With a goal of integrating data and technology to help streamline diabetes management, Eli Lilly and Company signed strategic international agreements with four companies — DexCom, Glooko, myDiabby Healthcare and Roche — to advance connected solutions and streamline care for people living with diabetes in markets outside of the United States. These companies offer unique diabetes management platforms that will be compatible with Lilly’s Tempo Pen (approved in several global markets) and Tempo Smart Button (currently in late-stage development) to support people with diabetes and healthcare professionals.
Why does it matter?
The Tempo Pen is a modified version of Lilly’s existing prefilled, disposable insulin pen to which the Tempo Smart Button — pending CE marking — attaches. Through these new agreements, the Tempo Smart Button will pair with software and/or medical devices offered by Dexcom, Glooko, myDiabby Healthcare and Roche, with its mySugr app, to facilitate the integration of personalized data and actionable insights.
Lilly aims to receive CE mark for the Tempo Smart Button later in 2021 and will launch the Tempo Pen and Tempo Smart Button in several international markets following this certification.
On the record
“We’re pleased to work alongside these innovative partners who share our commitment to improving diabetes outcomes by bringing together medicine and digital solutions for the global diabetes community,” said Marie Schiller, vice president of product development for Connected Care and Insulins at Lilly. “Insulin dose logging is often an incomplete piece of the diabetes management puzzle for people who use insulin pens and manually track their doses. By integrating data from the connected insulin pen solutions into widely used compatible software, including potential future collaborations, we aim to support improved decision-making for people with diabetes and their healthcare providers with accurate, real-time data collection. These solutions may also help address psychological barriers like fear of hypoglycemia that may negatively impact diabetes management.”
The context
An estimated 463 million adults worldwide have diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is the most common type, accounting for an estimated 90 to 95 percent of all diabetes cases. Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs when the body does not properly produce or use the hormone insulin.