Ascensia Diabetes Care and Voluntis Announce Technology Partnership to Help Optimize Insulin Management for People With Type 2 Diabetes

BASEL, Switzerland and PARIS, June 9, 2017 /CNW/ - Ascensia Diabetes Care and Voluntis today announced a global technology partnership designed to help improve the lives of people with Type 2 diabetes by optimizing insulin management. This collaboration will connect the Voluntis basal insulin management solution for people with Type 2 diabetes, the Insulia^® Diabetes Management Companion, with the CONTOUR^®NEXT ONE and CONTOUR^®PLUS ONE blood glucose monitoring systems (BGMS) from Ascensia.

Under the terms of the agreement, the CONTOUR^®NEXT ONE and CONTOUR^®PLUS ONE meters will connect via Bluetooth to Insulia^® and the blood glucose readings will be used to calculate basal insulin dosing for people with Type 2 diabetes. By linking highly accurate blood glucose data to this basal insulin manager, the two companies aim to empower self-management for patients and help optimize insulin management in the real-world to improve outcomes. The integration between these two solutions is expected to be available for people with diabetes and healthcare professionals in Q4 2017.

"Type 2 diabetes is a complex condition, especially for people using insulin therapy as part of their management. We're excited to be working together with Voluntis to empower people with Type 2 diabetes by helping them to better manage their insulin treatment. This partnership helps us move further towards our ambition of providing integrated diabetes management, which we see as the future. It is our first partnership in the area of medication management, which is a critical component of integrated diabetes management, and we see Voluntis as a key partner in helping to deliver this goal," explained Michael Kloss, CEO of Ascensia Diabetes Care.

"We are delighted to start this collaboration with Ascensia in order to provide a seamless combination of Bluetooth-enabled blood glucose monitoring systems with digital insulin therapy optimization," said Pierre Leurent, CEO of Voluntis. "Joining forces will help us simplify how people manage their blood sugars from end-to-end so they can vastly improve their quality of life," he added.

Michael added, "The simplicity and effectiveness of the Insulia^® solution combined with the remarkable accuracy of the CONTOUR^®NEXT ONE and CONTOUR^®PLUS ONE blood glucose monitoring systems, has the ability to meaningfully impact the lives of people living with diabetes, and as a result, this could lead to better outcomes."

Insulia^® Diabetes Management Companion is a prescription-only medical device that provides people with Type 2 diabetes with insulin dose recommendations and educational coaching messages, through a smartphone app, based on blood glucose values and other diabetes-related data. Insulia^® supports a wide variety of treatment plan configurations and evidence-based insulin adjustment rules used in routine clinical practice. The personalized treatment plan is initially set-up by the healthcare professional, based on an individual's profile, insulin prescription and blood glucose targets. The dose adjustment algorithm is embedded in the app requiring no further validation from healthcare professionals after the system's initial setup. The patient data can then be automatically shared with the healthcare team, who can remotely monitor the patient's progress toward their goal thanks to tailored notifications. The solution has received both FDA 510(k) clearance from the US FDA and CE Mark approval in Europe in November 2016.

The CONTOUR^®NEXT ONE and CONTOUR^®PLUS ONE systems each feature a highly accurate easy-to-use blood glucose smart meter that links to a mobile device via Bluetooth® connectivity. The meter connects to the CONTOUR™ DIABETES app, a mobile app that collects, stores and analyzes patient blood glucose measurements delivered to it by the meter. The CONTOUR^®NEXT ONE and CONTOUR^®PLUS ONE BGMSs received CE Mark approval in Europe in April 2016, and the CONTOUR^®NEXT ONE BGMS received 510(k) clearance from the FDA in November 2016. The CONTOUR™ DIABETES app will be available for download from the Apple App Store (iOS) and Google Play (Android).

Notes for Editors 

About Ascensia Diabetes Care 

Ascensia Diabetes Care is a global specialist diabetes care company, dedicated to helping people living with diabetes. Our mission is to empower people living with diabetes through innovative solutions that simplify and improve their lives. We use our innovation and specialist expertise in diabetes to develop high quality solutions and tools that make a positive, daily difference for people with diabetes.

Home to the world renowned CONTOUR™ portfolio of blood glucose monitoring systems, our products combine advanced technology with user-friendly functionality that help people with diabetes to manage their condition. We are committed to continued research, innovation and development of new products and solutions. As a trusted partner in the diabetes community, we collaborate closely with healthcare professionals and other partners to ensure our products meet the highest standards of accuracy, precision and reliability, and that we conduct our business compliantly and with integrity.

Ascensia Diabetes Care was established in 2016 through the sale of Bayer Diabetes Care to Panasonic Healthcare Holdings Co., Ltd. Ascensia Diabetes Care products are sold in more than 125 countries. Ascensia Diabetes Care has around 1,700 employees and operations in 38 countries.

For further information, please visit the Ascensia Diabetes Care website at: http://www.ascensia.com.

About Voluntis  

Pioneering therapeutic companion software, Voluntis innovates healthcare by embedding connectivity in therapeutics and medical intelligence in software. Dedicated to managing chronic conditions, Voluntis' companion software aim to enable treatment personalization, to support team-care coordination and to improve real-world outcomes. Harnessing its proprietary technology, Voluntis has developed digital solutions for diabetes, cancer, anticoagulation treatments and haemophilia. Voluntis is headquartered in Paris, France, and has offices in Cambridge, MA. For more information, visit http://www.voluntis.com.

Insulia® is powered by Voluntis proprietary technology platform Theraxium® that ensures data privacy and security, processes workflows and analytics, and enables interoperability with other IT platforms and devices.

Ascensia Diabetes Care. Ascensia and Contour are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Ascensia Diabetes Care.

Insulia® is a registered trademark of Voluntis Inc.

The Bluetooth word mark and logos are registered trademarks owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc., and any use of such marks herein is under license.

Apple and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc. Google Play is a trademark of Google Inc.

SOURCE Ascensia Diabetes Care and Voluntis

For further information: please contact: Joseph Delahunty, VP, Global Head of Communications, Ascensia Diabetes Care, E-mail: [email protected], Phone: [phone]; Amelie Janson, Head of Communication, Voluntis, E-mail: [email protected], Phone: [phone]