Medtronic Diabetes — soon to be MiniMed after its planned separation from the medtech giant – said in the post that the new sensor specifically designed for its own systems is called “Instinct.”
“Get a sneak peek at what’s coming next: the Instinct sensor,” the business unit’s account wrote. “Made by Abbott, the Instinct sensor is designed exclusively for MiniMed systems. We’ll share more details about the Instinct sensor when it’s commercially available.”
The sensor, built on the Abbott FreeStyle Libre platform, reflects “the power of the partnership,” Abbott EVP, Diabetes Care, Chris Scoggins, told Drug Delivery Business News earlier this year.
Medtronic and Abbott — two of the largest diabetes tech companies in the world — announced a year ago that they entered into a global partnership pairing Abbott continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) with Medtronic insulin delivery systems.
The partnership aims to collaborate on a system based on Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre CGMs with Medtronic’s automated insulin delivery technology (the latest generation being the MiniMed 780G) and smart insulin pen systems, such as the InPen system.
Read more about Medtronic, Abbott and the rest of the diabetes tech industry in our free Diabetes Technology Special Report.
Medtronic’s systems previously used its own CGMs, such as the Guardian 4 and the Simplera platform, and the company intends to continue using those systems as part of a comprehensive CGM portfolio. Under the companies’ agreement, the systems would be sold exclusively by Medtronic — including the Abbott CGM.
The companies brought the partnership a step further in April when Medtronic announced the submission of an interoperable pump with the Abbott sensor technology to the FDA. They plan to share more details following the expected FDA clearance, which remains pending.
Management also recently emphasized the multi-year nature of the partnership, meaning Medtronic could pair current and future pumps with other Abbott sensors in the future. That could hint at integration with the company’s future dual glucose-ketone monitor, as a number of pump makers have already announced collaborations to pair their systems with the sensor once it hits the market.
