Medtronic plc and Qualcomm Incorporated through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Qualcomm Life, Inc., today announced a global, multi-year collaboration to jointly develop the future generation of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems that aim to improve health outcomes for people with diabetes.
By giving insights to doctors and people with type 2 diabetes concerning glucose levels, the companies hope to enable more informed care, especially for those patients who do not currently have control of their diabetes. The collaboration seeks to leverage Medtronic’s market-leadership in diabetes management and Qualcomm Life’s expertise in developing reference designs for wireless, single-use, and small integrated modules to create more affordable, easier-to-use CGM systems, including a new sensor and smaller design that can provide near real-time and retrospective glucose data.
The initial focus of the collaboration will be to develop a single-use CGM system designed for broader practice by general practitioners who manage care for the vast majority of the 400 million people worldwide with type 2 diabetes. This collaboration supports Medtronic’s strategy to develop comprehensive CGM solutions that not only measure glucose but enable the delivery of actionable insights to both patients and providers.
Leveraging Qualcomm Life’s deep wireless expertise and technologies, 2net™ Design is a platform for designing the communications components of connected medical devices, including disposable drug delivery devices and disposable diagnostic devices for condition specific connected therapies.
Laura Stoltenberg, vice president and general manager, Non-Intensive Diabetes Therapies at Medtronic said in an official statement:
“We believe that glucose should be a vital sign of diabetes health. Professional CGM is an increasingly used diagnostic tool that empowers physicians and patients with meaningful glucose data to tackle glucose control. Our solutions go beyond delivering data and provide automated observations and clinical decision support to help create a personalized care plan. Our vision is to transform diabetes care so people with diabetes can enjoy greater freedom and better health. We are thrilled to be collaborating with Qualcomm Life . . . to develop innovative and affordable CGM systems that will fundamentally change type 2 diabetes management.”