Medical devices and healthcare company Abbott Laboratories has made its continuous glucose monitoring system, FreeStyle Libre Pro, available through online pharmacy platform 1mg, a move aimed at giving people living with diabetes better access to the product.
People living with diabetes can upload a doctor’s prescription onto the site and purchase the product and get the services of a trained technician to administer it onto the skin, the back of the upper arm to be precise.
While Abbott did not divulge the price details, the 1mg site pegged the product, comprising a sensor and an applicator, at ₹1,999. There would be an additional cost of about ₹590 for the services of the trained technician, according to a person familiar with the service.
On buying the product from the 1mg site, the person would be provided ‘phlebotomy services’ (access to people trained in taking blood from the vein, usually from the arm). This trained person can help the patient administer the sensor (larger than a ₹10 coin) on the back of the upper arm, the company explained.
Launched in India in 2015, the product does not involve pricking one’s finger for a drop of blood to check sugar levels, as is done with a traditional blood glucose monitor. “The system continuously measures glucose in interstitial fluid through a small (5mm long, 0.4mm wide) filament that is inserted just under the skin. It records glucose levels every 15 minutes, capturing up to 1,340 glucose readings over 14 days, thus giving the treating doctor comprehensive data for a complete glucose profile of their patient,” the company had said when it launched the product.
The sensor — which is water-resistant, disposable and is held in place with a self-adhesive pad on the upper arm for 14 days — requires no other patient interaction with it. The sensor takes readings for two weeks and gives an “ambulatory glucose profile” for 90 days, allowing a doctor to help the patient manage their blood sugar, a spokesperson added.