Advances from Diabetes Technology Society

Recently, the diaTribe team attended the annual Diabetes Technology Society conference here in San Francisco. Several people from academia and the pharma industry showcased various products in development, presenting clinical and scientific updates from recent trials. We heard several discussions on advances in closed-loop devices, which use data from continuous glucose monitors (CGM) to regulate insulin delivery. Diabetes Technology Leadership Award winner Dr. William Tamborlane was positive on the progress thus far. He is particularly looking forward to improved CGM accuracy (currently these devices are less accurate than fingersticks and lag behind actual blood sugar when levels are rising or falling) and solutions to address real-life conditions such as exercising and variable meal times. He pointed to the Medtronic Veo as a promising first-step to avoiding prolonged hypoglycemia. As a reminder, the Veo is an insulin pump that automatically shuts off if blood glucose levels, measured by a CGM, fall below a user-defined threshold and the individual does not respond to alarms; this device is only available in Europe. We also heard more on an “ultrafast” insulin analog in development, VIAject, which acts faster than currently available insulin analogs, better mimicking the body’s natural insulin release. Faster acting insulins will allow for insulin to be administered closer to mealtimes. We expect to hear from the FDA on whether VIAject is safe/effective enough to be available in the US by the end of 2010. Lastly, two novel forms of insulin in early stages of development were reviewed at the meeting: Nasal insulin (CPEX’s Nasulin) and oral insulin (Biocon’s IN-105). Although these various types of insulin remain in development (admittedly with some kinks to be worked out), we are nonetheless excited to see the pharma industry invest in advancing the effectiveness and convenience of delivering insulin.