OneTouch Ping™ Recall
Diabetic Investor has learned that Animas®, the insulin pump unit of Johnson and Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), will be recalling the new OneTouch® Ping™ blood glucose monitor that works in conjunction with the Animas 2020 insulin pump. Apparently the problem resides with the Ping and not the insulin pump. When the two units are not synched, communicating with each other, the bolus calculator on the Ping does not work properly. The bolus calculator is used by patients to calculate the correct dose of insulin to deliver with their food intake.
According to Animas the problem has been corrected and new units will be sent to replace the defective units.
The OneTouch UltraLink™ which communicates with the Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) line of insulin pumps with similar functionality to the Ping is not affected by this recall. According to Medtronic while the two systems are similar they are not identical. The UltraLink is a proprietary platform designed specifically for Medtronic.
In the scope of things Diabetic Investor does not see this as an overly serious issue as the Ping was just approved this past July and has only been on the market since mid-August. Based on everything Diabetic Investor has learned the issue is software related and Animas is being proactive here not letting a minor issue turn into a major one.