Digital Health Archives - Medical Design Sourcing

Decoding Bayer’s digital health leap and its implications on drug discovery and personalized medicine

The German multinational pharma and biotech colossus Bayer is taking further steps to ramp up its focus on digital health by launching a new business unit. In 2022, Bayer invested $9.5 million in Woebot Health, an AI-powered behavioral health platform company. In 2020, it launched a venture known as G4A Digital Health Partnership Program to drive digital collaboration in cardiometabolic and renal disease, oncology and women’s health.

This new unit, the Bayer Precision Health group, plans to focus on identifying digital and digital-supported consumer healthcare opportunities. The group seeks to create new precision health products based on real-world evidence and digital technologies.

Bayer’s new digital health unit has a priority mission. It seeks to cultivate pioneering digital technologies. The goal? Empower individuals to make more informed health choices. It aims to accomplish that objective by uncovering novel delivery mechanisms, as our sister…

3M has a new medical adhesive that lasts for up to 28 days

[Shutterstock stock art courtesy of 3M]

3M (NYSE:MMM) today announced the launch of a medical adhesive that can stick to the skin for up to 28 days.

The news comes less than a year after 3M launched a 21-day adhesive skin tape. Prior to 2022, the standard medical adhesive wear time was up to 14 days, according to the Maplewood, Minnesota–based manufacturing giant.

The new 3M Medical Tape 4578 can provide longer wear time for a wide array of health monitors, sensors, and long-term medical wearables. Think glucose and heart monitors — and much more.

“Our 3M scientists created a technology and then pushed that tech to its boundaries without compromising skin health,” Chad Reed, director of global business for 3M Medical Materials and Technologies, said in a news release. “Medical wearables are a cornerstone for the future of health care, and we’re committed to unlocking its po…

Looking back at two decades of CGM advances

FreeStyle Libre 2 from Abbott

Continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) have transformed how many people with diabetes manage blood sugar, but attempts to monitor blood glucose have a long history.

Attempts to manage glucose kicked off in earnest when researchers began measuring glucose in urine in the mid-1800s. Scientists’ ability to do so steadily improved over the years, but urine glucose testing wasn’t commercialized until 1908, establishing a foundation for diabetes care.

Elkhart, Ind.-based Ames Company refined the process in 1945 with the introduction of Clinitest reagent tablets, which are still commercially available, albeit from Bayer (ETR: BAYN). The company would introduce the first blood glucose test strip in 1965. The Dextrostix-branded strips were intended for use in doctors’ offices.

In the 1970s, Ames developed a device known as the Ames Reflectance Meter to measure reflected light from a Dextrostix strip. It was the first blood glucose mete…

How CGMs can inspire lifestyle changes

Dexcom G6 transmitter

As an early adopter of fitness trackers such as the FitBit, I’ve long appreciated the power of health data. But my recent experience with a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) has done far more to inspire me to look after my health — even as a nondiabetic.

I had heard about the potential of such technology before from the cardiologist Dr. Eric Topol, who serves on the board of Dexcom (NASDAQ:DXCM), and the entrepreneur Tim Ferriss, who has discussed using the technology as a non-diabetic to optimize weight loss and muscle gain.

But I have only recently had the chance to evaluate CGM as part of Dexcom’s “Hello Dexcom” sample program that enables patients to try out the company’s G6 CGM at no cost. The goal of the program is to increase awareness among healthcare providers and consumers.

Get the full story from our sister site, Drug Delivery Business.