Animas exiting insulin pump market

Diabetes Technology Insulin Pumps
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CHESTERBROOK, Pa., October 5, 2017 – Animas Corporation, one of the Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Care Companies, today announced that it intends to discontinue the manufacturing and sale of Animas® Vibe® and OneTouch Ping® insulin pumps, close operations and exit the insulin pump business.

Animas has selected Medtronic plc (NYSE: MDT), a world leader in diabetes, as its partner-of-choice to facilitate a seamless transition for patients, caregivers and healthcare providers. Patients using an Animas insulin pump will be offered the option to transfer to a Medtronic pump.

Patient safety and continuity of care is of utmost importance and Animas will continue to provide customer service, training and warranty support, including providing pump supplies that are used in conjunction with the Animas® Vibe® and OneTouch Ping® insulin pumps, through a transition period.

“We recognize that patients living with diabetes rely on our products to provide critical care, and we want to reassure them that we will be with them every step of the way throughout this transition,” said Valerie Asbury, General Manager of Animas Corporation. “Our number one priority is ensuring patients have a seamless experience as they transition to Medtronic. For over 30 years, Medtronic has been a global leader in the treatment of those living with diabetes, and we are confident they will provide outstanding support to our patients and their healthcare teams.”

“We are incredibly grateful to our patients and healthcare partners for the trust, confidence and loyalty they have placed in Animas products over the last 12 years,” Asbury said. “With changing needs of customers, rapidly evolving market dynamics, and increased competitive pressures, it proved too difficult to sustain the insulin pump business and we decided to pursue an exit of the business. This decision was extremely difficult and comes following the extensive exploration of all other viable options for the Animas business.”

Approximately 90,000 patients currently use Animas pumps and products. Those patients, caregivers and healthcare providers may explore insulin pump transition options by visiting Medtronic: Diabetes Products And Therapy Options or contacting Medtronic at the following toll-free numbers:

U.S.: (855) 322-9568
Canada: (800) 284-4416

Patients, caregivers and healthcare providers can also visit www.animaspatientsupport.com for more information.

Animas has discontinued the sale of all Animas® Vibe® and OneTouch Ping® insulin pumps in the U.S. and Canada, effective immediately. A decision and timing to exit countries outside of the U.S. and Canada is subject to completing consultation with relevant works councils. For the patients, caregivers and healthcare providers outside of the U.S. and Canada who currently use Animas pumps and products, Animas will continue to sell pumps and operate as usual.

Animas employs approximately 410 people globally. Consistent with Our Credo, all affected employees will be treated with fairness and respect.

As part of the strategic review process for the Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Care Companies announced in January 2017, Johnson & Johnson is continuing to evaluate potential strategic options for LifeScan, Inc., a world leader in blood glucose monitoring with the OneTouch® brand of products.

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Thanks again for sharing up to the minute news, @tiaE! :grinning:

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Not a surprise, but still sad news. :frowning:

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Oh f’r the luva… Nothing worse than being orphaned like this. I went through it when I attempted the shift from MDT to the late, lamented and short-lived Snap. Just getting used to its little quirks and ways of doing things when out of the blue came an email saying, “As of right now we’re out of business! Sorry for any inconvenience!” I was looking hard at Animas over this past spring when I was having to decide on a new pump, and I guess I dodged a bullet–I would seriously not be well pleased to be facing that situation again, only a few months into acclimating to a new pump—but my sympathy goes out to everyone who is facing it now. Ugh.

I assume they’ll continue to supply consumables for existing customers, at least for some period. My Asante rep actually contacted me separately and advised on loading up on additional supplies while their inventory lasted. I actually ended up not getting charged for a bunch of stuff that I still have in my Diabetic Zombie Apocalypse cache–enough to last several months, though it was easier just to go back to my MDT paradigm since it was still in warranty. Dunno if there’s anything like that going on with Animas–J&J is a much bigger and more bureaucratized entity–but it might be worth looking into.

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Two years.

“If your warranty expires on or after September 30, 2019, Animas has arranged the option for you to transition to a MiniMed 630G insulin delivery system at no cost.”

“effective September 30, 2019, Medtronic will not be able to supply Animas cartridges or customer support for Animas pumps”

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I find this curious. What is it about the US/Canada market that prompted a firm exit plan but still plan to operate in the rest of the world?

I wore Animas Pings for eight years and found them dependable. The Animas customer service was also responsive to my needs. More than once they over-nighted a pump replacement to me with minimum fuss and inconvenience.

I find it surprising that the transition to closed-loop technology is scaring off significant competitors like Animas/Jonhson & Johnson. Perhaps it’s a simple business decision and Animas decided that the eventual profits were not significant enough to justify the needed investments in closed loop technology.

