Abbott Laboratories Inc. landed U.S. FDA clearance for its Freestyle Libre 3 integrated continuous glucose monitoring system (CGM)’s reader device a bit earlier than expected. With the regulatory greenlight for the durable medical equipment component received, the company is now pursuing coverage by the CMS for the entire Freestyle Libre 3 system. The system’s sensor received FDA clearance in May 2022.
Batteries used in medical devices don’t always perform as expected, but Abbott Laboratories has issued an advisory to users of its Freestyle glucose monitoring systems in connection with overheating of the batteries used in the device’s readers, a problem the company said is not related to the batteries themselves. Abbott Park, Ill.-based Abbott has received reports of battery swelling and overheating in the reader unit, but advised users that use of non-Abbott charging cables seems to drive the risk of such episodes, urging users to stick with the USB charging cables that came with the readers.
Feops NV hopes to raise €10 million (US$10.67 million) in a series C fundraising round that will allow the company to scale up its operations worldwide. This follows the release of a study in JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions which revealed that its cloud-based platform, Feops Heartguide, significantly improved efficiency and outcomes of left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) procedures.
Abbott Laboratories received U.S. FDA clearance for the Freestyle Libre 2 and Freestyle Libre 3 continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) sensors for integration with automated insulin delivery (AID) systems. AID systems automatically adjust and administer insulin via a pump based on blood glucose levels determined by the sensors. Abbott said it was partnering with multiple AID manufacturers in the U.S. and Europe.
Tricuspid valve regurgitation has lagged mitral regurgitation where device development is concerned, but new one-year data from the TRILUMINATE study of the Triclip device suggests that device therapy is safe and cuts down on regurgitation in a manner that makes the condition much more tolerable for patients. At this point, however, the data do not yet offer much difference when it comes to mortality and rehospitalization compared to medical management, a gap Abbott will have to overcome if it wants to maximize its investment in this underdeveloped area of medical technology.
Abbott Laboratories scored a major win for its Mitraclip device thanks to data from the COAPT study for secondary mitral valve regurgitation. The latest data from this study show a stunning difference in two-year mortality compared to maximized medical management only – 29% on the device versus 46% on medical management – but differences between the COAPT study results and outcomes seen in the MITRA-FR study will force cardiologists to dive into the data to ensure that their patient selection practices account for critical differences in the conduct of these two studies.
Three months earlier than anticipated, CMS published its final local coverage determination (LCD) for continuous glucose monitors and included more people with diabetes than expected. The new policy expands coverage from individuals with type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes using multiple daily injections of insulin to anyone treated with insulin, essentially doubling the market for manufacturers of continuous glucose monitors (CGMs).
Abbott Laboratories continues to push its presence in the cardiovascular market with offerings for the left atrial appendage (LAA) closure and transcatheter aortic valve implant (TAVI) markets, both of which generated affirmative data presented at this year’s edition of the annual meeting of Cardiovascular Research Technologies (CRT 2023) in Washington.
The U.S. FDA announced Feb. 27 that it is aware of data that suggest that the Trifecta surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) devices are potentially prone to early structural deterioration that could compromise both valve performance and valve durability.
While still pending clearance in the U.S., Medtronic plc’s Minimed 780G advanced hybrid closed loop (AHCL) system continues to post strong results in clinical trials. Results of two studies presented at the 2023 Advanced Technologies & Treatments for Diabetes Conference in Berlin on Feb. 27 demonstrated that patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) who used the device for one year maintained a 26.7% increase in time in range for adults and a 14% increase in time in range for children aged 7 to 17 compared to their baseline using multiple daily injections with a continuous glucose monitor (CGM).
