Drug manufacturer Sanofi announced on Saturday its partnership with Medtronic in developing drug-device combinations for patients with diabetes.
The announcement was related to the drugmaker's effort to maintain its second-highest position in the diabetes market. The top-selling drug Lantus' patent is scheduled to expire in 2015.
According to Reuters, the contract between the two companies will formally start their coordination in coming with up with drug and device combinations for diabetes patients. In addition, the agreement would mobilize the two companies to develop care management plans for their target market. Depending on the success of their first team up, both Sanofi and Medtronic stated that they may be willing to explore other areas that they could develop together.
"...Sanofi will tap into technology advances that aim to create holistic treatment solutions which take into account the individual patient's needs," Sanofi's executive vice president of global divisions and strategic development, Pascale Witz, said in a statement, as reported by Reuters.
The team up between the two companies will focus on type 2 diabetes. Their coordination would use Sanofi's insulin resources and Medtronic's expertise in creating glucose monitoring devices, as well as insulin pumps to develop an insulin delivery system.
"Patients don't really prick their finger enough during the day," Sanofi CEO Chris Viehbacher said in a phone interview with Businessweek, referring to how diabetics check their blood glucose levels. "If you don't get that right, because of the progressive nature of the disease, you're not getting full control of it. If you don't control it, you develop these neuropathies that lead to blindness, that lead to amputation."
The diabetes market, estimated to be worth $400 million, had companies like Sanofi, Lilly and Co, and Novo Nordisk in a tight competition. Sanofi's leading contribution to the business, Lantus, was first introduced in 1990s and contributed to at almost 20 percent of the company's revenue.
Financial details of Sanofi's contract with Medtronics were not disclosed.
