Abbott launches FreeStyle LibreLink app with Novo Nordisk’s smart connected insulin pens in the UK.

People using Abbott’s updated Freestyle LibreLink app and NovoPen 6 and NovoPen Echo Plus devices will now be able to easily view glucose and insulin dosing data together. People can also opt to share their integrated data with their healthcare team through LibreView the cloud-based data system, enabling more informed, data-driven consultations to support personalised care. This product integration reflects Abbott’s commitment to make diabetes management easier by linking key technologies such as sensor-based glucose monitoring and smart connected insulin pens.

With this new integration, people living with diabetes can transfer their insulin data from their smart connected pens and quickly see how medication, food and physical activity are impacting their glucose levels, helping them decide when and how much insulin to take. Insulin dosage history is recorded in the FreeStyle LibreLink app, showing the time and the amount taken, alongside glucose levels. This information could help prevent insulin stacking, which is when a person uses rapid-acting insulin, multiple times at close intervals, which can result in low glucose levels. Optional alarms notifying high glucose levels will also be provided, to help prevent missed doses. These are two issues that are particularly relevant for those who take multiple insulin injections per day.

According to Diabetes UK, 4.9 million people are living with diabetes in the UK. This is expected to increase to 5.5 million by 2030. The FreeStyle Libre systems are the most widely used glucose sensing technology in the UK, used by around 65 per cent of people with Type 1 diabetes. In March, NICE published updated guidelines to expand access for this technology for people with Type 2 diabetes who inject insulin multiple times per day.

Currently, in most European countries, the FreeStyle Libre system is reimbursed for all people with type 1 diabetes, but people with type 2 diabetes can only get the product reimbursed if they meet certain criteria, such as using insulin several times a day or having poorly controlled HbA1c levels.