Abbott, Novo Nordisk partner to share insulin pen data with CGM system

Abbott and Novo Nordisk on Wednesday announced a non-exclusive partnership that will integrate insulin dose data from Novo Nordisk’s pre-filled, connected pens with digital health tools compatible with Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre system, according to a press release from the two companies.

Integrating these two products will enable health care professionals, caregivers and people with diabetes to view glucose and insulin data together to help them make more informed treatment decisions, the two companies noted in the release.

"Lack of reliable information is a cause of huge frustration for many people with diabetes and their doctors," Anders Dyhr Toft, corporate vice president of commercial innovation at Novo Nordisk, said in the release. "Together with partners like Abbott, our connected pens will give health care professionals a better understanding of a patients individual diabetes management and can help people with diabetes feel more confident in their treatment."

Jared Watkin, senior vice president of diabetes care at Abbott, said the partnership will allow people with diabetes to spend less time on disease management.

“People with diabetes must make a variety of decisions every single day about their glucose monitoring, nutrition, insulin and medication intake,” Watkin said in the release. “By enabling insulin dosing data from Novo Nordisks connected pens to be shared with our digital health tools, well be able to help further eliminate those daily hassles for people, so they have more time to live a fuller, healthier life."

In July, the FDA approved the FreeStyle Libre flash glucose monitoring system, which allows patients with diabetes to wear the sensor up to 14 days with high accuracy. That approval made Abbott’s continuous glucose monitor the longest-lasting, self-applied personal glucose sensor available on the market, with improved accuracy and reduced warmup time. The FDA approved a 10-day version of the CGM system in September 2017, making it the first CGM system in the U.S. that did not require finger-stick calibration for adults with diabetes.

Details regarding a timeline for the new partnership were not released. In the statement, the two companies said they plan to make the integrated solution available for patients as soon as possible. – by Regina Schaffer

Disclosures: Toft reports he is corporate vice president of commercial innovation at Novo Nordisk. Watkin reports he is senior vice president of diabetes care at Abbott.