Roche Diabetes Care emphasized the importance of “integrated personalized diabetes management” (iPDM) at the International Diabetes Federation Congress at BEXCO, Busan, which runs through Thursday.

The company said the integration of antidiabetic technology and digital health solutions would provide patients and health care professionals with improved treatment and better quality of life, at a news conference on “Integrated Personalized Diabetes Management and the Future of Asia Diabetes Innovation” on Tuesday.

Rolf Hinzmann, head of Global Medical & Scientific Affairs at Roche Diabetes Care, speaks during a news conference at BEXCO, Busan, on Tuesday.

Roche Diabetes Care promotes iPDM, a model that manages diabetes by integrating hardware such as insulin pumps and continuous blood glucose monitoring system with digital solutions.

The integration model can assess a diabetic patient’s health status, provide measurement education, teach how to measure individualized blood glucose, build data through diabetes management software, offer a systematic analysis of medical staff, provide customized treatment through analysis results, and evaluate treatment effect, the company said.

Roche Diabetes Care also developed solutions such as MySugr and SugarView to help patients easily collect and understand data such as blood sugar levels. These solutions, in an application form, provide blood glucose checks, insulin dose calculations, and anticipated glycated hemoglobin. The company has yet released both solutions in Korea.

Roche Diabetes Care also said a study proved the iPDM’s therapeutic and preventive effect.

The ProValue study, in which 907 patients participated for 12 months, evaluated glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels, treatment changes, frequency of hypoglycemic events, patient reports, and physician satisfaction. Blood glucose improvement was more prominent in the iPDM group than that of the control group with general treatment after 12 months. At 12 months of study, the glycated hemoglobin in the iPDM group went down 0.5 percent (-6 mmol/mol), compared to that at the start of the study. In the control group, it declined only 0.2 percent (-2 mmol/mol).

Rolf Hinzmann, head of Global Medical & Scientific Affairs at Roche Diabetes Care, said diabetic patients reach only about 50 percent of their blood sugar goals, not only in Asia and Africa but in Europe and the U.S.

The number showed that patients could not achieve the treatment goal with modern technology and data alone, and it was the reason why Roche Diagnostics was pushing for iPDM, he said.

“Patients are at the center of the iPDM. Patients receive assisted training on how to manage their disease,” Hinzmann said. “Systematic information such as blood glucose levels obtained through iPDM can be identified and analyzed by patients and health professionals to create customized treatments.” Such therapeutic effect is supplemented by evaluation, which helps patients find better treatment, he emphasized.

Hinzmann also noted that as the iPDM is cost-effective, the government would also have financial benefits from the model.

“In the ProValue study, the iPDM not only improved the patients’ reach of treatment goals, lowered mortality rates and improved quality of life, but reduced costs by around 2,000-3,000 euros ($2,216-$3,325) per patient a year,” he said.

Tommy Kim, Head of Roche Diabetes Care Korea, said iPDM could be particularly helpful for the treatment of Asian diabetic patients.

About 60 percent of diabetic patients around the world live in Asia, according to Kim. The bigger problem was that half of them are not aware of the disease, he said. “Korean diabetic patients manage the disease only by checking blood sugar levels once or twice a week. To solve this problem, the health authorities are making efforts, but it is challenging due to limited budget,” he said.

Roche Diabetes Care aims to address this problem with its over 40 years of diabetes management experience, Kim went on to say.

By adding solutions such as MySugr and SugarView to the diabetes technology Accu-Chek portfolio, patients can control their blood sugar and adjust their lifestyles, he explained. Physicians can provide tailored treatments based on more systematic and accurate patient information, and confirm the results of the treatment, he added, emphasizing iPDM could make this all possible.

Kim said the company plans to roll out MySugr next year and upgrade its function phase by phase considering the local market situation.

pkt77@docdocdoc.co.kr

<© Korea Biomedical Review, All rights reserved.>