Terry's Two Bits on DexCom and Pumps

Not much has come down the information super highway about how the DexCom CGM will work with pumps. We're told it will work with pumps and to be looking next summer / fall. There were some tidbits in the DexCom presentations to wall street. So figured what the heck why not write them a letter. Here is what I wrote and their reply:

Terry Gregg
President & CEO
DexCom, Inc.
6340 Sequence Drive
San Diego, CA 92121

Hi Terry

I have a particular interest in DexCom, in a small ways as a both a little share holder on a pure CGM play and as a diabetes blogger and in a very large way as the parent of two type 1 kids who have a very real long term interest in continuously managing their glucose.

I had the pleasure of talking to some of your team at Children With Diabetes Friends for Life conference in Orlando last month. Thanks for sending them. Maybe next year you can arrange for some trials of your device like MiniMed did this year. That would be great! A two day trial of their device dramatically changed my 14 year old son’s disinterest in wearing a CGM into a tangible interest in using one.

Since then I have read over your comments on earnings calls reported on Seeking Alpha. I have some questions that you may or may not know answers to.

In the March 11 call you talked about how DexCom and the pump folks will deliver data to us, families with diabetes. You said:

“In each case, DexCom’s CGM data will be displayed on the partner’s pump. In addition to insulin dosing information, patients will have access to glucose trend information, as well as high and low alarms, all in a single display unit.”

http://seekingalpha.com/article/68139-dexcom-incorporated-q4-2007-earnings-call-transcript?page=2

That sounds like how MiniMed is doing things now. That is good except we don’t love their pump. It is an attractive approach to CGM Pump integration as it requires less belt space on my daughter’s Batgirl like utility belt of diabetes gadgets.

I have to wonder is that ‘on the pump’ approach really going to be the case? Insulet most obviously will bring the data to their PDA like controller. For their approach to pumping the PDA is the pump interface.

Animas seems to be going down a similar path with the Ping meter/remote. Given that, do you continue to see the CMG data showing up on the partner’s pump or on will it be on another device like the remote control meter? Unlike heads to solve a problem, where two is better than one, for diabetes junk for a kid to carry one device is better than two.

Further the flexibility to choose the meter that best suits the user’s lifestyle is a feature that would be limited but using a PDA Meter as an intermediary. I would hate to be required to use the Pod or Ping meter to calibrate the CGM. But then you know recognize this value by your recent effort to get approval to us any meter to ‘Open Code’ the Seven unit.

So will it be CGM data displayed on the pump, or a meter in between?

Respectfully Yours

Bennet

Terry emailed back:

Bennet,

Thank you for your letter. Insulet will indeed display our sensor readings on their PDA. With respect to Animas, our first generation combination device will display on their pump for regulatory reasons, followed by future iterations utilizing remote programming devices (i.e., Ping). It is our goal to have these remote devices utilize an "Open Choice" format for the SMBG calibration.

We are actively pursuing a pediatric claim for our device and hope to have approval sometime next year.

Regards,

Terry