US-approved insulin app launches for people with type 2 diabetes

A mobile app has been approved by American health authorities to help people with type 2 diabetes manage their basal insulin.
The iSage Rx app, developed by a company called Amalgam Rx, has been given the green light by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
It allows users to record their daily fasting sugar levels and the amount of insulin they use. From a doctor’s point of view, it is helpful because they can access the web portal and adjust a patient’s target blood sugar levels and their treatment.
In a statement Amalgam RX said: “In addition to basal dosing support, the iSage app contains behavioural, clinical and educational support designed to help patients overcome the obstacles associated with the self-administration of insulin injection therapy.”
The developers said 51 per cent of people who start using insulin make mistakes with their dose which affects their blood sugar targets, with insulin initiation regarded as one of the hardest challenges in managing type 2 diabetes.
This is particularly true in primary care where insulin initiation is often delayed up to six years. And, when patients do start insulin, they tend to stay on a sub-optimal dose for too long.
“Tools like the iSage app are critical to supporting patient self-management and helping them overcome many of the barriers to starting and optimising insulin management such as myth-based fears and social stigma of using insulin, low literacy and numeracy levels, and other real and perceived barriers,” said Dr Philip Levi, an endocrinologist at Baywest Endocrinology Center in Baltimore.
Amalgam Rx is currently recruiting people to take part in a study which is hoped will prove how the app can benefit people in the real world.
Amalgam Rx’s CEO and founder Ryan Sysko, said: “As we move forward, we’re working on leveraging data science, integrating BGM and CGM glucose sensors, and connecting with dose capture devices to create highly personalised and precise algorithms.”