A scary thought
With Google, Apple, Samsung and Amazon making the deep dive it should come as no surprise that Facebook is about to enter the pool. The social media giant announced they would enter the healthcare arena with a tool designed to connect people with healthcare resources as well as provide checkup reminders. This effort will initially focus on heart disease, cancer and the flu but you can bet your last dollar...
When everyone has one it’s not special anymore
Way back in the day before the advent of CGM when SMBG ruled the diabetes device kingdom any innovation by one company was quickly copied by the others. Alternate site testing, smaller blood samples, faster test times and no coding are some examples. This copycat psychology is now being duplicated with insulin pumps, CGM and connected pens. Yes there are some small differences between these toys, but a well-trained, properly...
Some observations
There are times when we can’t help but feel that as wacky as this world gets, just when you think you’ve seen every possible bit of wackiness along comes one more example that there is no bounds to wackiness in the wacky world of diabetes. First comes word that John Hancock, Verily and Onduo have teamed up to offer life insurance specifically targeted at patients with diabetes. According to a press...
What have we learned?
As we move deeper into earnings season it’s a good time to reflect on what we have learned so far. One thing we are definitely learning is that the FDA excuse the expression is taking their sweet time in approving the Libre2 and Control IQ. We have no doubt that both approvals are coming just when is another matter. Based on all the available information we have the Control IQ...
It slices, it dices and makes soup
Ok we’re about to show our age here so some of you just might have to hit Google and look up Ronco. Ronco was known for two things, coming up with some crazy devices – our two favorites the pocket fisherman and Veg-O-Matic – and equally crazy TV commercials. The Veg-o-Matic sliced, diced and oh my heavens made soup too. We thought of Ronco when we read this from a...
Going out on top
Before we get into Lilly’s numbers and what they mean a brief moment to congratulate Enrique Conterno SR VP and President of Lilly who will be retiring at the end of the year. It’s not an understatement to say that Enrique has overseen a complete turnaround of the diabetes franchise since he took command. Lilly now boosts the most comprehensive portfolio of diabetes therapies unmatched by any of its rivals....
It’s finally official
This really shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone as another Diabetic Investor call has come true as Medtronic made it official this morning as Hooman Hakami is out and Sean Salmon is in as the new leader of the struggling diabetes unit. While this move took longer than we had anticipated we knew it was a done deal and are not surprised one bit. Here is the official notice from...
What happens in the real world!
To help everyone gain a better appreciation as to the road Livongo must travel to profitable, allow us today to walk you through the daily life of an average patient. As we keep stating the key for Livongo is not signing deals, the key is enrolling patients and keeping them enrolled this is how they make money. While we know that Livongo wants to help all patients no matter what their...
It doesn’t happen overnight
Recently there has been some rancor in CGM land as many have asked why Tandem decided to work with Abbott when they already have a perfectly good relationship with Dexcom. Rancor which will get louder now that Tandem has released the results from the DCLP3 study which found – per a Tandem press release- “Over the six-month study period, use of Control-IQ technology led to a higher percentage of time spent...
Where’s Waldo?
As we anticipated results for the Libre were strong as Abbott remains committed to their value pricing strategy. It was also no surprise that the company stated that additional manufacturing capacity is now coming online. The big question however remains Libre2, when will it be approved, and will it receive the coveted iCGM designation. Here the company remains “confident” yet did note the FDA has asked for additional items, something we...