Diabetes treatment optimization for patient empowerment
By HILLEL FULDDreaMed Diabetes(photo credit: Courtesy)
For the past few months, we have all been focused on anything and everything tied to the COVID-19 disease. We’ve been doing our best to protect ourselves and our loved ones while trying to hold onto any semblance of normalcy wherever possible for the sake of our own sanity. However, in placing COVID-19 in the limelight, other life-altering conditions – most of which are equally alarming –ended up being put on the back burner. Diabetes is one of the main diseases that lately hasn’t been getting the attention it deserves.According to the World Health Organization, about 422 million people worldwide have diabetes, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. It has proven to be a major cause of blindness, kidney failure, heart attacks, stroke and lower limb amputation, and continues to be one of the leading causes of death worldwide.Just to be clear, there are two types of diabetes called “Type 1” and “Type 2.” Type 1 diabetes is characterized by deficient insulin production and requires daily administration of insulin. Neither the cause of Type 1 diabetes nor the means to prevent it are known. Type 2 diabetes results from the body’s ineffective use of insulin. The majority of people with diabetes have Type 2 diabetes. This type of diabetes is largely the result of excess body weight and physical inactivity.Sure, a healthy diet, exercise, maintaining a recommended body weight and avoiding tobacco use are ways to prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes. For those who already have diabetes, hope is not lost. The World Health Organization claims that the consequences of diabetes can also be avoided or delayed with diet, physical activity, medication and regular screening and treatment for complications.Even so, there is plenty of room for improvement in preventing diabetes complications, and this is where the Petah Tikva-based DreaMed Diabetes comes into play.DreaMed Diabetes is dedicated to enhancing the lives of insulin-dependent patients and their caregivers, empowering them with innovative personalized medicine and decision-support technology. The company was established in 2014, as a spin-off of the DREAM International Consortium, to commercialize the insulin control technology behind Glucositter. DreaMed Diabetes then innovated with artificial pancreas studies at patients’ homes, after which it became the first company in the world to receive a CE Mark approval for an artificial pancreas system.Today, DreaMed Diabetes is bringing the option of optimal glycemic control to patients everywhere, with a personalized treatment plan that improves their quality of life and lowers their overall treatment costs. Additionally, they offer a clinically proven decision-support system for insulin titration in type-1 diabetes patients, the Advisor Pro.ADVISOR PRO SOFTWARE was created by diabetes professionals and provides personalized optimization of insulin therapy management. It is driven by cloud-based technology, utilizing artificial intelligence and algorithms for quick and efficient data analysis. The platform’s purpose is to assist medical professionals in the management of people with diabetes, providing personalized insulin dosage recommendations easily and efficiently for each and every patient.Recommendations are based on analysis of information derived from CGM, glucometers, insulin pumps and the use of event-oriented data. With frequent titration changes and online monitoring, Advisor Pro enables better patient treatment, lowering their A1C levels and risk for complications. While using Advisor Pro, physicians and nurses can provide true patient-centered care, and everyone can receive the same high-quality treatment.Backed by Medtronic, OurCrowd, and Norma Investment, DreaMed was founded by Dr. Revital Nimri, Prof. Moshe Phillip and Eran Atlas, with the goal of improving diabetes care with the use of Technology and Information Management. Dr. Nimri, the Chief Medical R&D Officer, is a senior endocrinologist and diabetologist, with more than 15 years of clinical experience treating type 1 diabetes patients using insulin pumps and continuous glucose sensors.Prof. Phillip, DreaMed’s Chief Science Officer, is a leading endocrinologist and the director of Israel’s Institute for Endocrinology and Diabetes at Schneider Children’s Medical Center, with over 20 years of clinical experience treating type 1 diabetes patients using insulin pumps and continuous glucose sensors. DreaMed’s CEO, Eran Atlas, is a recognized expert in biomedical engineering and algorithm development, and is responsible for commercial partnerships, leading the R&D, and all regulatory activities.The company, which recently announced integrations with the Billings Clinic in Montana and Stanford’s Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital in California, made headlines during the pandemic, because the COVID-19 crisis has relegated people with diabetes to staying isolated from the public sphere, due to their susceptibility to complications from infection, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). DreamMed Diabetes also announced its collaboration with Texas Children’s Diabetes and Endocrine Care Center, to play a pivotal role in supporting insulin therapy for children in the state of Texas, by integrating its Advisor Pro software to offer a simple remote treatment option.Companies such as DreaMed might not be tackling the novel coronavirus head on, but they are crucial in the fight against the pandemic at large because they assist in the treatment of at-risk groups who desperately need it, especially now. Medtech companies are aware of their position and responsibility to do as much as possible for the greater good.Another important facet here is that, as the coronavirus continues to spread and second waves plague much of the world, hospitals and treatment centers will have a bottleneck to overcome as they fill with COVID-19 patients. Any kind of company offering remote solutions or ways to enhance efficiency can help relieve the bottleneck that is to come.DreaMed Diabetes raised a total of $5.3 million, and shows no signs of slowing down. They are working on creating more decision-support tools in the diabetes management space. The company received a CE Mark and FDA clearance for a decision-support system using data from CGM/SMBG and insulin pumps. I, for one, will stay tuned as they continue to develop the DreaMed Advisor portfolio, which will aid people worldwide living with diabetes, regardless of their diabetes type, and enable healthcare professionals to provide better personalized insulin therapy.
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