Dive Brief:
- Abbott is working to integrate its newest continuous glucose monitor (CGM) with Beta Bionics’ automated insulin delivery (AID) system.
- The companies plan to connect Beta Bionics’ iLet Bionic Pancreas to Abbott’s Freestyle Libre 3 Plus CGM, according to the Wednesday announcement. Readings from the CGM will help iLet calculate insulin doses for automated delivery.
- Beta Bionics said the integration, which is scheduled to launch in the fourth quarter, will be the first of its kind for Freestyle Libre 3 Plus in the U.S. Abbott also has AID partnerships with Insulet and Medtronic.
Dive Insight:
Beta Bionics designed iLet to automate insulin dosing while minimizing manual data entry. Other AID systems require users to enter data such as basal rates, insulin-sensitivity factors and carbohydrate-to-insulin ratios when they start using the devices. In those cases, users need to input the grams of carbohydrates in each meal they eat.
The iLet system asks users to share their body weight when they first set up the device and choose from one of three carbohydrate levels for each meal. Beta Bionics received 510(k) clearance for the product in May 2023.
Since then, Beta Bionics has worked to integrate the device with CGMs. The company updated firmware to integrate the device with the Dexcom G7 CGM in December. Partnering with Abbott positions Beta Bionics to integrate with the latest CGMs from the two market leaders in the U.S.
Beta Bionics plans to provide a software update that allows iLet users to select Freestyle Libre 3 Plus as their CGM when they set up a new sensor. The Food and Drug Administration cleared Abbott’s Freestyle Libre 2 and 3 for integration with AID systems in March 2023.
Earlier this year, Abbott integrated its FreeStyle Libre 2 Plus sensor with Tandem’s t:slim X2 insulin pump and Insulet received a CE mark for the integration of its Omnipod 5 pump with the company’s CGM. Abbott also teamed up with competitor Medtronic to develop a CGM that connects with its insulin delivery technology.
Abbott CEO Robert Ford discussed the AID opportunity on an earnings call in April, explaining that it is “a smaller segment of the population, but nonetheless, a very important one.” Ford said there are 150,000 to 200,000 new starts a year and “an opportunity for share gain.”
Abbott reported Freestyle Libre sales of $1.6 billion in the second quarter, representing 18.4% growth on a reported basis.