SpectRx Regains Rights to Glucose Monitoring Technology

A research, development, and license agreement on continuous glucose monitoring technology with Abbott Laboratories (Abbott Park, IL, USA) has been terminated, according to an announcement by SpectRx, Inc. (Norcross, GA, USA), which has regained rights to the technology.

SpectRx had recently sought to terminate the agreement because the company felt that Abbott's work on the project was not proceeding fast enough, but shortly thereafter Abbott terminated the agreement, made in 1999. Now SpectRx is free to pursue its own timetable.

"Our near-term goals are to improve the operating interval and reliability by integrating our interstitial fluid (ISF) sampling technology with a production glucose sensor,” said Mark Faupel, executive vice president and chief technical officer of SpectRx. "Once this is accomplished, final product design, engineering, production, marketing activities, and regulatory approval would be needed.”

SpectRx's continuous monitoring system, worn on top of the skin, would allow diabetics to continuously monitor their glucose levels without the pain and inconvenience of fingerstick tests or implanting a sensor. Prototypes have shown the capability of providing readings once a minute, says SpectRx. The technology measures glucose levels in interstitial fluid rather than blood. A stream of ISF is collected through an array of microscopic holes or micropores created with a laser in the outer layer of skin and measured in a patch containing a glucose sensor.




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