After a successful limited rollout of its newest insulin pump in the U.S., Tandem Diabetes Care is picking up the pace.
The Mobi pump will now begin a widespread national launch, with Tandem already starting to ship out the pumps and accept new orders, the company announced Tuesday.
Its FDA clearance last summer allows the device to be used by people as young as 6 years old who have Type 1 diabetes, while Tandem’s own eligibility requirements include that its buyers also use a continuous glucose monitor to complete the hybrid closed-loop system for diabetes management. The pump can currently be used only with Dexcom’s G6 CGM.
“This tiny, wearable pump exceeded the expectations of users from an early access program, and we are thrilled to begin offering this exciting new technology to more people in the diabetes community,” President and CEO John Sheridan said in the release. “With this launch, we are executing on our strategy to offer a differentiated portfolio of durable insulin pumps, providing choice, along with new options in wearability.”
Though its name may conjure images of an elusive white whale, the Mobi pump is actually on the shrimpy side: Tandem bills it as “the world’s smallest, durable automated insulin delivery system,” since it’s about half the size of the company’s other offerings and is petite enough to slip into the coin pocket of a pair of jeans.
The pocket-sized pump can also be clipped onto clothing or worn on the body in an adhesive sleeve. It connects to a variety of infusion tubing lengths—including a Mobi-specific five-inch set—and boasts wireless charging capabilities and water resistance at depths up to eight feet for two hours.
Mobi holds up to 200 units of insulin, bolus doses of which can be dispensed either with the push of a button on the pump itself or through a connected smartphone app, which is currently compatible only with iPhones for U.S. users.
Basal insulin, meanwhile, is managed by the aforementioned closed-loop system: Tandem’s Control-IQ algorithm takes in blood sugar readings from a linked CGM and analyzes them to predict how they might change 30 minutes into the future, then automatically tweaks the pump’s output accordingly.
While the Mobi pump is currently only available for use with the Dexcom G6 sensor, G7 compatibility is slated to arrive in the second quarter of this year, per Tandem. The company’s t:slim X2 insulin pump and Control-IQ algorithm recently became the first automated insulin delivery system to integrate with the G7 CGM—though it was quickly followed by Beta Bionics’ iLet Bionic Pancreas.
Shortly after, Tandem announced another new CGM link-up for the t:slim X2 system, allowing it to be used with Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre 2 Plus sensor. An Abbott collab is also on the horizon for the Mobi pump: Its maker said in Tuesday’s announcement that FreeStyle Libre 3 compatibility will follow the G7 integration.