Diabetes technology makers Insulet (NSDQ:PODD) and DexCom Inc. (NSDQ:DXCM) appear to have worked things out after differences in creative vision broke up the band last year.
The companies announced this month that they’d work together to integrate Insulet’s OmniPod insulin pump with DexCom’s mobile app platform, which is still under development. DexCom plans for its platform to be the "1st version of a mobile app that is capable of incorporating glucose and other diabetes-related data from patients’ devices and displaying the integrated data via a smartphone app," according to a press release.
Hear Insulet CEO Duane DeSisto at DeviceTalks Boston on July 15.
The duo has paired in the past, but last year they called it quits on a 5-year-old joint development deal that would have merged DexCom’s continuous glucose monitoring technology with Insulet’s OmniPod insulin delivery system.
The pair parted ways over differences in their vision for the future of diabetes management technology, company officials told MassDevice.com at the time. Each wanted to lower the quantity of devices a diabetic patient must carry in order to manage the disease, but Insulet aimed to focus on reducing the number of skin-worn devices while DexCom looked to shift its monitoring systems onto the smartphones that patients already have in their pockets.
DexCom’s mobile platform seems to have drawn Insulet back to the table, as Insulet plans to integrate data from its OmniPod device into the DexCom’s app, the company said.
"Providing OmniPod users and their healthcare providers with easier access to their management data is another key step in making diabetes a smaller part of life," Insulet president & CEO Duane DeSisto said in prepared remarks. "Through DexCom’s mobile app platform, OmniPod users will have greater access to the data that is so essential for understanding and improving diabetes management."
Insulet’s still pursuing its own initiative to pare down the number of skin-worn devices that diabetics use to manage their condition, looking to develop technology that allows insulin delivery and glucose monitoring through a single site. The old development deal with DexCom would have pared down the hand-held systems from 2 to 1, but the glucose monitoring sensor would have remained separate from the infusion site.
The companies parted ways in February 2013, with Insulet pursuing new partners to help develop a "truly integrated pump/CGM solution."
DexCom has been moving forward with its next-generation continuous glucose monitoring sensor, which transmits directly to a smartphone rather than working through an independent hand-held system. DexCom CEO Terry Gregg showed off the Gen 5 CGM at the 2013 International CES in Las Vegas, where he showed reporters a smartphone app that was connected to a CGM he was wearing on his own skin. The app showed real-time data and trends for up to 24 hours and could send texts to caregivers if the glucose levels were outside of safe ranges, Gregg said.
Insulet declined to comment for this story.
