or so, added about 3,500 patients in Germany, France and the Netherlands with no marketing.
Arnold had a simple explanation why:
“The short version is, we can’t make enough product to support he demand and we weren’t well-financed to be able to add the manufacturing capacity,” he said. “We’ve been around about 12 years and we’re now at what I would call a significant inflection point in the business where we’re ready to commercially scale.”
This week, the company announced an oversubscribed $85 million funding round that will support the company’s commercial push.
ViCentra intends to use the funds to accelerate manufacturing scale, launch its next-generation Kaleido 2 insulin patch pump in Europe and prepare for U.S. market entry. Early uptake in Germany, France and the Netherlands has driven demand beyond initial expectations, the company said. The cash infusion can help scale the business for rapid revenue acceleration.
Arnold also said investor interest remains, so the company may explore a second close in October.
“We started this process hoping to raise about half as much as we did,” Arnold said. “We were really thrilled with the level of investor interest. Raising $85 million in this market today is very, very difficult to do.
“And, we’re not done yet.”
What’s next?
For the first goal, Arnold said the company currently has more than 800 patients in Germany that received a prescription for Kaleido but still await actually receiving their pump.
“You might say that sounds terrible, but when we’ve talked to the patients, they know full well that it’s going to take six months,” he explained. “We tell them that on the front end and they still want Kaleido.”
Within 24 hours of securing the financing, Arnold said he signed purchase orders for about $4 million worth of capital equipment to begin building out lines to scale production. If all goes to plan, ViCentra expects unconstrained supply for the first time by next spring.
That supply would allow for the company’s second aim. It expects to begin in its current markets in Europe, then consider expanding to other European countries as it continues its rollout in the coming years.
Finally, ViCentra plans to bring the funds to its Kaleido 2 pump. The next-generation product that’s smaller and lighter than the current version. The company expects to bring that to the Europe market next year and file for FDA approval at the end of 2026, with eyes on bringing the pump to the U.S. in 2027.
“We’re thrilled to be able to do it,” Arnold said. “This financing is really critical for more manufacturing, scaling in Europe and preparing for U.S. market entry.
“We have a great team.They’ve been thinking about the U.S. market for quite some time. We just needed the money to be able to go make it happen and we have that money now.”
