The Food and Drug Administration approved the use of Medtronic PLC’s (NYSE: MDT) MiniMed 670G system in patients with Type 1 diabetes 7 years of age and older. The new version includes a more accurate sensor technology to “automate the delivery of a personalized amount of basal insulin every five minutes based on sensor glucose values,” the company said.
The system constantly self-adjusts to help avoid high or low blood sugar readings. Dr. Jennifer Sherr, a pediatric endocrinologist at Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital’s diabetes clinic and an associate professor of pediatric endocrinology at Yale University, said the advanced insulin delivery system “is compelling in the light of the well-known challenges associated with maintaining stable glucose levels throughout the day and night in this younger age group.”
FDA approval was based on data from 105 children between ages 7 and 13 with Type 1 diabetes.
Company shares recently traded at $86 each for a $116.6 billion market cap. The medical device maker’s U.S. headquarters is in Minneapolis, while it maintains significant operations in Santa Ana.
One city over, Irvine-based Masimo Corp. (Nasdaq: MASI) and Delray Beach, Fla.-based Thermomedics Inc. announced the U.S. release of TIR-1, a noncontact Bluetooth-enabled thermometer that integrates with Masimo patient monitoring and connectivity platform Root.
Thermomedics develops medical diagnostic equipment. It’s controlled and operated by PositiveID Corp. (OTCQB: PSID), a developer of biological detection and diagnostics systems for America’s homeland defense and the global healthcare market.
The clinical-grade infrared thermometer is a noncontact device, which “reduces the possibility of cross-contamination and eliminates the need to purchase additional disposables such as probe covers, reducing cost and waste,” according to a company press release.
Masimo develops noninvasive patient monitoring technology. Shares of the company recently traded at nearly $101 each for a $5.2 billion market cap.
Clinical Studies
Altura LLC Chief Executive Pete Fronte said the chronic issue for clinical studies of all types is that “[patient] enrollment takes too long, which increases costs and keeps new healthcare innovation from being introduced faster.”
The Mission Viejo-based company works with healthcare organizations, research centers and study sponsors, such as pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device companies, to facilitate clinical studies, including patient recruitment and study implementation.
A July 2017 survey of U.S. adults by Research America found that 74% of patients say their doctors don’t talk about medical research and that 81% of respondents would likely participate in a study if recommended by their healthcare providers. The survey also found that most believe their healthcare providers should be their main sources of information.
The problem is that “neither patients nor their [healthcare providers] are aware of available studies whether local or virtual,” Fronte said. He added that the traditional methods to reach patients, such as TV, print and radio, can be expensive and often don’t reach the right people at the right time.
Its HCP Studies, an in-house mobile app that’s part of Altura’s study-engagement platform, was developed to expand clinical study awareness by allowing healthcare providers to easily find studies for patients.
Altura recently announced Berkeley Heights, N.J.-based Summit Medical Group has implemented the platform to inform and encourage participation in clinical research efforts. Summit is a premier multispecialty medical group in New Jersey with more than 800 practitioners covering more than 80 locations in the state. Active clinical trials open to enrollment are in oncology, rheumatology, allergy/immunology and neurology.
Altura also announced in April 2017 that doctor group Desert Oasis Healthcare had adopted the platform.
New Office
Mission Viejo-based Ensign Group Inc. (Nasdaq: ENSG) recently bought a 115,517-square-foot office building in San Juan Capistrano to accommodate growth.
“With our existing lease in Mission Viejo set to expire in 2019 … we determined that owning the service center made the most sense financially and operationally,” said Chief Executive Christopher Christensen said of the purchase.
The senior housing operator owns a group of care facilities, including skilled nursing, rehabilitative care service, home-health care, hospice care and assisted-living companies. It owns 67 of its 235 healthcare operations.
