J&J to increase wearable insulin patch-pump production
Calibra Medical was acquired by Johnson & Johnson in July 2012, which added the device developer to its family of diabetes companies. Calibra is developing a wearable three-day insulin patch designed to offer an alternative to daily injections of mealtime insulin for patients with diabetes.
While discussing J&J’s Q1 results last week, Chief Financial Officer Dominic Caruso said the company was prepping to bring the product to the market with the need to “scale up manufacturing” of the patch.
“A few of us were just there recently visiting our diabetes business and all plans are in shape there,” he said on the call (transcript here).
“They are moving forward with all the manufacturing that needs to be done, so we are very excited that will come in the market but it’s probably you know, not before 2016 I would say.”
Calibra also makes the Finesse Insulin Patch-Pen for type 1 and type 2 diabetes designed to deliver bolus doses of rapid-acting insulin by simultaneously pressing two buttons on the device. The device received FDA approval in 2010 in combination with Novo Nordisk's Novolog rapid acting insulin and Eli Lilly's Humalog.
J&J’s Vibe
For the first quarter 2015, J&J’s diabetes care units saw a decline in revenue year-on-year of 2.2% to $529m (€492m) worldwide, though sales in the US rose by 11.2%.
Sales of insulin delivery products were cited as a major operational contributor to the segment, with the launch of the Vibe continuous glucose monitor (CGM) and insulin pump combination, manufactured by subsidiary Animas Corporation.
“Vibe was launched outside the US last year and continue to pick up a lot of volume,” said Caruso. “[It] did extremely well outside the US and was just launched in the US recently and we’re seeing some very, very good uptick on Vibe and we’re very, very pleased by that new insulin pump.”
Furthermore, the device is “taking competitive share from the major player in the marketplace,” he added.
