Abbott and Novo Nordisk Enter Partnership to Provide Integrated Digital Solution to People with Diabetes Using Insulin

Collaboration will enable insulin data to be shared between Novo Nordisk connected insulin pens and digital health tools compatible(i) with FreeStyle Libre portfolio of products

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Abbott

Feb 20, 2019, 09:00 ET

ABBOTT PARK, Ill. and BAGSVÆRD, Denmark, Feb. 20, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Abbott (NYSE: ABT) and Novo Nordisk today announced a non-exclusive partnership that will integrate insulin dose data from Novo Nordisk pre-filled and durable connected pens directly into the digital health tools compatible with the FreeStyle Libre system (FreeStyle LibreLinkⁱⁱ mobile app and LibreViewⁱⁱⁱ cloud-based system). The partnership reflects both companies′ commitment to make diabetes management easier by connecting key technologies such as continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) and connected insulin pens.

Integrating these two products will enable healthcare professionals, caregivers and people with diabetes to view glucose and insulin data together to help them make more informed treatment decisions and to have a more meaningful and productive conversation about health outcomes.

"Lack of reliable information is a cause of huge frustration for many people with diabetes and their doctors," said Anders Dyhr Toft, corporate vice president, Commercial Innovation, Novo Nordisk. "Together with partners like Abbott, our connected pens will give healthcare professionals a better understanding of a patient′s individual diabetes management and can help people with diabetes feel more confident in their treatment."

"It is our aim at Abbott to continuously provide life-changing technology to people living with diabetes," said Jared Watkin, senior vice president, Diabetes Care, Abbott. "Diabetes is a time intensive condition to manage. People with diabetes must make a variety of decisions every single day about their glucose monitoring, nutrition, insulin and medication intake. By enabling insulin dosing data from Novo Nordisk′s connected pens to be shared with our digital health tools, we′ll be able to help further eliminate those daily hassles for people, so they have more time to live a fuller, healthier life."

Abbott and Novo Nordisk are working hard to bring these integrated solutions to patients as soon as possible.

About the FreeStyle Libre Portfolio of Products
Abbott's FreeStyle Libre system reads glucose levels through a sensor that can be worn on the back of the upper arm eliminating the need for routine finger pricks^iv. Abbott's FreeStyle LibreLink app enables users to capture and view their real-time glucose levels, their eight-hour glucose history, and how their glucose is currently changing on their smartphone. LibreView is a secure cloud-based diabetes management system that gives people with diabetes and healthcare professionals clear, easy-to-understand reports from major glucose monitoring devices – including the FreeStyle Libre system.

Important safety information: https://www.freestylelibre.us/safety-information.html

About Abbott
Abbott is a global healthcare leader that helps people live more fully at all stages of life. Our portfolio of life-changing technologies spans the spectrum of healthcare, with leading businesses and products in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded generic medicines. Our 103,000 colleagues serve people in more than 160 countries.

Connect with us at www.abbott.com, on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/abbott-/, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Abbott and on Twitter @AbbottNews and @AbbottGlobal.

About Novo Nordisk
Novo Nordisk is a global healthcare company with more than 95 years of innovation and leadership in diabetes care. This heritage has given us experience and capabilities that also enable us to help people defeat obesity, haemophilia, growth disorders and other serious chronic diseases. Headquartered in Denmark, Novo Nordisk employs approximately 43,200 people in 80 countries and markets its products in more than 170 countries. For more information, visit novonordisk.com, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube.

ⁱ FreeStyle LibreLink and LibreView are the only authorized digital health tools that are compatible with FreeStyle Libre portfolio of products
ⁱⁱ FreeStyle LibreLink app is compatible with NFC-enabled smartphones running Android OS 5.0 or higher and with iPhone 7 and higher, running OS 11 and higher
ⁱⁱⁱ LibreView data, a product of NewYu, can be viewed in the Safari Browser on Mac OS X Mountain Lion or higher computers and on iOS 6 or later mobile devices. Currently, uploading of glucose data is only supported on Windows-based computers. Minimum system requirements are Windows Vista with IE10 or the latest versions of Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, running on a 550MHz Pentium III, 512MB DRAM, 2G Hard Drive, USB 2.0, LCD Screen with resolution of 1024x768
^iv A finger prick test using a blood glucose meter is required during times of rapidly changing glucose levels when interstitial fluid glucose levels may not accurately reflect blood glucose levels, or if hypoglycemia or impending hypoglycemia is reported but the symptoms do not match the system readings

SOURCE Abbott