Ypsomed’s touch screen insulin pump for Novo Nordisk approved by EMA

The European Medicines Agency has approved YpsoPump's touch screen insulin pump, mylife YpsoPump.

Created by diabetes self-care company Ypsomed following a collaboration with Novo Nordisk, the insulin pump is designed to simplify therapy, making it easier for people with diabetes to treat their condition at home.

The mylife YpsoPump is fitted with a touch screen, reducing the need for training, and is fully compatible with Novo Nordisk's prefilled pump cartridge, NovoRapid PumpCart, which negates the need for patients to fill cartridges themselves.

NovoRapid was awarded a European license in 1999 and is currently used with the Accu-Chek Insight pump, manufactured by Roche's diabetes care division.

Dr Mark Evans, a lecturer in medicine at the University of Cambridge and honorary consultant with NovoNordisk, explained that while insulin pump therapy is an effective diabetes therapy, “operating a traditional insulin pump and manually filling the insulin reservoir can be complex and time-consuming”.

He added: “Given these factors, and the burden put upon health systems to train patients to use traditional pumps, efforts to simplify the process are truly welcomed.”

Novo Nordisk is currently the world's biggest seller of diabetes medicines, displacing Sanofi last year. It's GLP-1 agonist Victoza (liraglutide) brought in sales of $2bn in 2014 alone, and is predicted for further growth after trial results published earlier this month showed positive cardiovascular outcomes that went “beyond expectations”.

The firm is also ramping up its disease awareness work, launching an online diabetes management resource - Hypo Hub - with the aim of educating UK patients and the public on the signs and impact of hypos.