Valeritas, the maker of a disposable, wearable insulin-delivery device, unveiled data showing the device lowers diabetes patients’ average blood glucose levels, insulin requirements and costs.
The data from a pair of studies will be presented Tuesday at the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research annual meeting.
The first study looked at 86 patients who exceeded their blood glucose targets and who switched to using the company’s V-Go device. Patients attended three follow-up visits over five or more months after switching to V-Go. The retrospective study found that using the device led to reduced A1C levels, a 44% reduction in daily insulin dose and pharmacy cost savings of up to $378.60 per patient per month, according to a statement.
The second study compared the use of V-Go and standard treatment optimization in patients with Type 2 diabetes in a real-world setting. It involved 52 sites in the U.S. and 246 patients undergoing standard treatment and 169 patients using V-Go. The study found improved outcomes and lowered costs for patients who used the wearable device. However, patients using V-Go had higher mean baseline A1C levels, but the company said this shows a bias to start “more advanced diabetes patients” on V-Go.
“These clinical data highlight improvements found in real-world treatment outcomes for patients with diabetes, in addition to the financial benefit and value add provided by the V-Go Wearable Insulin Delivery device for both patients and the pharmacy budget,” said CEO John Timberlake, in the statement.
While the Bridgewater, New Jersey-based company’s V-Go device bagged FDA approval in 2010, uptake has been sluggish. The device sticks to the skin for 24 hours and continuously delivers basal insulin according to preset doses. It may also be used to administer bolus insulin at mealtimes, eliminating the need for insulin pumps, pens or syringes.
The company filed for a $50 million IPO in February this year, after reverse merging last spring and withdrawing a $90 million IPO filed in February 2015.
Valeritas logged $14.8 million in sales for the first nine months of this year, putting it on track to rake in $19.5 million in fiscal 2016. But while sales have improved since its aborted IPO attempt—the company reported $9.5 million in sales for the first nine months of that year—they have not kept up with the company’s losses.
In 2015, the company reported a net loss of $67.2 million in 2015, bringing its total deficit to $377.9 million. The company hopes to put the IPO funds toward sales and marketing in a bid to grow sales this year.