USA – Bloomberg has reported that Dexcom is in talks to acquire Insulet in a deal that would combine two leaders in the diabetes technology market, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.
The merger would enable the combined company to offer both Dexcom’s continuous glucose monitors and Insulet’s insulin pumps at a time when the market is shifting toward an insulin delivery system that incorporates both devices.
The companies are currently collaborating to integrate their devices, and the Food and Drug Administration has cleared devices that can communicate with one another.
Dexcom and Insulet, makers of diabetes devices, have already aligned their product lines, with Insulet’s Omnipod insulin pumps designed to be used alongside Dexcom’s continuous glucose monitors, and that integration may soon become much more permanent.
Bloomberg noted that combining the two companies could create a single, closed-loop insulin management and delivery system.
Insulet has developed a line of Omnipod insulin pumps, comprising tubeless devices that attach to the skin to provide up to three days’ worth of continuous insulin delivery at a time.
The pods connect wirelessly to an accompanying mobile app, where users can track their insulin dosage and manage their mealtime bolus doses.
The Omnipod pumps can also be used with Dexcom’s CGM systems, which automatically take glucose readings every few minutes through a sensor worn on the skin.
Those numbers are transmitted to a mobile app, which can send automated alerts if a user’s blood sugar leaves a specified range.
When the Insulet Omnipod and Dexcom CGM systems are used together, the continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) app can automatically trigger the pod to deliver more or less insulin based on the collected glucose level measurements.
The use of real-time continuous glucose monitoring is associated with a decrease in diabetes-related health care costs.
CGM devices market size and share is poised to see a modest growth through 2028, and the major players in the space including Abbott Laboratories, Medtronic, and Dexcom have the opportunity to enhance their revenue development in the years to come.
Reports of the merger come amid a separate corporate shake-up for Insulet. Earlier this month, the Massachusetts-based company announced that Shacey Petrovic, its president and chief executive since 2019, will step down June 1 due to “family medical issues.”
At that time, her place at the helm will be taken over by Jim Hollingshead, the current president of ResMed’s sleep and respiratory care business.
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