Patients using a smart insulin pump system made by Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) spent more time in a healthy blood glucose range, according to real-world data from more than 8 million patient days.
The MiniMed 670G is designed to automatically track and adjust blood sugar levels, using a continuous glucose monitor, guiding patients toward a minimum level of 120 mg/dL. Medtronic first won FDA approval for the MiniMed 670G in September 2016.
The data set from nearly 120,000 users of the MiniMed 670G automated insulin pump showed an additional 2.3 hours of time in range per day and more than 35 additional days a year spent in the target glucose range. The average time in range in 8 million patient days was 71% in all age groups. The data also showed a reduction in low glucose episodes lasting more than 20 minutes by 28% and high glucose episodes lasting over 3 hours by 55% per year.
“The consistent data across a large sample in the real-world illustrates the positive outcomes with the MiniMed 670G in an uncontrolled environment,” Dr. Satish Garg, of the University of Colorado, said in prepared remarks. “Since the launch of the system in 2017, there has been a growing body of data that shows that the system consistently improves time in range in the majority of the patients who successfully are able to stay in the Auto Mode surpassing that of other commercially available methods of Type 1 diabetes management. These observations in a real-world setting of what was initially observed in the controlled pivotal trial of the system are impressive. The MiniMed 670G represents the highest standard of care for diabetes today.”
“Clinical consensus about time in range is that the goal of effective diabetes management is to have a person be in the recommended range of 70-180 mg/dL for at least 70% of time. This may increase the likelihood that short and long-term complications of this chronic disease can be avoided,” added diabetes chief medical officer Dr. Robert Vigersky. “The high number of adult patients reaching and surpassing this time in range goal illustrates the strong positive outcomes that the MiniMed 670G system can drive. Improved time in range is also seen in children as young as 7 who face unique challenges with maintaining control due to a variety of factors including increased insulin sensitivity and cognitive, behavioral, and social-emotional development during this phase of life.”
Medtronic recently made enhancements to the MiniMed 670G to address concerns raised during a real-world study where patients reported having stopped using the system within months of being prescribed because of dissatisfaction with the technical demands of the system. Medtronic updated the software in the MiniMed 670G’s transmitter that sends sensor data to the insulin pump.
