Roche Diabetes Care and Montméd join forces to bring Canadian led innovation to people living with diabetes

SiteSmart™ is the only insulin pen needle system designed and clinically proven to improve injection site rotation. Proper injection site rotation has been shown to reduce the risk of lipohypertrophy (LH), which is associated with increased glucose variability, hypoglycemia, insulin consumption and cost. LH is present in up to 64% of insulin users.1

LAVAL, QC, Jan. 28, 2021 /CNW Telbec/ -Canada announces a partnership witha Montreal-based company dedicated to helping people living with diabetes by improving insulin delivery without adding to the cognitive burden of managing their condition, to provide coast-to-coast access to the innovative SiteSmart™ pen needle system for Canadians living with diabetes and who inject insulin.

"We are truly excited by this partnership that complements our purpose to bring true relief to every person living with diabetes and is strategically aligned with our business model, said Jade Dagher, Head of Sub-Region Canada, Australia & New Zealand for Roche Diabetes Care. Montméd's experience in diabetes and optimal insulin delivery through the SiteSmart™ pen needle system fits very well with our commitment at Roche Diabetes Care to shape the future of diabetes management, help healthcare professionals and people living with diabetes take better control of diabetes and improve patient and disease outcomes."

The SiteSmart™ pen needle system was developed through concerted efforts between Montméd, Canadian Diabetes Educators and Pharmacists Experts in injection techniques. Roche Diabetes Care will contribute by providing access to the SiteSmart™ pen needle system across Canada along with its expertise in diabetes, the strength of its network and its experience in Canada.

"We are extremely proud and happy to join forces with Roche Diabetes Care to increase access to our SiteSmart™ pen needle system for all Canadians using insulin to help them better manage their diabetes. The development of the SiteSmart™ pen needle system has been the result of fantastic teamwork over the years – teamwork that will now evolve through this partnership, which will enable our vision of transforming the utility of insulin pen needles from a simple delivery device, to a clinically valuable tool to help deliver superior outcomes for people living with diabetes" said Amir Farzam, CEO, Montméd.

"This partnership is very exciting as it will enable increased education on a key unmet need in diabetes care, as well as providing greater patient access to a simple, yet innovative and proven intervention. The SiteSmart™ pen needle system can help healthcare professionals easily support insulin users in understanding the importance of injection technique and help them to incorporate a healthy injection site rotation regimen into their diabetes self-management," said Lori Berard, Nurse, CDE. "I believe this is an easily implemented intervention that doesn't add any cost to the healthcare system, and that can help deliver superior clinical and health-care outcomes in diabetes. As access to diabetes education across Canada is quite limited for people living with diabetes, I believe that pharmacists can play a critical role in ensuring optimal injection technique through the SiteSmart™ intervention", Berard added.

Earlier in 2020, the results of a pan-Canadian randomized controlled trial conducted by Berard et al.2 were published in the Journal of Diabetes Therapy.  The study showed that the sole dispensing of the SiteSmart™ pen needle system by a retail pharmacist resulted in a significant improvement in injection site rotation (p=0.00546), delivering a 134.7% increase in the likelihood to improve site rotation compared to conventional pen needles. The study also showed that retail pharmacists' confidence in their ability to educate patients about proper site rotation and their comfort level providing guidance on pen needle selection both increased from 31% to 94% at study end. Furthermore, more than 90% of the pharmacists reported counseling insulin users more frequently on proper injection site rotation post study compared to pre-study.

This partnership, which will enable better and safer use of insulin by promoting healthy injection site rotation through the innovative SiteSmart™ pen needle system, will provide broad access for patients in 2021, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the landmark Canadian discovery of insulin.

Home to Roche Diabetes Care and Roche Diagnostics Canadian headquarter, the company based in Laval, Quebec, continues to highlight its leadership in the life science industry and to support Canada's vibrant health innovation ecosystem.

