Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) said today that it inked a collaborative deal with Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) subsidiary Qualcomm Life to develop next-gen continuous glucose monitoring systems.
The companies will initially focus on single-use CGM system designed for physicians who manage type 2 diabetes patients, Fridley, Minn.-based Medtronic said.
“We believe that glucose should be a vital sign of diabetes health. Professional CGM is an increasingly used diagnostic tool that empowers physicians and patients with meaningful glucose data to tackle glucose control. Our solutions go beyond delivering data and provide automated observations and clinical decision support to help create a personalized care plan. Our vision is to transform diabetes care so people with diabetes can enjoy greater freedom and better health. We are thrilled to be collaborating with Qualcomm Life – a best-in-class leader in wireless technologies that is ahead of the curve in a rapidly changing connected world – to develop innovative and affordable CGM systems that will fundamentally change type 2 diabetes management,” non-intensive diabetes therapies GM Laura Stoltenberg said in a press release.
Qualcomm Life will aid in the technology development for the wireless, single-use device, as well as a new sensor to provide near-real time and retrospective glucose data, the company said.
The under-development CGM device will feature it Qualcomm Life’s 2net Design platform used to design connected medical devices, including drug delivery and diagnostic devices designed for condition specific therapies, Medtronic said.
“Qualcomm Life’s connected health expertise along with our enabling 2net Connectivity Platform and 2net Design capabilities fit naturally with Medtronic’s diabetes leadership in bringing future generation CGM systems to market. This collaboration furthers our commitment of enabling new connected care models that liberate vital data and unlock insights to deliver intelligent care wherever the patient may be,” Qualcomm Life prez Rick Valencia said in prepared remarks.
In January, the CEOs of Medtronic and International Business Machine (NYSE:IBM) unveiled a the fruits of the project they’ve been working on since last April, combining the IBM Watson artificial intelligence platform with Medtronic’s insulin management devices.
Medtronic CEO Omar Ishrak joined IBM chief Ginni Rometty last night at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to unveil the app, which is designed to detect low blood sugar events before they happen.
A pilot study of anonymized data from 600 patients with Medtronic insulin pumps and glucometers, using “cognitive analytics” powered by Watson, found that the system could predict a hypoglycemic event up to 3 hours ahead, Medtronic’s diabetes president Annette Brüls wrote in a blog post yesterday.
