Jim Clemmer: Yeah. We’re not currently marketing the Auryon to small vessel DVT today. We’re going to make some changes. You’ll see some stuff. As we get closer to launch, we’ll share with you some design iterations we’ll make, different products, different sizes that we’ll offer to fit the venous structure. So you won’t see much in data there. I can’t predict what a physician may do on their own, but we’re targeting really today Auryon to be used in the arterial component targeting PAD. That’s still where our main targets are outside of the development efforts now for the venous option.
Steve Lichtman: Got it. Okay. And then shifting to APEX underway here. Can you give us any sort of color in terms of sort of the pace of enrollment? Any thoughts in terms of timing relative to completing enrollment in that trial?
Jim Clemmer: Yeah. So we haven’t given specifics in terms of the enrollment number on APEX. We’re pleased with the pace that we’re seeing. As far as these clinical studies go 12 to 18 months kind of from now is when we expect to finalize the enrollment and move forward. So we’ve been pretty pleased with the pace that we’re seeing there, particularly in the current environment.
Steve Lichtman: Okay. Got it. And then lastly on Auryon, is the expectation for this year that you will continue – I mean the continued expectation that you’ll see a bit of a slowdown in terms of new placements and really trying to drive utilization within the current base? Has anything changed with respect to your thoughts on how that will play out in fiscal ’23?
Jim Clemmer: Steve, back what we said back in July when we kind of kicked off this fiscal year, we mentioned to each of our investors that our plan was to shift slow down a bit of the new placements because we want to make sure we’re also maximizing our efficiencies in the ratio of the patients that we serve and the cases that we receive where we already have Auryon lasers placed. So it’s really a combination then we’re still going to place lasers. Don’t expect as many places this year as last year, as we’ve already said, because we want to manage our capital base as well. It’s a really great product, but it’s an expensive base, as you know. We want to make sure that we’re getting the efficiencies that we need from our customers who use it.
They’re working on that. We think the hydrophilic coating will be a real big enabler of that as more physicians now have confidence in the product, how they can steer it deliver to the lesion, get it to where they want in a really cool fashion. So we’re really excited hearing the comments that they’ve given us. So we’ll work with each quarter, Steve. But that balance will continue, and we will place less lasers this year. Doesn’t mean there’s less interest or demand, but we’re going to manage the business. Still going to grow dynamically, but we’re just shifting the business as well in a normal maturation phase.
Steve Lichtman: Right, right. And just a clarification, did you guys increase the selling reps for Auryon this quarter sequentially? And what are your thoughts in terms of adding there through this fiscal year?
Steve Trowbridge: There was maybe one that was – one head that was added during this quarter. So as we’ve talked about, we’re being very thoughtful about how we continue to invest in that business. We felt that we had a pretty well staffed team for the rest of this fiscal year. And as we move into the next fiscal year, we’ll assess continued investments to support the overall trajectory.
Steve Lichtman: Got it. Thanks, Jim. Thanks, Steve.
Steve Trowbridge: Thanks, Steve.
Operator: The next question is from the line of Matthew Mishan with KeyBanc Capital Markets. Please proceed with your question.
Matthew Mishan: Good morning. Thank you. Good morning. To start off, it seems like Mechanical Thrombectomy and AngioVac are a little bit below expectations for this year. I just want to fully understand kind of what is the offset to that in guidance?
Jim Clemmer: Hi, Matt, it’s Jim. So we can both answer. But again, we gave you a little – the walk-through. AlphaVac’s been terrific off the expectations that we have. AngioVac slightly under. I mentioned a couple of reasons why and what we’re doing about that, A, working very close with our customers. And then B, number two, always looking at our sales approach. We’ve learned a lot since June 1 when we launched AlphaVac AngioVac together in a combined exclusive sales bag. So we’ll get better at how we go to market. And we brought down slightly the number, as you saw, in that category, but we’re well within the comfort of our guidance range. We’ve seen some other things. We didn’t talk about NanoKnife a lot here, but you saw that’s already outperforming the guidance range expectations that we gave there.
So you can look at expectations we have. Our international business has done a terrific job. We have some new exclusive distribution partners that are helping us with clinical pull-through, the customer level. So other things we’ve talked about a little bit, we haven’t given a lot of detail on, but we’re really confident still in that range we gave you for total guidance.
Matthew Mishan: Okay. And does the reaffirmation of guidance sort – is it a sign that you are more confident in the stability of the current environment? You’re halfway through a year. Like is the macro – you’re unique and one of the first companies to kind of report after November and December. Are you seeing the level of steadiness like in the marketplace?
Jim Clemmer: Good point, Matt. And we mentioned on the prepared remarks, we have seen a slow gradual uptick and kind of confidence at that delivery level. But I talk every day, as you do, to hospital CEOs and customers, they still aren’t clear in all cases. There’s some regional effect, but there’s clearly a shortage of some staff levels, nursing being the most appropriate that we see. But it’s gotten better. It’s baked into kind of the confidence I just talked to you about why we’re confident in the guidance range that we have with one piece of that confidence. Others are our products are being received, the good work our team has done to bring the backlog down. Still the great work on our Med Device platform, getting that back to growth, our teams there are doing a great job. All those are together, Matt. But yes, back to answer your question, our confidence that our customers are getting a bit more stable is part of that.
Steve Trowbridge: Yeah. And Matt, in Jim’s remarks, he talked about the ongoing staffing pressures that hospitals are facing but that, as expected, our experience has been that hospitals are finding ways to manage through that. I think that is really the theme, both hospitals as well as businesses, and we fall into that, too, are understanding the current environment, we’re managing through it. So there isn’t an expectation in the back half to hit our guidance that things have to completely change from where they are or snap back to pre-pandemic or pre-disruption levels. Our expectations are that we’re going to continue to manage through the environment as we see it. And as Jim said, we’ve got the confidence in our guidance range based upon that.
Matthew Mishan: Okay. Thank you for that. And then a follow-up on the shift in development from the F14 to Auryon. Are those the same doctors in office space labs? Or does that require you to make a bigger push in Auryon into the hospital?
