Continuous Glucose Monitoring Devices a Big Hit at ADA

The 2007 meeting of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) was “relatively quiet from a device perspective” according to the June 25 Bear Stearns analyst report, “ADA 2007: Interest in Continuous Glucose Monitoring Still High.” However, there was one major area of excitement: continuous glucose monitors (CGM).

Ever since the 1993 Diabetes Control and Complications Trial, tight glucose control has been the primary objective in diabetes therapy. However, achieving tight control requires frequent testing and until recently this required drawing blood for use with blood glucose monitors, an awkward, uncomfortable and repetitive task that causes patient compliance problems.

In contrast, the new CGM monitors rely on a sensor attached to the abdomen. Aside from relieving patients of the finger-stick chore, these devices provide trend data which is a much more valuable therapeutic tool than the single-point in time snapshot provide by traditional monitors.

Medtronic and Dexcom have CGM devices that are marketed in the under the Paradigm and STS brand names, respectively. Abbott’s Freestyle Navigator has been approved in Europe and is expected to receive the FDA’s go-ahead by the end of 2007.

As with most new technologies, reimbursement issues are a big stumbling block to adoption. It is likely that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and private payers will hold off on subsidizing the devices until the results of several big trials are in, probably several years in the future. In the meantime, manufacturers should consider some form of direct-to-consumer marketing. A product with easily demonstrated benefits for a large patient population would do well by going straight to the end-user.