A partnership between delivery technologies developer, Insulet, and Abbott will see the companies integrate their respective developments, Omnipod Horizon automated insulin delivery system and FreeStyle Libre glucose level sensor, into one system.
The result will be a solution where the required quantity of insulin for the patient will be calculated based on the glucose data captured by the sensor, and automatically adjusted in the delivery pod and administered to the patient.
Insulin quantity calculation will be processed via an algorithm embedded in the Omnipod system, once the data is transmitted by the sensor.
The platform will be designed to remain in automated insulin delivery mode; however, it will be connected to and controllable via an application for smartphones, allowing the user to manually take insulin doses, if needed.
According to Abbott, this integrated system will be the first combined system with a fully disposable wearable sensor and pump, and is expected to offer significant benefits to patients, such as ease of use and convenience due to dosing accuracy and simplicity.
Moreover, users will ultimately benefit from ease of obtaining supplies with this ‘pay-as-you-go’ insulin administration model, eliminating product wastage, Abbott stated.
Connected approaches to improve diabetes management are currently in the spotlight for manufacturers, “as diabetes care becomes more interoperable,” commented Jared Watkin, Diabetes Care SVP of Abbott.
This latest partnership follows a collaboration of Abbott with Sanofi, which saw the companies work jointly to integrate the glucose monitoring system with the latter’s insulin pens.
Ease of use in device manufacturing, as well as integration of digital technologies, are becoming increasingly important due to the prevalence of chronic diseases such as diabetes, with manufacturers looking for ways to make the delivery of such treatments more convenient.