Biocorp strikes agreement with Novo Nordisk for add-on to diabetes device

Biocorp, a French company specialising in the design, development, and manufacturing of medical devices, has announced an agreement with Novo Nordisk, a specialist in diabetes care, for the development and distribution (pending successful development) of a Mallya smart add-on device for the Novo Nordisk FlexTouch pen used by people with diabetes.

Mallya is a Bluetooth enabled smart add-on device for pen injectors that collects dose and time of each injection and transfers information in real time to a companion software. Mallya helps people with diabetes maintain a reliable dose log, using technology to help improve understanding and allowing people to dose with confidence.

Most Novo Nordisk's insulins are offered with the FlexTouch pen, and it is part of the launch map for all new insulins. A specific version of Mallya will be developed for FlexTouch, the first prefilled insulin delivery device with no-push-button extension. Due to the unique dosing mechanism of FlexTouch, the push button does not extend at any dose and allows insulin to be administered by pressing the low injection force button. The existing Mallya device had to be redesigned to meet the needs of this mechanism, keeping its accuracy and reliability for the patient.

Directly attached on the disposable pre-filled FlexTouch pen, Mallya will allow seamless and efficient dose logging on FlexTouch, which could help people with diabetes and their HCPs to have more personalised conversations about the disease and treatment compliance.

Biocorp will receive an upfront payment and different milestones are defined staging the development phase. Upon successful development, Novo Nordisk plans to distribute the smart device in selected countries, and Biocorp expects to ramp up production volumes from 2022. Financials and terms of contract are not disclosed.

Søren Smed Østergaard, vice president of Digital Health at Novo Nordisk, said: “Novo Nordisk collaborates with Biocorp as we believe people with diabetes deserve the freedom to decide which solution works best for them. Our Swedish study demonstrates the health benefits associated with the use of smart insulin pens. And as we continue launching such smart pens, we also partner with Biocorp to allow even more people with diabetes to reap the benefits connected devices can provide. This collaboration demonstrates our commitment to making diabetes management easier by giving people access to data on medication usage behaviour which is known to potentially result in improved patient outcomes.”