Biopharma Business

Global healthcare company Sanofi and therapeutic companion software company Voluntis have agreed to a collaboration to help improve decision-making and self-management for type 2 diabetics treated with basal insulin.

The agreement will feature a smartphone application that delivers digital insulin titration solutions as well enabling remote monitoring by health care teams. The agreement echoes the existing alliance between the two companies that was established in 2011.

The application, which received FDA clearance and the CE mark in 2016 will be launched using pilot programmes in North America and several European countries. By using Sanofi’s experience of bringing treatments to people living with diabetes alongside Voluntis’ experience in creating companion software, the two companies hope to help self-management for type 2 diabetic patients.

Eric Elliott, chairman of Voluntis said: “We are delighted to expand our long-standing collaboration with Sanofi. This new phase of our partnership with a world leader in diabetes will help us deliver digital titration tools into the hands of providers and their patients. Furthermore, digital therapeutics allow manufacturers and payers to check whether agreed value metrics have been achieved and help to lower costs without compromising on patient outcomes and access. They ensure that prescription medications deliver the effects for which they were brought to market.”

Peter Guenter, executive vice-president, Diabetes & Cardiovascular at Sanofi said: “Despite the availability of new medicines for the treatment of diabetes, we see that outcomes are not sufficiently improving and that more than half of patients are not well controlled. With this in mind, Sanofi is focusing on a beyond-the-pill approach. We know that diabetes management is a 24/7 job, and we recognise that the right tools need to be developed to realize better outcomes. The long-term alliance we have with Voluntis will help us to reach that goal.

Written by Reece Armstrong