DRWF Events: Talking about eligibility for continuous glucose monitoring devices

DRWF interviews from United Through Diabetes: Sowmya Venkat, lead consumer communications at Abbott Laboratories.

Sowmya attended DRWF on behalf of event sponsors Abbott Laboratories and was manning an exhibition stand with offerings of freebies and samples that proved very popular with attendees at the event.

Sowmya said: “There was quite a bit of bit of interest in learning about the technology for people to try it out. We gave out a lot of sensors and leaflets and educational materials. It was a successful day.”

As manufacturers on the Freestyle Libre continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) device, we asked Sowmya who is eligible for these sensors.

Sowmya said: “Based on the guidelines that we have been given by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), anyone who is living with type 2 diabetes on multidose insulin, anyone with type 1 diabetes, are all eligible for the Freestyle Libre. We are also working to make sure that people on non-intensive insulin are potentially eligible. And we want to see how that goes. But we are working with all the authorities in that direction to make sure that people living with type 2 diabetes have more access.”

DRWF: What is so good about CGM? What difference does it make?

Sowmya: “I think one of the biggest benefits is, that we have heard repeatedly from all our customers and people living with diabetes, saying, firstly, the painful finger pricks, they don't have to do that.

“For a lot of people, it is about taking away that burden of managing, staying on top of your blood glucose levels, and peace of mind because for quite a few people, it has been transforming in the sense that they do not have to worry about hypos (hypoglycaemia) or going low in the night, for example, because we have alarms.

“So if you have low blood glucose levels, you can set your alarms and the alarms can tell whether you are in a hypo or if you are going to go into a hypo or not.

“There are quite a few features that help. I think the biggest aspect is that CGM is in real time. It sends readings every minute. Therefore you are on top of your information every single minute of the day.”

Sowmya said updated versions of the CGM devices are working in partnership with other manufacturers to offer the benefit of a closed loop hybrid system, of particular benefit for people living with type 1 diabetes, including young people living with the condition.

Sowmya added: “Insulin pumps have been such a step change for people with diabetes because with the automated delivery of insulin, lots of people have fed back to us how much it has taken away the burden of constantly having to stress about managing your diabetes. That has really helped a lot of people. It is really exciting. We are starting to roll it out on a wider basis.”

Sowmya added further developments are looking at how to make the technology more sustainable and environmentally friendly: “Recycling is something the company is very focused on. We have to make sure that the product is stored in the right conditions, so that is definitely something that we have to work with, and it's not as straightforward. But in all of this, we also want to make sure that it is accessible from a price point of view for everyone as well. Making sure that we are in line with NHS expectations. The commercial aspect of the pricing is also an important factor when we look into all of these things and how we make that happen.”

Thank you for listening to this Living With Diabetes special podcast report from United Through Diabetes 2024, presented by Claire Levy and brought to you by DRWF.

Visit the DRWF United Through Diabetes Digital Hub for more information and resources from the day

Listen to our interviews with key speakers and sponsors on our audio interview page

For news on all upcoming DRWF events please visit the event page