Dexcom last month announced it has signed a five-year collaboration agreement with the University of Virginia to advance its research and development efforts on continuous glucose monitoring-based solutions. The research partnership will center on advancing Dexcom’s automated insulin delivery technology and exploring the use of continuous glucose monitoring tools outside the type 1 diabetes market, including inpatient hospital use, type 2 diabetes, and gestational diabetes.
The collaboration will expand upon Dexcom’s automated insulin delivery technology, which the company acquired in 2018 with the purchase of Virginia-based startup TypeZero Technologies and the establishment of Dexcom’s Charlottesville office. In addition, the company’s next-generation closed loop algorithms will be refined and piloted in a series of clinical trials. The expansion of Dexcom’s Charlottesville team in conjunction with the research collaboration with the University of Virginia are important steps to accelerate and broaden the Company’s analytic capabilities and innovations in these disciplines.
The University of Virginia’s Center for Diabetes Technology will spearhead the research efforts. The collaboration is also designed to engage multiple disciplines and schools across the University of Virginia system, including the School of Engineering, the School of Data Science and the School of Medicine. Dexcom and the University of Virginia have a long history of research and clinical collaboration, including the recent International Diabetes Closed Loop trial (iDCL).
“Dexcom is committed to bringing innovative continuous glucose monitoring-based solutions to empower customers and clinicians toward greater health outcomes,” says Kevin Sayer, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Dexcom. “We are investing heavily in research and development efforts that explore new diagnostic tools and treatments. By partnering with a top-tier research institution like the University of Virginia, we hope to bring better CGM solutions to patients much faster than we could alone.”
“The University of Virginia has become one of the world’s leading research institutes for diabetes technology,” says Jim Ryan, president of the University of Virginia. “This expanded commitment from Dexcom ensures that research conducted on Grounds has a clear path to enrich and improve the lives of patients and caregivers managing this complicated and all too common disease.”
The partnership will commence in late 2020 and Dexcom will provide research funding to the University of Virginia over a five-year period for diabetes-centered research and clinical trials.