Jun 20 2013
JDRF and BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) are accelerating the development of new products that combine BD’s proprietary insulin infusion and glucose sensing technologies through a new collaboration announced today. This new, three-year commitment is an extension of existing JDRF-BD collaborations focused on type 1 diabetes (T1D).
Many patients with T1D not only take daily insulin via an insulin pump – requiring a catheter to be placed in the body for a number of days – but are also checking their glucose levels via a continuous glucose monitor (CGM), which also requires a catheter-like sensor to be placed in the body for a number of days.
While BD has been working to improve the products used for insulin infusion and CGM, the new collaboration with JDRF will enable additional research to develop a single optimized device that will perform both functions and eliminate the need and complexities of multiple in-dwelling catheters. The ability to perform these discrete metabolic actions automatically and accurately, with little patient intervention, defines the artificial pancreas concept.
“Providing the best tools that not only improve patient care, but ease the daily burden of managing diabetes are important goals for BD and JDRF,” said Linda Tharby, President, BD Medical – Diabetes Care. “This latest collaboration with JDRF demonstrates both parties’ commitment to improve patients’ experiences and outcomes. Combining these novel technologies will address two key components of an advanced artificial pancreas system.”
“As the world’s largest charitable funder of type 1 diabetes research, JDRF is committed to advancing therapies that improve the lives of people living with this disease,” said Jeffrey Brewer, President and Chief Executive Officer of JDRF. “We are excited to continue our collaboration with BD and support efforts to develop novel technologies enabling advanced artificial pancreas systems that will both measure glucose and administer insulin. Joining these capabilities into a single solution will address significant patient needs and help reduce the daily burden of managing of type 1 diabetes.”
T1D is an autoimmune disease in which the body’s pancreas stops producing insulin, a hormone needed to turn food into energy. BD’s culture of innovation and continuous improvement has enhanced the patient experience to help improve therapy and outcomes for people with diabetes worldwide. BD devices support earlier initiation and better adherence to prescribed therapies to help all diabetes patients live healthier lives.