Irish medical device company Medtronic and Danish multinational pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk have entered into a collaboration to develop solutions based on insulin dosing data and smart insulin devices.
Under the partnership, insulin dosing data from future Novo Nordisk smart insulin pens will be integrated into Medtronic’s Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) devices, including the Guardian Connect system.
Novo Nordisk commercial strategy and corporate affairs executive vice-president Camilla Sylvest said: “Millions of people living with diabetes work to control their sugar levels and track their insulin injections every day.
“To help ease the hassle of diabetes management, we are excited to be partnering with Medtronic, the largest medical device company in the world. We now collaborate with all major CGM device producers, which means we can bring the benefits of smart insulin pens to even more people.”
Insulin dosing data and continuous glucose monitoring data can be tracked in a single place
Medtronic said that diabetes patients spend an average of one hour a day on self-care, representing full two years dedicated to their disease over their lifetime. The new collaboration underlines the companies′ commitment to making diabetes management easier by integrating key health technologies.
The integration of technologies enables people with diabetes and their caregivers to automatically track the insulin dosing data and monitor glucose data in a single place.
In addition, availability of glucose and insulin data together would enable more informed decisions on better management of glucose levels and increase Time in Range (TIR), the percentage of time people with diabetes spend in the optimal glycaemic range of 70-180 mg/dL.
Novo Nordisk plans to launch its durable smart insulin pens, NovoPen 6 and NovoPen Echo Plus, along with disposable, pre-filled injection solution, in 2020.
Novo Nordisk’s smart insulin pens will be compatible with Android and iOS devices, and Medtronics’ Guardian Connect system will be updated to integrate data from Novo Nordisk smart pens.
The Guardian Connect system is a smart CGM system that allows people using multiple daily injections (MDI) to manage their diabetes with personalised insights. It is the only CGM system capable of providing predictive alerts up to 60 minutes in advance.
Medtronic advanced insulin management division president Alejandro Galindo said: “We see incredible power in combining a variety of data points to drive insights that help people living with diabetes make more informed decisions around managing their glucose levels.
“Our new agreement with Novo Nordisk, the world’s largest producer of insulin, will streamline the sharing of two of the most important pieces of information – glucose measurements and insulin dosed. With this, Medtronic can further enhance our market-leading analytics and insights to help ease the burden of diabetes.”
