The company’s medical device business saw a 13.7% overall increase in sales, with double-digit growth both in the U.S. and abroad. Abbott pointed to a number of products contributing to the performance, including the FreeStyle Libre continuous glucose monitor (CGM), Navitor heart valve, TriClip valve repair device, Amplatzer Amulet appendage occluder and the Aveir pacemaker.
Abbott specifically noted growth in Diabetes, with the Libre CGMs bringing in $1.8 billion in revenue, marking 22.7% growth.
The company reported $6.8 billion in total revenue from Diabetes for 2024 — good for 18% year-over-year growth.
BTIG analysts Marie Thibault, Sam Eiber and Alexandra Pang say Libre sales beat the consensus estimate by around $100 million.
“We are pleased to see the strength in the Diabetes segment and look forward to continued momentum from recently launched products such as OTC CGM Lingo targeting adults without diabetes,” the analysts wrote.
See the full report on Abbott’s earnings at our sister site, MassDevice.
More about a big 2024 for Abbott Diabetes
The over-the-counter (OTC) Lingo system was one of several highlights to come out of Abbott’s Diabetes business in 2024. Within two weeks of Dexcom’s Stelo launch (the first OTC sensor rollout), Abbott brought its own over-the-counter glucose biosensor — Lingo — to the market.
Abbott received FDA clearance for Lingo and its Libre Rio over-the-counter (OTC) CGMs in June. Abbott Diabetes SVP of Commercial Operations Chris Scoggins spoke to Drug Delivery Business News in June and explained the benefits of OTC CGMs.
The company also this year won FDA approval for users to wear the FreeStyle Libre 2 and 3 during MRIs. Meanwhile, it continues to push forward on the automated insulin delivery integration front. In October, Beta Bionics said it made its iLet the first available automated insulin delivery (AID) system to integrate with Libre 3 Plus in the U.S. Abbott also paired its FreeStyle Libre 2 Plus with Insulet’s Omnipod 5 in Europe. It announced compatibility with the Tandem Diabetes Care t:slim X2 system in January 2024.
Notably, the company also struck a deal with Medtronic in August. They aim to develop CGMs specifically for the medtech giant’s own insulin delivery systems.
Company earnings call commentary on Diabetes business
On the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call, Ford said the company has two manufacturing sites up and running to amend a bit of a mismatch between capacity and demand for the latest-generation FreeStyle Libre 3. Abbott opened a Libre production plant in Ireland in November to help meet the increasing demand.
“Libre 3 is doing pretty well,” Ford said. “It’s just going to get better.”
Looking ahead to 2025, Ford outlined three growth drivers for the Diabetes business. First, he pointed to under-penetration in the intensive insulin-using segment and more expected growth from reimbursement for CGM use in the basal insulin-using population. Second, he anticipates big things from automated insulin delivery connectivity. Finally, the interest in OTC CGM continues to impress the CEO.
For intensive insulin users, Ford says around 25% of that segment still aren’t using CGMs in the U.S. That rises to around 50% internationally, he said. On the basal front, Abbott continues to expand reimbursement coverage in new geographies to further penetrate that market.
“These are great opportunities for us, where we got this head start,” Ford said. “We’ll keep on driving that. I think basal is a big bucket of growth.”
To build on a busy 2024 on the AID front, Ford says he expects “several announcements” in 2025 that give Abbott the opportunity to take share in that segment.
Finally, on OTC and the non-diabetes CGM market, Ford says the company has gained understanding on how to drive adoption with a completely different consumer segment. He expects more national expansion, plus potential growth in international areas.
“The Lingo launch is going very well in several areas,” Ford said. “I think it’s surpassed some of my expectations, especially regarding reorder rates. That’s going to be another kind of leg of the stool, so to say, on this growth.
“I think the insulin intensive insulin segment is still an opportunity, pretty significant opportunity. Then you’ve got these three accelerators on top of that.”
