The acquisition includes certain patents of Bigfoot Biomedical associated with pumps that could be utilised for automated insulin delivery therapy
Bigfoot Biomedical sells its insulin pump patents to Insulet. (Credit: Dennis Klicker on Unsplash)
Insulet said that it has acquired assets related to pump-based automated insulin delivery (AID) technologies from California-based medical technology start-up Bigfoot Biomedical for a price of $25m.
The acquisition by the tubeless insulin pump technology company includes certain patents of Bigfoot Biomedical pertaining to pumps that could be utilised for automated insulin delivery therapy.
Insulet said that the deal further bolsters its intellectual property (IP) portfolio.
For Bigfoot Biomedical, the sale provides additional capital to expand the reach of its Bigfoot Unity Diabetes Management System to more people requiring connected insulin injection support technologies.
The deal also includes fully paid-up licenses between the firms in their respective business fields corresponding to the acquired patents and other patents of Bigfoot Biomedical.
Insulet innovation, strategy, and digital products executive vice president Eric Benjamin said: “As we develop innovative products for people with insulin-requiring diabetes, we continue to invest heavily in pump and automated insulin delivery technologies.
“Bigfoot has made valuable contributions to the industry through many years of research and development in these fields and we are thrilled to acquire these assets. Insulet has substantially strengthened its IP portfolio organically over the past few years.”
According to Insulet, AID systems such as the company’s Omnipod 5 System administer insulin via a pump that is linked to and communicates with a continuous glucose monitor (CGM).
In contrast to AID systems, connected injection support technologies such as Bigfoot Unity make use of smart pen caps to offer dose suggestions based on CGM data in connection with recommendations from healthcare professionals, said Insulet.
Bigfoot Biomedical CEO Jeffrey Brewer said: “Our history of innovation in insulin delivery has helped us simplify the complexities for this population, by eliminating the anxious guesswork out of daily insulin dose management.
“We’ll remain focused on commercialising connected injection support technologies and know Insulet can benefit from our patents to bring life-changing pump innovation to people with diabetes in parallel.”