Tandem Diabetes Care to Acquire Insulin Patch Pump Developer, AMF Medical
Irritating. (Maybe).
Will Tandem develop this further, or bury it?
2 Likes
This is a good thing. Tandem has been talking about having a tubeless pump. But they have not been able to get it going yet.
This accelerates the process. They are not going to bury this one. They will use it to compete with the OmniPod.
2 Likes
They promised us a hybrid tubed patch pump soon, and a pod type single use pump in the future. Maybe this is how they are going to achieve that latter goal
1 Like
LOVING the optimism! 
Here’s a video on how it works and is reusable up to a year. I liked the Tandem using a short tube infusion set because it allows for various sets.
2 Likes
Tandem announced last year during their R&D day that they’re working on a patch pump, too. Acquisitions like this are all about the patents. The medical device industry is a minefield to navigate, because someone owns the rights already to simple solutions.
The Sigi wasn’t/isn’t exactly competition. It’s a theoretical product “in development”. That basically means AMF Medical was a Shark Tank competitor, with a lucrative idea and intellectual property, but not the resources to bring it to market. Tandem has the resources to see it through
I’m personally thrilled about Omnipod competition. Not because I want to drive manufacturers out of business (competition drives innovation!), but because there are a lot of people, including myself, that just can’t get Omnipods to work for them. Pain, difficult time finding comfortable sleeping positions that don’t block Bluetooth connectivity, absorption issues, tunneling/leaking, guilt at the waste, etc… Insulet has modified the hardware over the years, but hasn’t really tried to change the form factor any. I’m really hoping Tandem can bring a product to market that better serves me, and those who’ve experienced similar issues.
7 Likes
It is a great purchase for Tandem and AMF. Never reinvent when you can acquire.
2 Likes
What Tandem may want is the adhesive system with the locking mechanism. I’ve never seen how the MOBI pump was suppose to be stuck to the body. The Sigi video shows what looks like a very good solution.
Of the patch pumps the MOBI is the only one I liked. It is being able to have infusion set options that’s the deal maker for me.
The mobi was originally supposed to use double sided tape but then they moved to a sort of sticky sleeve, that I’m not really a fan of at least how it looks. It may change again before it’s released. The truth is, it might not matter, my current x2 can be dropped and since I use the short tubing, it won’t hit the floor and doesn’t pull out. I think it won’t need much adhesive to secure it
1 Like
That’s exactly what I thought, too, when I saw your video!
What @Timothy pictured might look like a sleeve because of tricks of the light, but that’s actually their original "docking station’ prototype for the Mobi: tubeless, which isn’t part of the original Mobi deployment. It will be an infusion set choice introduced further down the road.
That one Sigi has is a much more elegant solution, for sure. And as ugly as their original docking station concept is, the real adhesive Mobi pocket is actually WORSE. I can’t remember where I saw the picture (it was apparently too ugly to share in the R&D Day presentation), but it looks a lot more like a white Amazon mailer, minus the branding. You couldn’t see the pump at all, because you don’t need to. It was just a big, ugly white rectangle. I also don’t think the Mobi would require much adhesive, but that pocket thing was big enough to extend way beyond the edges of the pump, like how current sensors/infusion sets have a border of adhesive tape.
The only problem I can see is that the Mobi has already been submitted for approval, and it doesn’t have the release mechanism pictured in the video on it. Mobi:tubeless is supposed to work seamlessly with the original Mobi, and not require a physical pump upgrade. So it may just be that the Mobi: tubeless docking station won’t change much from the original concept art, and the Sigi acquisition won’t come into play until they make their first true patch pump.
2 Likes
Thank you so much for this video. Like others that have commented - if Tandem or another company goes this route for tubeless pumps - awesome for the user - Environment (that’s a big issue with many of the T1D’s I speak to - the waste we produce). Hopefully it’ll be an affordable option for those of us who don’t have either insurance / money tree 
) / etc.
2 Likes
Patch pumps are indeed the future of pumping. I can’t imagine what it must be like to ask a toddler to use a pump with tubing. But what I suspect will really widen the choice for a lot of users is allowing a patch pump to accept additional insulin during its three-day lifespan.
2 Likes
Do you mean for people that use more than 200 units in 3 days, so they don’t get 3 days out of the OmniPod? (Or whatever max amount the Tandem holds.)
It would be great if they made an adaptation to let you use U-200 insulin for that! That way people would have the equivalent of 400 units to use.
It would be an extremely simple fix. You select the type of insulin, and the pump could simply adjust the math automatically.
3 Likes
It’s coming in the next few months. Even though it’s mostly T1s talking about it right now, Tandem thinks the target market for their new Mobi pump are T2s who want discretion, which generally means higher insulin volumes. It’s going to be indicated for concentrated insulins, as well as Lyumjev. The other manufacturers should soon follow.
Since there are so many more T2s then T1s, making their products more inclusive (discreet and high volume) is the easiest way to increase sales.
While Omnipod’s 's small volume is certainly a problem, I honestly don’t think that’s the major limiting factor for Insulet. It’s easy enough to get a get a script for more frequent pod changes. I think there are wear issues with the Omnipod that need addressed, and could be big selling points for competitors. There are a lot of people who love the pods, but there seem to be just as many people who have tried and just can’t make them work for them. I think only having one cannula is the biggest problem. That’s one of the exciting things I noted about the Sigi up there. Seems like it would be easy to manufacture different cannula options that the durable pump snaps into. The pods are also heavy, while the cannula is at the very end of the pod with very little adhesive around it. I think the hanging weight on the Pod puts extra stress on the cannula, leading to the pain, leaking, tunneling, and frequent failed sites. There’s also a size problem. They might be smaller than a tubed pump (but not when you consider the controlling device), but they’re way bigger/bulkier than an infusion set, making it difficult to dress and sleep. I’m not sure what the solutions are, but I would very much enjoy a patch pump again if I could avoid those problems!
3 Likes
Yeah, I just started using the OmniPod 5 like 3 weeks ago. I went in expecting issues, such as you mentioned, but wanted to give it a try. I also had heard horror stories of pods screaming during wedding ceremonies and shutting down after a wee static charge. No way could this work, I thought. But, so far, so good. Not a single issue. Now, I’m off to knock on some wood.
2 Likes