Medtronic to Increase R&D Funding in Its Diabetes Group

Medtronic plc intends to significantly increase research and development (R&D) funding in its Diabetes Group through an agreement to receive $337 million of funding from funds managed by Blackstone Life Sciences including co-investors, aimed at advancing new products especially designed to reduce the burden of diabetes management. The announcement was made in conjunction with the start of the virtual 80th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association (ADA).
 
“This investment is important for people living with diabetes, as we expect it will expand our offering of future insulin delivery and sensor innovations that have the potential to improve patients’ management of their diabetes,” said Sean Salmon, Medtronic executive vice president and president, Diabetes Group. “Over the past 12 months, Medtronic has significantly increased its investment in Diabetes R&D, including investments in a series of near-term programs such as the MiniMed 780G insulin pump system, our Personalized Closed Loop (PCL) system, our extended wear infusion set, and our Zeus and Synergy sensors. The added investment from Blackstone empowers us to pull forward specific programs in our pump and CGM pipeline that aim to address unmet patient needs, beyond PCL and Synergy.”
 
Blackstone Life Sciences has experience in executing development funding agreements in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry, to help expand and accelerate meaningful innovation for patients. The investment leverages this proven model, says the company.
 
“This collaboration, our first investment in the medical devices space, demonstrates how Blackstone Life Sciences is using its capital and expertise to help bring vital technologies, with the potential to save lives, to patients who need them,” said Nicholas Galakatos, Ph.D., global head of Blackstone Life Sciences. “We look forward to partnering with Medtronic, the leader in this space, to advance their next generation of innovative medical devices for diabetes patients.”
 
Under the terms of the agreement, Medtronic will receive up to $337 million in funding over the next several years to fund four identified Diabetes R&D programs. For competitive reasons, Medtronic is not disclosing the specific development programs. Medtronic’s engineering, clinical, and regulatory teams will perform the development work to activate these programs. The funding received will be equal to the R&D expenses incurred. If successfully commercialized, Medtronic will pay royalties which are expected to be in the low- to mid-single digit range as a percentage of sales. Additional terms of the arrangement were not disclosed.