The Facts

There are a number of unassailable facts about diabetes:

• high blood sugar levels (hyperglycemia) can lead to devastating complications realized over many years
• low blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia) frequently lead to episodes of symptomatic hypoglycemia which can result in seizure, coma, or death
• the direct and indirect costs of diabetes care are enormous
• the advent of continuous glucose monitoring can potentially improve the cost and efficacy of diabetes disease management.

Diabetes is widely acknowledged to be an immense and growing public health issue. In 1985, there was an estimated 30 million people in the world with diabetes, and that number grew to 194 million in 2003. The International Diabetes Federation ("IDF") estimates there are 246 million people with diabetes worldwide in 2007, and that number is expected to grow to 380 million by the year 2025. During the 1990s, alone, the incidence of diabetes increased 41%, concurrent with a shift to a younger average age of onset. According to a report entitled "Economic Costs of Diabetes in the U.S. in 2007", prepared by the Lewin Group, Inc., approximately 8% of the U.S. population (300 million) has diabetes, both diagnosed and undiagnosed. Of those with the disease, 50 million (25% of all diabetes patients) use insulin and, therefore, require a blood glucose monitoring device.

Because of its many varied co-morbidities, diabetes is one of the most costly diseases at a societal level. Medical expenditures are 2-3 times higher for people with diagnosed diabetes than for people without diabetes. Diabetes care, all inclusive, consumes more than 12 percent of the US Healthcare budget. The disease's direct and indirect costs in the US alone were $175 billion in 2007, the last year for which information is available. Of the $116 billion in direct costs, nearly $85 billion is spent on treatments for medical complications and conditions. The balance can be attributed to the cost of daily diabetes care, which includes glucose monitoring, oral medication and insulin supplies.

Annual statistics show worldwide sales of glucose monitoring equipment exceeded $5 billion in 2003. This amount has been growing at over 10% per year and is expected to reach $8.9 billion in 2008.