The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and Massachusetts-based Cam Med, a company specializing in microfluidic-based drug delivery technologies, announced a partnership today focused on development of a thin, flexible, patch-based insulin pump for artificial pancreas systems.
"JDRF is excited to partner with Cam Med on improving insulin delivery hardware,” Jaime Giraldo, program scientist at JDRF, said in a statement. “The Evopump represents the type of miniaturized and user-centric design that could substantially reduce the burden of living with Type 1 diabetes and remove obstacles preventing some people, particularly children, from using devices that could improve their glucose management."
Cam Med’s Evopump is designed as an alternative to the larger, bulkier delivery devices employed by most automated insulin delivery systems. JDRF has committed to funding development of the pump, which Cam Med has been pursuing since its establishment in 2014.
"The Evopump's unique multi-reservoir, electrochemically-actuated design is a game-changer not just in terms of its user-friendly, bandage-like form, but also because it enables the Evopump to be manufactured at a much lower cost than conventional pumps,” Zhifei Ge, chief technical officer at Cam Med and co-inventor of the device, said in a statement.
In a statement, JDRF noted that the comfort and relatively small size of the Evopump makes it especially appealing for pediatric diabetes patients, for whom traditional pumps can become a burden.
This announcement comes weeks after news of JDRF’s similar funding partnership with South Korean medical device company EOFlow. The company’s wearable, adhesive insulin pump, EOPatch, comes with a handheld touchscreen-enabled controller, weighs less than an ounce, and measures 49.5 by 12.6 millimeters. Here, again, the research organization stressed the benefits a smaller device could hold for younger diabetes patients.
"Innovation in automated insulin delivery devices and artificial pancreas systems will help to significantly improve health and quality of life for people with [Type 1 diabetes],” Giraldo said at the time. “Next-generation wearable designs that are smaller and employ user-centric design will remove barriers that prevent some people, especially small children, from using these life-saving and life-changing glucose management devices."
Prior to this year, JDRF helped fund Bigfoot Biomedical's automated insulin delivery service smartloop last year. It has also worked with IBM on using machine learning to identify and treat Type 1 diabetes and worked with the DIY diabetes patient community, as well.
