Savvy Updates 11/18/24: NovoNordisk Phasing Out Human Insulin Pens, Sequel/Twiist AID, History of Artificial Pancreas

Novo Nordisk says it is gradually phasing out human insulin pens globally by Maggie Fick for Reuters.com, 14 November 2024.

Novo Nordisk is gradually ending production of human insulin pens, as it spends billions to ramp up manufacturing of its popular obesity and diabetes injections. The company declined to comment on the timeline. “Globally (human insulin pens) will be phased out over time and human insulin will be available only in vials,” a spokesperson said.

In wealthy nations like the United States, the majority of people with diabetes now use modern or analog insulin, not human insulin, because the former enables better blood sugar control. In low and middle-income countries, human insulin is more commonly used than analog insulin, which is more expensive and harder to make.

Booming sales of the Danish drugmaker’s new obesity and diabetes medicines, delivered in injection pens, have propelled it to become Europe’s most valuable company by market value, at about $572 billion.

Read more: Novo Nordisk says it is gradually phasing out human insulin pens globally

Dean Kamen, insulin pump pioneer, wants to shake up diabetes tech by Elise Reuter for MedTehDive.com, 13 November 2024.

Sequel Medtech is working to sell a new, more precise type of insulin pump that can measure the amount of insulin delivered to users. CEO Alan Lotvin, former president of pharmacy benefit manager CVS Caremark, started the company in 2023, along with Dean Kamen, president of Deka Research and Development, and three other co-founders.

Kamen created one of the first portable insulin pumps in the ’70s and is also known for another invention — the Segway. Deka developed the new insulin pump, called Twiist, and received Food and Drug Administration clearance in March for the device to be used by people with Type 1 diabetes. Sequel will market the device.

Kamen said Twiist differs from other insulin pumps because it has no syringes, no gears, and no motors. Most current pumps use a tiny motor that rotates, causing a plunger to push insulin into the tubing. “Our little Twiist is a device that can monitor and control the flow of the fluid, but it has nothing in its technology that looks anything like a pump,” Kamen said. It also has a feature to measure the amount of insulin actually delivered. Because of this, the device also has advantages in detecting air or blockages that can affect the amount of insulin delivered, Lotvin said. Lotvin said Sequel is working on CGM partnerships and plans to launch Twiist after working through final details such as quality and customer service. He didn’t share an exact date for a launch.

Sequel is working with Tidepool, a nonprofit making the first fully interoperable automated insulin delivery (AID) system. It’s designed so that people can pair sensors with insulin delivery devices of their choice. The Tidepool Loop app can predict a person’s blood sugar levels and ensure they receive the correct insulin dose. Tidepool Loop also has unique features, including the ability to control insulin delivery from an Apple Watch and the widest range of blood glucose targets.

Putting the Foxes in Charge of the Henhouse: The Dramatic Race to Develop an Artificial Pancreas from Breakthrough T1D, 13 November 2024.

Here is the history of artificial pancreas development as a possibility, by Douglas Lowenstein, November 2024. “I realized that while others have written about it, the definitive history of this remarkable journey had yet to be written. In the pages that follow, I try to fill that void.

While this story focuses on a handful of people who played central roles in securing approval of AP systems, space does not allow me to highlight the instrumental contributions of hundreds of passionate scientists, Breakthrough T1D volunteers, clinical trial participants, industry executives and researchers, regulators, lawmakers, and government scientific agencies. While they may not receive the explicit recognition they deserve, what follows is their story as much as those featured. They all helped make history and helped people like my daughter live safer and healthier lives. Our family owes them a debt of gratitude we can never repay.

This story is based on more than 30 one-on-one interviews lasting more than 40 hours, and a review of hundreds of pages of peer-reviewed articles in scientific journals. I am responsible for the content of this story in its entirety. I hope you enjoy reading it.”

Since the approval of the 670G, FDA has approved four additional systems, including the T:Slim X2 by Tandem, using the original algorithm developed by Boris Kovatchev, the Omnipod 5 by Insulet, using the algorithm developed years earlier by Frank Doyle’s team at UCSB, and Tandem’s Mobi, the Cam APS developed by Dr. Roman Hovorka’s team at the University of Cambridge in England, the iLet Bionic Pancreas that emerged from Ed Damiano’s team at BU, and most recently, the Dean Kamen designed twiist from Sequel Med Tech. Thousands of others continue to use DIY systems.