Medtronic Partners With DreaMed On Artificial Pancreas Technology

By Jof Enriquez,
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Medtronic and Israeli company DreaMed Diabetes recently inked a global licensing agreement that will incorporate DreaMed’s patented artificial pancreas technology into Medtronic’s insulin pumps.

Under the terms of the deal, DreaMed will receive undisclosed royalties for Medtronic devices that utilize its flagship GlucoSitter automated insulin delivery system, according to Reuters. Medtronic will develop and market said devices, and will also pour a $2 million investment into DreaMed.

“We are very excited that only one year since inception, we have signed a strategic collaboration agreement with Medtronic, the world leading medical device company,” Moshe Phillip, MD, chairman and chief scientific officer of DreaMed Diabetes, said in a press release.

“This is an extremely gratifying validation of our technology and a major milestone for our Company. We are certain that this partnership, which will incorporate our solution into Medtronic’s integrated insulin pump and glucose monitoring system, will improve the health as well as the quality of life of people living with diabetes,” Phillip added.

DreaMed has developed the CE-approved GlucoSitter, a fully automated, closed-loop, artificial pancreas system designed to achieve optimal blood sugar levels, according to the press release. The system links the glucose sensor with an insulin pump through computerized control algorithms. The software constantly monitors blood glucose levels and adjusts the amount and timing of insulin doses throughout the day.

“We have a system from the field of ‘fuzzy logic,’ which sees a broad spectrum of shades of grey, between the ‘white’ goal, and the ‘black’ danger areas,” DreaMed Diabetes CEO Eran Atlas told the Israeli business daily Globes. “The system also adapts itself to the individual patient’s insulin response. Based on the initial, real-time response to the insulin, the system decides how much more to administer.”

The partnership with DreaMed brings Medtronic one step closer to its goal of developing a fully automated artificial pancreas. In 2006, the company introduced the world’s first integrated insulin pump and continuous glucose monitor (CGM). The latest iteration of that system — the MiniMed 640G with SmartGuard technology — was recently unveiled by the company. Described by the company as the most sophisticated integrated insulin pump and CGM system in the world, the MiniMed 640G can suspend insulin delivery when sensor glucose levels predict declining blood sugar levels and resume insulin delivery once sensor glucose levels begin to recover.

Other companies are also trying to advance the development of CGM systems into fully automated artificial pancreas systems. Researchers believe these future devices will eventually replace the cumbersome prick tests and manual injections performed by millions of diabetics around the world, and to significantly cut healthcare costs and deadly complications from diabetes due to poor glycemic control.