FAYETTEVILLE -- SFC Fluidics in Fayetteville is working with two companies with the goal of taking to market a state-of-the-art automated insulin delivery system for people with Type 1 diabetes.
The partnership includes Deialoop, a French company that develops technology to automate the treatment of Type 1 diabetes, and PercuSense that's developed accurate and low-cost sensors that can help people with Type 1 diabetes monitor their blood sugar.
The deal is part of the Industry Development and Discovery Partnership grant awarded to SFC Fluidics in 2018 by diabetes research an advocacy organization JDRF.
The goal is a compact integrated pod artificial pancreas -- a fully-automated system that will help people with Type 1 diabetes closely control their glycemic levels. The system consists of an insulin pump and a continuous glucose monitor all contained in a small pod that's worn on the body. The device is wirelessly controlled by a hand-held device, like a cellphone.
SFC Fluidics will contribute its tiny insulin pump technology, which can deliver precise doses of the hormone. PercuSense of California will provide a tiny continuous glucose monitor that doesn't require calibration, along with low-cost manufacturing capabilities. Diabeloop's software will run the insulin delivery of the device.
Tony Cruz, chief executive officer of SFC Fluidics, said the partnerships will allow them to take the product to market faster, make it smaller and help keep costs for future users down.
Plans are for SFC Fluidic's tiny pump to be on the market by 2020 as a standalone system. The combined artificial pancreas system, which will hold three days of insulin and be disposable, will be in the animal testing stage by 2020 and perhaps into 2021, Cruz said.
"We are very happy to see SFC making progress and establishing the partnerships necessary to make these next-gen automated insulin delivery systems a reality. By teaming up with leaders in the fields of continuous glucose sensing and insulin delivery algorithms, such as PercuSense and Diabeloop, SFC is laying a solid foundation to maximize their chances of success and ensure high performance of these products," Jaime Giraldo, a scientist at JDRF said in a statement.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that effects about 1.25 million Americans, with 200,000 of those under the age of 20. In people with Type 1 diabetes insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas are mistakenly destroyed by the body's immune system. By 2050, JDRF -- formerly called the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation -- estimates 5 million people in the U.S. will have Type 1 diabetes, with about 600,000 of those under the age of 20. In the U.S. heath care costs and lost income tied to Type 1 diabetes stand at $14 billion each year.
There is currently no cure, and people with Type 1 diabetes depend on injected or pumped insulin to survive. Even when closely controlled, people with Type 1 diabetes can experience dangerously high or low blood-glucose levels that can threaten their lives.
According to Medical Device Manufacturing in the U.S., a report released in December by research firm IBIS World, the segment saw annual revenue of $39.2 billion, with a predicted average revenue growth rate of 2.4% per year through 2023 to $44.1 billion. Of the total market in 2018, 5.2% or about $2.05 billion, will come from diabetes devices, including continuous glucose monitoring gear and insulin pumps.
In the fall, SFC Fluidics received a $1.4 million grant to help develop an artificial pancreas system. The funding came from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, which is within the National Institutes of Health. In January 2018, JDRF and SFC Fluidics entered into a similar partnership to further develop SFC Fluidic's small, automated insulin delivery device.
SFC Fluidics is a VIC Technology Venture Development portfolio company. Fayetteville-based VIC has 14 portfolio companies in fields that include medical technology.
SundayMonday Business on 06/02/2019