J&J Subsidiary Launches Insulin Pump in Canada

Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Animas Corp. has launched its latest combination insulin pump and continuous glucose monitoring system in Canada.

The company’s Animas Vibe device is designed for patients with Type 1 diabetes and is being marketed by Animas Canada, a division of LifeScan Canada Ltd. Both Animas and LifeScan are subsidiaries of New Brunswick, N.J.-based Johnson & Jonhnson.

The Vibe is an insulin pump with integrated continuous glucose monitoring that incorporates DexCom’s latest sensor technology. The San Diego, Calif., company’s G4 sensor technology has been shown to provide improved blood sugar level control in adult patients. The device features a high-contrast color screen with color-coded trend lines and arrows to indicate the direction and rate of glucose change.

To promote the product launch, Animas Canada is supporting “Outrun Diabetes,” a project being led by Canadian athlete Sebastien Sasseville, an Ironman competitor who has climbed Mount Everest. Sassevile has been living with type 1 diabetes since 2002. He plans to run 7,500 kilometers across Canada – the equivalent of 180 marathons – by himself over the next nine months.

“I’m thrilled to have Animas support this project as I know they share a passion for encouraging people with diabetes to live life to the fullest,” said Sasseville, in a prepared statement.

The device enters a saturated market: During the past year, companies like Medtronic Inc. and Tandem Diabetes Care Inc. have developed closed-loop insulin pumps that easily monitor blood glucose levels. West Chester, Pa.-ased Animas filed an application for FDA approval for its Animas Vibe device in April 2013, and Medtronic went through the FDA process for its own closed-loop insulin pump around the same time.

While the closed-loop pump represents a new standard in Type 1 diabetes treatment, Animas and other research units are setting their sights higher. The companies are competing to develop an artificial pancreas that will continuously monitor blood sugar and deliver insulin as needed. Animas took an early lead with its Hypoglycemia-Hyperglycemia Minimizer System (HHM), a device that mimics the function of a healthy pancreas. Second phase clinical trials yielded positive results, moving the device one step closer to approval.

The company will conduct further feasibility studies before pushing the system into the pivotal stage, Animas R&D director Ramakrishna Venugopalan told FierceMedicalDevices in June last year. Meanwhile, Animas will promote its closed pump device–and continue to vie for its position in an ever-expanding market.