Medtronic aims for diabetic consumer tech in deals with Samsung, Glooko and connected MiniMed clearance

MiniMed Connect--Courtesy of Medtronic

Medtronic ($MDT) disclosed a trio of initiatives to make diabetic monitoring and management easier. These reflect the company's broader, ongoing commitment to transitioning into a focus on diabetic consumer wellness and include partnerships with consumer electronics company Samsung, diabetes data startup Glooko and an FDA clearance for MiniMed Connect.

The partnership with Samsung has the broad, vague mandate to deliver to enhance the lives of diabetic patients with remotely accessible diabetes data and the integration of mobile and wearable devices into diabetes management. The deal is specifically focused on developing products for Android users, which the companies pointedly note account for 80% of smartphone users globally.

The first project under the partnership is to develop mobile apps for use on Samsung devices to enable the viewing of insulin pump and continuous glucose monitoring data. It will work with Medtronic's MiniMed Connect, for which the medical device bellwether just disclosed FDA clearance.

MiniMed Connect is the first device that allows users to view their data via smartphone from an insulin pump/continuous glucose monitor (CGM). It also offers remote monitoring that includes text messaging for healthcare providers and caretakers.

It is a secondary, display device that works with the MiniMed 530G system and the MiniMed Revel system. Medtronic plans to launch it in the fall.

Medtronic has timed these three diabetes announcements to court the audience at the American Diabetes Association conference in Boston, MA that's running this week from June 5-9. The disclosures are all in line with the medical device giant's recent diabetes deal activity and its larger vision for the diabetes business.

"We're focused on transforming our diabetes group from a market-leading pump and sensor company into a holistic diabetes management company focused on making a real difference in outcomes and costs," summed up Medtronic CFO Gary Ellis on the most recent quarterly conference call.

Last quarter alone, Medtronic made an investment in artificial tech with a minority investment and partnership with DreaMed Diabetes as well as investment in diabetes management startup Glooko. In addition, it partnered with IBM Watson Health for next-gen diabetes management solutions and acquired Diabeter, a Netherlands-based diabetes clinic and research center that Medtronic sees as having developed a unique model for integrated care.

This week it has expanded its relationship with Glooko, which is focused on getting the full range of diabetes device data online and available to individual patients for better disease management and to healthcare providers and payers to help offer improved care at the population level. Like with the Samsung deal, financial terms remain undisclosed for the Glooko partnership.

The deal with Glooko is focused on incorporating data from Medtronic insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors into Glooko's diabetes management platform. Medtronic also plans to integrate other related health and wellness data such as food, medication, fitness and biometric data via its own CareLink platform. The expectation is that all this data integration will result in improved patient care.

Glooko recently started to focus on adding data from insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors to its diabetes population management software; its initial focus had been on existing blood glucose monitors. By year end, the startup has said it expects to have more than 90% of diabetes devices integrated with its system. Earlier this week, Glooko disclosed deals with Dexcom and Insulet to incorporate data from their devices.

"By partnering with the Glooko diabetes management platform, we can provide safe and secure access to meaningful diabetes information to our customers that goes beyond just device data," summed up Annette Brüls, vice president and general manager of Diabetes Services and Solutions at Medtronic, in a statement. "Combining the additional data collected by Glooko with our CareLink data will enable further insights into how various health and fitness activities affect insulin therapy."

- here are the Samsung, MiniMed Connect and Glooko releases