Medtronic Insulin Pump Approved for Pediatric Patients

Medtronic’s closed-loop insulin pump is now approved for use in young patients with Type 1 diabetes, expanding the market for the medical device, the company announced Thursday. Medtronic is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, but runs its diabetes division in Northridge. The company announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had approved its MiniMed 670G hybrid closed-loop insulin pump system for use in children between the ages of 7 and 13 who have Type 1 diabetes, an incurable autoimmune condition that prevents the pancreas from producing insulin. The MiniMed 670G monitors blood glucose levels constantly, adjusting the amount of insulin it delivers to keep them from getting too high or too low. The pump was the first of its kind in the world when it was approved by the FDA for use in adults in 2016. The age group for which the MiniMed 670G was just deemed eligible for use often struggles to keep glucose levels in check, according to Medtronic. The basis for the FDA approval was a clinical study on 105 pediatric patients, which showed that patients’ blood glucose levels went from being in the optimal range 56 percent of the time to 65 percent with use of the pump. Type 1 diabetes is more commonly diagnosed in children than Type 2 diabetes. The condition affects roughly 1.25 million people in the U.S., according to the American Diabetes Association.