Taking the pain out of that blood-sugar test

There are more diabetics in India than any other country barring China. But when it comes to testing their blood sugar levels, Indians develop cold feet.

There are two reasons for this. One, there is the fear of the needle. And, two, they are worried of what the tests will reveal. “If I don’t test, I’m ok,” is a common refrain in India, says Robert Ford,  Senior Vice-President of Abbott Diabetes Care, sharing the insights of a survey the company did on diabetes in India. This finding has nudged the US-based pharma major to launching its innovative flash glucose monitoring system — a handheld device and a coin-like sensor — in India. The device does not require pricking the finger to check for sugar.

The sensor is placed on the upper arm and the reading is taken using the mobile device. This gives the person a 14-day graph of past and present readings, and a projection, explains Ford.

This helps the diabetic plan his nutrition better. The product has been launched in Europe, but its Indian version has been tweaked to suit the local market, building in local insights, Ford told

That does not mean it is cheaper, or does less, he hastens to clarify.

“We are working with the (Indian) regulatory agency,” he says. Pricing will be done for each market, taking into account the GDP data and diabetes prevalence, is all he’s willing to give away. The product is expected to be launched here in a couple of months, says a person familiar with the development.

The mistake that companies make is to take western thinking and technology and introduce them into a local context, he observes. So, though ADC has been in India since 2006, it has decided to look at the ground situation “from a cultural standpoint”.

Across the world, diabetics test one-two times a day, but here it is once in five days or sometimes in two weeks, says Ford. And that can be worrisome, since monitoring blood sugar levels is critical to managing diabetes.

And here’s why it’s important for India. Besides having the second-highest diabetes population in the world, the transition time from a pre- (borderline) to a full-fledged diabetic is less in India. What takes 10 years generally, takes two in India.