Medtronic (MDT) presented the much awaited results from the Sensor-Augmented Pump Therapy for A1C Reduction (STAR 3) trial in adult and pediatric phase I diabetic patients. The data were presented at the meeting of the American Diabetes Association (ADA). It was observed that insulin pump therapy using Medtronic’s MiniMed Paradigm REAL-Time System achieved better glucose control, compared to the currently used therapy of multiple daily insulin injections (MDI).
Medtronic’s STAR 3 trial was carried out with 485 patients in the age group of 7 to 70 years. The pump therapy achieved a four times greater reduction in mean A1C levels (0.8% vs 0.2%) compared to the MDI. Additionally, in case of adult patients, the reduction in A1C level was higher at 1%. While patients undergoing the pump therapy achieved a decline in A1C level to 7.5% from the baseline (8.3%), patients in the MDI group recorded A1C level of only 8.1%.
Controlling A1C level reduces several complications of eye, kidney, and nerve diseases. Moreover, we are pleased to note that the reduction in A1C level was achieved without increasing the rate of hypoglycemia or extremely low blood sugar.
There is huge potential in the diabetes management market as according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 24 million people in the US are affected by the disease. It is the sixth leading cause of death in the US which costs approximately $174 billion per year in the form of direct and indirect medical expenses.
Medtronic is one of the leading players in integrated diabetes management systems, insulin-pump therapy, continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems and therapy management software. In fiscal 2010, this segment generated $1,237 million in sales, up 10% compared to the previous year at constant exchange rates (CER).
We are currently Neutral on Medtronic.
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