mylife™ OmniPod® Now Available in France and the Netherlands

mylife™ Diabetescare, Ypsomed's business-to-consumer brand has launched the first insulin patch pump in France and the Netherlands. The launch on the Swiss market will follow at the end of January 2011.

The mylife OmniPod® insulin management system is worldwide the first continuous, tubing-free insulin infusion system. It offers people with diabetes, who depend on insulin, a high level of comfort and flexibility, while at the same time opening up new possibilities in the treatment of children and young people. The mylife OmniPod system consists of a small, compact pod, which is simply secured directly onto the skin with an adhesive, and an easily controlled personal diabetes manager (PDM), which also serves as a blood glucose meter. The costs for the mylife OmniPod system will be reimbursed by health insurers.

Greater comfort and a better quality of life through the innovative insulin patch pump therapy

Jean-François Flamant, general manager of Ypsomed in France, is thrilled about the first patient, who has received the mylife OmniPod. He says: "We have trained the majority of our health care providers on the product and have led positive discussions with the key opinion leaders in the infusion pump business. With the feedback we've received for our innovative system, we feel extremely confident of our sales in the next weeks and months."

Bram van Bergen, general manager of Ypsomed in the Netherlands, is also impressed with the demand: "We have already had a huge amount of people calling our office for information and availability in their hospital or diabetes clinic. Last week, an eight-year-old girl in Deventer Hospital really didn't want to start her therapy on a pump with tubing. She now is our first patient in Holland enjoying the freedom of the mylife OmniPod. A fantastic breakthrough in the daily lives of people living with diabetes."

Simon Michel, senior vice president of marketing and sales at Ypsomed, is delighted: "With the mylife OmniPod insulin management system, Ypsomed is the first provider to bring the very latest technology in insulin treatment to France and the Netherlands. We are pleased to enable people with diabetes to enjoy greater comfort and a better quality of life through our products."

The mylife OmniPod offers patients a greater degree of freedom and simplicity in use compared with conventional insulin pumps. Since the system does not require an infusion set tangled tubes are a thing of the past. With the mylife OmniPod, the cannula is positioned automatically at the touch of a button. There is noo needle visible for the patient. This automated insertion provides a consistent placement of the cannula and makes it easy, even for children. The alternative pod placement options ensure greater flexibility. The pod's adhesive is gentle on the skin, breathable and flexible. Unlike conventional infusion pumps it is entirely patched on the skin, and due to the small size it is very discreet and not visible under clothing. The pod can be used whilst swimming and during workouts without the need to disconnect the device. As an American study has shown, an interruption to the insulin supply lasting as little as 30min has a considerable effect on the blood glucose level.¹

Advantages over intensified conventional therapy (ICT)

After switching to OmniPod, ICT patients have improved long-term blood glucose levels (glycemic control) through the continuous insulin supply. This effect has been demonstrated in recent study on the basis of an improved mean HbA1c (-0.49%).² The overall acceptance rate for the OmniPod in this study was 92.2%.

An earlier study demonstrated the preference of the OmniPod over conventional insulin pumps. In this study most of the existing pump users preferred the OmniPod system to their conventional insulin pump and in addition their HbA1c improved from 7.1% to 6.8%.³ The improved HbA1c in both trials results in a reduced risk of possible secondary disease associated with diabetes. Furthermore, the bolus calculator integrated into the personal diabetes manager (PDM) helps to determine the amount of insulin required. Since there is no longer any need for multiple daily injections, patients are once more able to go about their daily lives with greater flexibility and less stress, which can be of benefit to the success of the therapy.

The OmniPod insulin patch pump enjoys great success in the US and a good uptake in the UK and Germany. Ypsomed is convinced that the current success of the system in the UK and Germany will be similar in the Netherlands, France and Switzerland. The OmniPod system has been available in the US since 2005, and tens of thousands of patients already enjoy the benefits of the OmniPod insulin patch pump. An essential part of all new pump wearers in the US choose the OmniPod insulin patch pump over a conventional pump. The French as well as the Dutch market have excellent potential for growth.