I sure hope that Bigfoot and Beta Bionics can benefit from the vacuum created by this exit. As people with diabetes, we need more competitors in this market, not fewer. A market dominated by Medtronic is not a good thing for us long-term.

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WOW! Just WOW!

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Bummer! I have been wearing the Animas for many, many years! I like that it is waterproof, and it also has been super reliable. What are people’s thoughts on alternatives? I have always avoided Medtronic.

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@Melitta - We had the Animas Ping and really liked it. However it was six years old with multiple minor problems. The final issue was a bad crack in the case by the battery compartment so we felt we could not wait any longer.

Given that we use and really really like the Dexcom CGM, we went with the Tandem t:slim X2.

We had actually been waiting and hoping Beta Bionics would have their pump on the market but decided we could not realistically wait any longer.

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I can’t speak for the newer MM pumps, but I’ve had at least 5 models of their pumps, through model 551. The earlier models would fail once in a while, in various ways, but the 551 had been solid as a rock. I wish the screen was nicer, but it is compact, delivers accurately, and doesn’t use that awful Luer-lock connector of yesteryear. Sorry,I despise the Luer-lock design which their early models used. I’ve looked into other brands over the years, and have never felt the need to “jump ship”, once I determine that other pumps have issues that are deal-breakers for me.

My biggest gripe: it’s not waterproof.

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i’ve been on an Animas Ping for 5 years, and the pre-ping version for 4 years before that. I am somewhat sad to see them go to, always had a good experience with their customer service. They replaced the one I cracked, and the one that had the failing screen (kept getting darker). But - I did feel like they weren’t keeping up with the latest interface technology.

Literally, today, I started on an X2. I love the touch screen. No more arrow keying all over the place… I also am super looking forward to getting on Dexcom CGM.

I will miss the waterproof pump.

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The 630G and 670G are waterproof.

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@cowboykyle - The Tandem t:slim X2 is water resistant. (Can anything be “proof” ?? - lol)
Enough so that when we go kayaking, we give it no special consideration. Not like we are diving 100 feet under water. lol. Worst case we flip but we are going to be on the top 3 feet of water.

https://www.tandemdiabetes.com/products/t-slim-x2-insulin-pump

Plus, the t:slim X2 Pump is watertight, so you don’t have to worry if it accidentally gets wet.
Tested to a depth of 3 feet for 30 minutes (IPX7)

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Sad news. I heard about it this morning via a type 1 women’s group that I’m in. I really hate that we’ve got less choice. I think Medtronic being the first-mover with the 670g closed-loop system is what might do their competition in even though it’s not the best experience (or it wasn’t for me.)

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I’ve been using the Vibe for less than one year and I HATED the Medtronic pump I used about 5 years ago. After 5 months II put it in the box and went with an out of warranty Cozmo for 3.5 years. I also really like the Inset 30 and I don’t think that Medtronic had a clone of it. I will probably hang on for two years and then decide how to proceed. A very disappointing day.

Maurie

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I have been holding out on upgrading to a G5 in the hopes that this would not happen. I hate the idea of a closed loop system with a less reliable sensor. I don’t want to entertain the idea of medtronic at this point. I am so devastated. I don’t even want a closed loop. I have zero trust in AI and closed loop systems. What a major bummer… now WTF am I gonna do?

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What is a 551??? I thought all their pumps required their infusion set designs? They are only offering the 630 for free…

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@Tim35 - yep, I talked with a few CSRs at Tandem, and was told there was internal seals on the X2 to basically make it relatively water resistant. Basically if you jump in the water, just remember at that point to take it off and get it out… but it should survive the event! Although, avoid chlorine at all costs…

I did a long swim/run even while wearing my Animas, that involved swimming about two miles overall. Was it “proof”… well, no. It must have leaked in a small way as corrosion developed in the battery chamber a week or so later, causing it to basically blow up on me in the middle of the night (I mean with alarms:)) It said the battery was dead, and wouldn’t take a new one. I ended up scraping off the contact at the back of the chamber to establish a connection. Has worked fine since, but basically showed the waterproof-ness was not necessarily 100%…

So, likely going forward, having to remove it for such things is probably the prudent choice anyhow.

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My warranty expires 3/2021. I have no idea what to do, because I dont know how many cartridges I can afford to hoard. :frowning: I was given money back on the TSlim when I proved it to not work at all for me. So, that is out but they are not offering a deal anyway. It will be interesting to see if Tandem and/or Omnipod offers us some help.
I am so upset, I have spent the day accomplishing absolutely nothing.
Pump choice should be getting better, not worse…

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@Laura_S - If you are good with switching to Medtronic, this would be the easiest route for you.

“If your warranty expires on or after September 30, 2019, Animas has arranged the option for you to transition to a MiniMed 630G insulin delivery system at no cost.”