Emerging field: “I think they’re here to stay”
The new Medtronic InPen system can still display information from other compatible CGM systems, but on a 3-hour delay. This is important since the Guardian is not currently approved for determining insulin doses. In order to do that, users must still either use readings from another CGM system on a separate app or perform fingerstick blood glucose measurements.
The InPen is the first CGM-integrated pen device but is not likely to be the last. Similar technologies are being pursued by all three of the major insulin manufacturers and some other companies.
Eli Lilly’s Humalog Tempo Pen, a modified version of KwikPen, is integrated with the Dexcom CGM. The pen itself has been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but some of the component parts await authorization.
Novo Nordisk is expected to file with the FDA in 2021 for its NovoPen Echo Plus.
For its part, in December 2019, Sanofi teamed up with Bioport to fit its SoloStar insulin pens with their technology called Mallya, which had received CE Mark in June 2019. That device, which clips onto the top and the button of most major pens, adds smart pen capacity via Bluetooth. BioCorp also has teamed up with other manufacturers including Roche and AgaMatrix.
Another major player, Bigfoot Biomedical, has filed with the FDA for its connected pen that works with the Abbott FreeStyle Libre 2 CGM.
Ms. Warshaw advised, “We need to start talking more about the ways that peoples’ wants, needs, and desires change and evolve over the person’s life as their diabetes evolves and as all this technology evolves.
“Time will tell how many people will be on the very expensive [AID] systems. ... Pens are cheaper. The main cost is insulin. I think they’re here to stay. The big insulin makers wouldn’t be doing it otherwise.”
Dr. Ginsberg has no disclosures. Ms. Warshaw is a consultant and writer for Companion Medical/Medtronic and a faculty member of LifeScan Diabetes Institute.
A version of this article originally appeared on Medscape.com.