Libre and COVID

[Bill_St]

Abbott have just filed their quarterly accounts.
A MASSIVE 62% increase in sales.
”Growth in Diabetes Care sales was driven by continued growth of FreeStyle Libre ® , Abbott’s continuous glucose monitoring system, internationally and in the U.S. FreeStyle Libre sales totaled $604 million in the first quarter of 2020, which reflected a 62.5 percent increase, excluding the effect of foreign exchange, over the first three months of 2019 when Libre sales totaled $379 million.”

At the same time we see the first Medical paper giving actual figures on glucose levels and control with COVID risk of death.
10mmol/L [180mg] is the level they use - below it, COVID is lower risk of death - above it, the risk increases dramatically

From over 7,000 patients (note T2D)
“a retrospective, multi-centered study of 7,337 cases of COVID-19 in Hubei Province, China, among which 952 had pre-existing T2D. We found that subjects with T2D required more medical interventions and had a significantly higher mortality (7.8% versus 2.7%; adjusted hazard ratio

---

, 1.49) and multiple organ injury than the non-diabetic individuals. Further, we found that well-controlled BG (glycemic variability within 3.9 to 10.0 mmol/L) was associated with markedly lower mortality compared to individuals with poorly controlled BG (upper limit of glycemic variability exceeding 10.0 mmol/L) (adjusted HR, 0.14) during hospitalization. These findings provide clinical evidence correlating improved glycemic control with better outcomes in patients with COVID-19 and pre-existing T2D.”

https://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/fulltext/S1550-4131(20)30238-2?

We hear reports of Libre inaccuracy at low BG, <5mmol/L, but at the important level of 10mmol/L, the scientific evidence is that it is accurate and the averages it provides will be ideal for monitoring control to stay below a 10mmol/L average.

So are we about to see a further run on Libre sales?
Is the reason that Libre2 is on such limited release that they need to keep all the Libre1 plant running to cover the expected and actual increases in demand?

 

[edan]

I expect many are trying to keep a closer eye on blood sugars and so using libre more. I’m self funding it for this reason when I haven’t used it much normally.

 

[DCUKMod]

Abbott have just filed their quarterly accounts.
A MASSIVE 62% increase in sales.
”Growth in Diabetes Care sales was driven by continued growth of FreeStyle Libre ® , Abbott’s continuous glucose monitoring system, internationally and in the U.S. FreeStyle Libre sales totaled $604 million in the first quarter of 2020, which reflected a 62.5 percent increase, excluding the effect of foreign exchange, over the first three months of 2019 when Libre sales totaled $379 million.”

At the same time we see the first Medical paper giving actual figures on glucose levels and control with COVID risk of death.
10mmol/L [180mg] is the level they use - below it, COVID is lower risk of death - above it, the risk increases dramatically

From over 7,000 patients (note T2D)
“a retrospective, multi-centered study of 7,337 cases of COVID-19 in Hubei Province, China, among which 952 had pre-existing T2D. We found that subjects with T2D required more medical interventions and had a significantly higher mortality (7.8% versus 2.7%; adjusted hazard ratio

---

, 1.49) and multiple organ injury than the non-diabetic individuals. Further, we found that well-controlled BG (glycemic variability within 3.9 to 10.0 mmol/L) was associated with markedly lower mortality compared to individuals with poorly controlled BG (upper limit of glycemic variability exceeding 10.0 mmol/L) (adjusted HR, 0.14) during hospitalization. These findings provide clinical evidence correlating improved glycemic control with better outcomes in patients with COVID-19 and pre-existing T2D.”

https://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/fulltext/S1550-4131(20)30238-2?

We hear reports of Libre inaccuracy at low BG, <5mmol/L, but at the important level of 10mmol/L, the scientific evidence is that it is accurate and the averages it provides will be ideal for monitoring control to stay below a 10mmol/L average.

So are we about to see a further run on Libre sales?
Is the reason that Libre2 is on such limited release that they need to keep all the Libre1 plant running to cover the expected and actual increases in demand?

---

In UK, I imagine a goodly proportion of the increased Libre sales are from the relaxation of prescribing criteria in England, and from more and more people living with diabetes being exposed to it one way or another. By exposed, I mean, encountering others using it, being given trials by their clinics and so on.

The increased number of outlets for purchase has also helped. For a long time Abbott's website was closed for new purchasers, and for a long time that being the only distribution channel (aside from a small number on eBay, for whatever reason), it meant availability was limited and in some cases, the devices were simply unavailable. For high street pharmacies to be able to supply has helped many.

There is no doubt the Libre and other continuous measuring tools have been game-changers for so many.

In a recent chat with a T1 friend, the conversation turned to COVID. He comment was that whilst it is a concern for her, she felt she was better equipped to deal with it, since using the Libre. She cited her control as being better than at any other time, and also near moment-by-moment access to data would mean she was more likely to be able to detect when adjustments could need to be made.

If we are talking about Libres provided by routine clinic reviews, I'm not sure how many of those are taking place at the moment, although I had a non-diabetes Endo review yesterday over the telephone.

We live in interesting times. There will be winners in every disaster scenario. It's Abbott's turn, by the sound of it.