In the News.. Tandem buys a patch pump, Insulin pump equity, Lilly loses a partner, and more!

It's In the News, a look at the top stories from the diabetes community from the last seven days. This week: Tandem buys the maker of Sigi Pump, a reusable, rechargable patch pump, Lilly uncouples from Ypsomed, big study finds widespread adoption of insulin pumps among people with type 1, but not among people of color, a big look at vegetables studies and why potatoes are basically messing things up.. and a lot more!

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Hello and welcome to Diabetes Connections In the News! I’m Stacey Simms and these are the top diabetes stories and headlines of the past seven days.
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In the news is brought to you by T1D Exchange! T1D Exchange is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving outcomes for the entire T1D population.
https://t1dexchange.org/stacey/
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Big new study about insulin pumps shows white patients are twice as likely to get one as Black patients, and better-educated, wealthier people are also more likely to be using one. Over 20 years, starting in 2001, these researchers saw a large increase in insulin pump use across all patients, but no change in distribution by race or socioeconomic status
The study was recently published in the journal Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics. Recent data found that Black people had higher rates of severe diabetes-related complications compared with white folks.
There is also a concern that these gaps will widen with the new automated insulin-delivery systems, worsening health inequality for subsets of youth with type 1 diabetes.

https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2022-12-13/insulin-pumps-ease-diabetes-care-so-why-are-black-patients-less-likely-to-get-one
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Tandem Diabetes snaps up a patch pump.. buying the Swiss company that makes Sigi. The Sigi Patch Pump is not yet available, it has FDA breakthrough designation. This is a rechargeable pump, you get two you can switch out, and the infusion set is disposable. It’s set up to work with an AID system. We did an episode with SIGI earlier this year.. no word on what this might mean for Tandem’s Mobi pump.. which is a tubed pump that’s very small and was meant to compete with Omnipod.. before this news.

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221213005314/en/Tandem-Diabetes-Care-to-Acquire-Insulin-Patch-Pump-Developer-AMF-Medical
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Eli Lilly has pulled out of a partnership with Ypsomed that would have given it a branded insulin pump to sell in the U.S.
Lilly struck a deal two years ago to commercialize YpsoPump under its own brand in the U.S. The partners have since worked to customize the pump, which has been sold in Europe since 2016, for the U.S. market.
Ypsomed plans to push ahead with the U.S. expansion without Lilly, outlining plans to file with the Food and Drug Administration in the second half of next year and commercialize the pump with a new partner.
This is the second pump partner Lilly has dropped. They had a prototype with a company called DEKA but quietly disbanded that partnership a few years ago.
https://www.medtechdive.com/news/lilly-LLY-ypsomed-insulin-pump-split/638492/
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New more aggressive targets for blood pressure and lipids are among the changes to the annual American Diabetes Association (ADA) Standards of Care in Diabetes.

The document, long considered the gold standard for care of the more than 100 million Americans living with diabetes and prediabetes, was published December 12
"In this year's version of the ADA Standards of Care — the longstanding guidelines for diabetes management globally — you'll see information that really speaks to how we can more aggressively treat diabetes and reduce complications in a variety of different ways," ADA Chief Scientific and Medical Officer Robert A. Gabbay, MD, PhD, told Medscape Medical News.

Other changes for 2023 include a new emphasis on weight loss as a goal of therapy for type 2 diabetes; guidance for screening and assessing peripheral arterial disease in an effort to prevent amputations; use of finerenone in people with diabetes and chronic kidney disease; use of approved point-of-care A1c tests; and guidance on screening for food insecurity, along with an elevated role for community health workers.
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/985482
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I love this story.. A new report says eating a diet rich in vegetables may not reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. Why? Because usually, potatoes are included a as veggie in these studies, including fried potatoes, potato chips, and mashed potatoes increase the risk. In the study, participants who consumed the most vegetables — minus potatoes — had a 21% reduced risk of diabetes than those without substantial amounts of vegetables in their diet.

The vegetable most closely associated with a reduction in diabetes risk were green leafy vegetables and cruciferous vegetables.

The new study assessed the effects of both vegetables and potatoes separately. They concluded that potatoes’ neutral — or even negative effect — on diabetes had masked the true benefit of vegetable consumption.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/potatoes-and-diabetes-risk-cooking-method-matters
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Back to the news in a moment but first..
The T1D Exchange Registry is a research study conducted online over time, designed to foster innovation and improve the lives of people with T1D. The platform is open to both adults and children with T1D living in the U.S. Personal information remains confidential and participation is fully voluntary. Once enrolled, participants will complete annual surveys and have the opportunity to sign up for other studies on specific topics related to T1D. The registry aims to improve knowledge of T1D, accelerate the discovery and development of new treatments and technologies, and generate evidence to support policy or insurance changes that help the T1D community. By sharing opinions, experiences and data, patients can help advance meaningful T1D treatment, care and policy.
The registry is now available on the T1D Exchange website and is simple to navigate, mobile and user-friendly. For more information or to register, go to www.t1dregistry.org/stacey
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first pill to improve control of diabetes in some cats. The drug called Bexacat (bexagliflozin tablets), is not insulin and is not meant for cats who have the type of diabetes that requires treatment with insulin. Rather, it is what is called a sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor.
As part of the approval, the FDA requires that Bexacat labels include a boxed warning about the importance of patient selection. Only certain cats should take the drug, determined through careful screening.
Bexacat also shouldn't be used in cats who are being treated with insulin or in those who have previously been treated with insulin.
Typically cats with diabetes are treated with diet and insulin therapy, including twice-daily injections given 12 hours apart.

https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2022-12-09/cats-now-have-an-fda-approved-pill-to-treat-their-diabetes
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On the podcast next week.. yale lacrosse player Bri Carrasquillo was diagnosed just after her freshman year. Now she’s part of Dexcom U – a new program for college athletes with type 1.
Last week’s show was G7 with Dexcom’s Jake Leach Listen wherever you get your podcasts
That’s In the News for this week.. if you like it, please share it! Thanks for joining me! See you back here soon.