Eli Lilly and Company has dosed the first patient with type 1 diabetes in a feasibility study to evaluate the functionality and safety of an automated insulin delivery (AID) system currently in development. The AID system is part of the Connected Diabetes Ecosystem, which is being designed to make diabetes management easier by enabling people to use insulin more effectively.
The AID system is a hybrid closed-loop platform that uses connected devices – an insulin pump with a dedicated controller, dosing algorithm, and continuous glucose monitor – to automate insulin dosing. These components are designed to work together to automatically adjust insulin infusion rates to maintain blood sugar levels within a specified target range.
"This trial is a significant step forward for Lilly's Connected Care program, moving the Connected Diabetes Ecosystem closer to hopefully becoming available to the millions of people with diabetes who need a simpler, more effective way to use insulin," said Marie Schiller, vice president, Connected Care and site head, Cambridge Innovation Center.
The AID system is one of two platforms in development for the Ecosystem. The other is an integrated insulin management system, which combines a connected insulin pen with glucose-sensing technologies and software applications to deliver personalized insulin dose recommendations. Both platforms within the Ecosystem are currently in development, and more clinical trials will be initiated in the coming months in both people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes who use insulin. In conjunction with a variety of partners, Lilly is working to make these platforms available to patients within two to three years, pending FDA approval.
Approximately 30 million Americans and an estimated 425 million adults worldwide have diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is the most common type, accounting for an estimated 90 to 95 percent of all diabetes cases in the United States. Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs when the body does not properly produce or use the hormone insulin.