Following the announcement that Medtronic’s last quarter continuous glucose monitors (CGM) business kept growing positively while its overall diabetes segments saw a decline of 5.1%;

Tina Deng, MSc, Senior Medical Device Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers her view:

“The results from Medtronic are not surprising as major CGM players enjoyed exceptional revenue growth in Q2 – Dexcom also saw revenue grew 34% versus the prior year to $451.8m, driven by strong performance in the US market, while Abbott reported strong growth led by FreeStyle Libre in Diabetes Care, which grew 36.8% versus the prior year. During the pandemic, the emphasis on better glucose control increased the awareness of real-time CGM and was the primary driver of the market.

“COVID-19 not only causes life-threatening conditions for some patients with diabetes, but also affects diabetic care globally. Reduced medical services resulted in delayed medical care which increase risks for chronic diseases such as diabetes. According to a recent study of 532 children and teens in Germany, a significant increase in diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) at diagnosis in children and adolescents has been found during the pandemic. Additionally, the incidence of severe DKA increased significantly. The higher rate of DKA at diagnosis is most likely due to a delay in seeking medical care and more complex psychosocial factors. This trend in Germany reflects the global trend, as many healthcare facilities had been closed, and people feared visiting hospitals and clinics worldwide.

“CGM helps patients maintain good glucose control and plays a major role in telemedicine. A nationwide study from France showed overall DKA rates were reduced in the year following adoption of the FreeStyle Libre CGM system by 52% for patients with type 1 diabetes and 47% for patients with type 2 diabetes. According to GlobalData analysis, the global CGM market was valued at $3.3bn in 2019 prior to the pandemic and market growth is expected to reach mid-double digits in 2020 regardless of COVID-19’s impact.”