Medtronic announced at its annual investor meeting that it has acquired substantially all glucose monitoring technology from Danish company PreciSense. The purchase was made to expand Medtronic’s continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) pipeline, which allows for real-time monitoring of glucose levels in diabetes patients. Their plans include the development of a “closed-loop” system (also known as an “artificial pancreas”) that mimics the insulin delivery of a healthy pancreas. Minneapolis-based Medtronic already has the MiniMed Paradigm® REAL-Time Continuous Glucose Monitoring System, which combines CGM technology with insulin pump therapy. The system lets patients monitor their glucose levels in real time, alerting patients to dangerously high or low levels and allowing them to better manage their diabetes.
According to BizJournals, Medtronic expects their diabetes business to grow between 10 and 14 percent this fiscal year. Terms of the PreciSense deal were not disclosed.
In addition to Medtronic and PreciSense, several other companies are working in the CGM device space:
Advanced Biosensors is developing an “artificial pancreas” that utilizes wireless, percutaneous CGM technology.
DexCom of San Diego has designed both short- and long-term CGM systems.
The GlucoLight Corporation‘s CGM device monitors specific targets within the dermis that correlate to changes in blood glucose levels.
Solianis Monitoring of Switzerland plans to launch its non-invasive CGM device in 2010.