Roche believes in the importance of collaborating with industry leaders to bring the best patient-centered solutions to light. The partnership with Montméd is another example that closely follows other recent announcements, including a collaboration with Medtronic for a novel insulin delivery pump system, the creation of the Roche Artificial Intelligence Centre of Excellence (AI CoE) through partnerships with the three Canadian AI academic institutes (Amii, the Vector Institute and Mila) and the recent establishment of a Software Development Hub for genomic data which will be based in Laval, Quebec.

Montméd has developed SiteSmart™, a pen needle system that brings clinical value by helping insulin users seamlessly adopt a healthy site rotation routine that can reduce the risk of lipohypertrophy and help improve insulin action. The SiteSmart™ package contains 100 insulin pen needles distinctively marked with 4 colours (4X25), along with an association tool labeled directly on the packaging and on a web app, that allow the user to create a personalized structured injection site rotation plan, in which each of the four colours of pen needle is associated with an injection area. Once the plan is developed by the insulin user or with the help of a healthcare professional, the user simply picks a pen needle in the box, and injects in the area corresponding to the colour of the pen needle on his / her plan. And that's it! No tracking, no logging, no need to remember where the last injection was given. The simplicity of SiteSmart™ makes it easy for any insulin user to get the most out of their insulin by integrating a healthy injection site rotation routine without adding to the cognitive burden associated with diabetes management. The SiteSmart™ packaging also serves as a counseling tool to favor a rapid and concise educational intervention on site rotation by healthcare professionals, including prescribers, diabetes educators, and retail pharmacists. SiteSmart™: Change Colour, Change Site®.

Lipohypertrophy (LH) is defined as an abnormal accumulation of fat underneath the surface of the skin and is the most common local complication of insulin therapy. The primary cause of lipohypertrophy is a lack of proper injection site rotation, resulting in erratic insulin absorption, and therefore unpredictable blood sugar levels. In order to prevent LH and maintain consistent medication absorption to optimize glycemic control and diabetes outcomes, patients should be taught and consistently adhere to a personalized, structured injection site rotation regimen (ISR).

Roche Diabetes Care has been pioneering innovative diabetes technologies and services for more than 40 years. More than 5,500 employees in over 100 markets worldwide work every day to support people with diabetes and those at risk to achieve more time in their target ranges and experience true relief from the daily therapy routines.

Being a global leader in integrated Personalised Diabetes Management (iPDM), Roche Diabetes Care collaborates with thought leaders around the globe, including people with diabetes, caregivers, healthcare providers and payers. Roche Diabetes Care aims to transform and advance care provision and foster sustainable care structures. Under the brands RocheDiabetes, Accu-Chek and mySugr, comprising glucose monitoring, insulin delivery systems and digital solutions, Roche Diabetes Care unites with its partners to create patient-centred value. By building and collaborating in an open ecosystem, connecting devices and digital solutions as well as contextualising relevant data points, Roche Diabetes Care enables deeper insights and a better understanding of the disease, leading to personalised and effective therapy adjustments. For better outcomes and true relief.

Since 2017, mySugr, one of the most popular diabetes management apps, is part of Roche Diabetes Care.

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Roche Diagnostics, division of Hoffmann-La Roche Limited:
Marie-Élaine Guay,
Tel.:


Montméd Inc.:
Amir Farzam,
Tel.:

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SOURCE Roche Diabetes Care

References:

1. Blanco M, Hernández MT, Strauss KW, Amaya M. Prevalence and risk factors of lipohypertrophy in insulin-injecting patients with diabetes. Diabetes Metab. 2013 Oct;39(5):445-53. doi: 10.1016/j.diabet.2013.05.006. Epub 2013 Jul 22. PMID: 23886784.

2. Berard, L.D., Pockett, S.A., Roscoe, R.S. et al. A Coloured Pen Needle Education System Improves Insulin Site Rotation Habits: Results of a Randomized Study. Diabetes Ther 11, 2979–2991 (2020).