Diatech Diabetes announced today that DEKA Research & Development acquired its core assets and intellectual property (IP).
DEKA, the firm behind the Sequel Med Tech twiist automated insulin delivery system, developed the underlying drug delivery technology for the recently launched pump. Dean Kamen, co-founder of Sequel and founder of DEKA, commercialized the first wearable insulin pump for diabetes.
Memphis, Tennessee-based Diatech develops technology aiming to improve the safety of insulin infusion for people living with diabetes. Its SmartFusion infusion monitoring software detects insulin delivery failure and offers insights on how infusion performance affects diabetes management.
The deal between DEKA and Diatech gives DEKA ownership of the proprietary Diatech technology and the hiring of select leadership.
“We are excited to bring Diatech’s technology and team into DEKA,” said Kamen, founder and president of DEKA. “Their work on insulin infusion systems strongly aligns with our development of safe and accurate diabetes technology.”
The SmartFusion algorithm helps to detect leaks, kinks/partial occlusions, infusion into damaged sites and dislodgements. Diatech Diabetes — one of Drug Delivery Business News’ diabetes tech startups you need to know in 2023 — designed it specifically for insulin pumps to detect infusion failures they don’t currently detect themselves.
The algorithm analyzes the data from the pump’s infusion mechanism to determine whether infusion was successful or not. It utilizes real-time data analysis with machine learning. The algorithm can also predict the likelihood of site failure based on historical data, helping to pick an optimal infusion site.
“As insulin pumps become increasingly automated and diabetes devices are worn longer on the body, the need to ensure accurate insulin delivery is now more important than ever. Our work aligns directly with DEKA, and we share a common mission to make insulin delivery safer and more reliable,” said John Wilcox, CEO of Diatech Diabetes.
