Pursuant to the terms of the merger agreement, upon completion, Bigfoot became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Abbott. The companies declined to disclose financial terms.
Abbott announced on Sept. 5 that it entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the smart insulin management company. Their longstanding relationship dates back to 2017, with the medtech giant even leading a financing round for Bigfoot in 2020.
Bigfoot develops the Bigfoot Unity smart insulin management system. The FDA-cleared platform simplifies continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) and the data they produce. The system works exclusively with Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre CGM technology.
It features a smart insulin pen cap, which takes data from a CGM and informs the patient exactly how much insulin they need. Bigfoot Unity also includes a customer smartphone app connected to a cloud-based online portal used by healthcare providers to support patients. The system works with the FreeStyle Libre 2 sensors and all major brands of disposable insulin pens offered in the U.S.
Abbott said in a news release that the transaction expands its presence in diabetes care. The company believes that it builds on the FreeStyle Libre portfolio and bolsters its efforts to develop connected solutions for diabetes. Jared Watkin, SVP of Abbott’s Diabetes Care business, said at the time of the initial announcement that the deal combines “two leaders in different aspects of diabetes care: continuous glucose monitoring and insulin dosing support.”
What the analysts thought about this deal
BTIG analysts Marie Thibault and Sam Eiber maintained their “Buy” rating for Abbott when the company initially announced the acquisition. They said they weren’t surprised by the deal.
They view the strategic tuck-in “favorably,” saying it could accelerate Bigfoot Unity’s adoption for multiple daily injection (MDI) diabetes patients. Recent contract wins for Bigfoot further bolster the deal, along with positive data presented at the American Diabetes Association conference.
Bigfoot Unity has been on the market for more than two years, having launched in some U.S. States in 2021. Brewer last year called it a “transformational attempt” to simplify CGMs and the data they produce.
“If reimbursement is more widely established in the U.S., the integrated ecosystem could drive some share shift from competitive systems toward Libre among those on MDI interested in smart pens,” the analysts wrote. “We acknowledge GLP-1s remain a long-term risk for the diabetes tech space, but continue to see a role for CGMs and insulin pens. We see this acquisition as a vote of confidence from [Abbott] in the future need for insulin.”
Interestingly, just yesterday, Medtronic won CE mark for its next-generation CGM that integrates with the InPen smart insulin delivery system. That could add competition to the market for the integrated offering Abbott and Bigfoot provide.
