Medtronic and Qualcomm partner for single-use, connected glucose monitors

Medtronic and Qualcomm Life have announced a global, multi-year collaboration to jointly develop disposable, connected continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems for people with Type 2 diabetes

The initial focus of the collaboration will be to develop a single-use CGM system designed for broader practice by GPs who manage care for people with type 2 diabetes.

The collaboration seeks to leverage Medtronic's experience in diabetes management and Qualcomm Life's expertise in developing reference designs for wireless, single-use and small integrated modules to create easier-to-use CGM systems, including a new sensor and smaller design that can provide near real-time and retrospective glucose data, according to Medtronic.

This collaboration supports Medtronic's strategy to develop comprehensive CGM solutions that not only measure glucose but enable the delivery of actionable insights to both patients and providers, according to the company. 

The collaboration will use Qualcomm Life's 2net Design, a platform for designing the communications components of connected medical devices, including disposable drug delivery devices and disposable diagnostic devices for condition specific connected therapies.

Laura Stoltenberg, vice president and general manager, non-intensive diabetes therapies at Medtronic, said: "We believe that glucose should be a vital sign of diabetes health. Professional CGM is an increasingly used diagnostic tool that empowers physicians and patients with meaningful glucose data to tackle glucose control.

“Our solutions go beyond delivering data and provide automated observations and clinical decision support to help create a personalised care plan. Our vision is to transform diabetes care so people with diabetes can enjoy greater freedom and better health.

“We are thrilled to be collaborating with Qualcomm Life to develop innovative and affordable CGM systems that will fundamentally change type 2 diabetes management."

Rick Valencia, president and general manager, Qualcomm Life, said: "Qualcomm Life's connected health expertise along with our enabling 2net Connectivity Platform and 2net Design capabilities fit naturally with Medtronic's diabetes leadership in bringing future generation CGM systems to market.

"This collaboration furthers our commitment of enabling new connected care models that liberate vital data and unlock insights to deliver intelligent care wherever the patient may be."