Health tech company Medtronic is acquiring insulin patch pump company EOFlow for $738 million, the company announced Thursday.
The acquisition is meant to bolster Medtronic’s diabetes offerings and help the company dive into the insulin patch pump market. EOFlow manufactures the EOPatch device, a wearable insulin pump that automatically injects insulin into the body as a diabetes treatment.
Que Dallara, EVP and president of Medtronic Diabetes, said in a statement that the company is angling to simplify diabetes management and provide patients with automated insulin delivery.
“We’re excited to introduce a differentiated wearable patch option to provide more patient choice and drive further innovation for those who want to use technology to make living with diabetes easier,” Dallara continued. “We look forward to expanding our offerings to participate in the patch pump market and enabling those customers access to our seamless ecosystem of support.”
The EOPatch purchase also comes with a smartphone app that helps diabetes patients monitor the patch wherever they are. Medtronic noted that it plans to incorporate its next-generation sensor and Meal Detection Technology algorithm into the EOPatch device.
The acquisition is the latest in Medtronic’s efforts to grow its burgeoning diabetes business. In April, it received an approval from the Food and Drug Administration for its MiniMed 780G system, an insulin pump with meal detection technology that can correct sugar levels.
EOFlow, which has a global footprint across more than 100 countries, hopes the acquisition will help it expand further. EOPatch is currently only authorized in South Korea, Europe, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates – and Medtronic plans to grab regulatory approvals elsewhere.
Jesse Kim, CEO and founder of EOFlow, said in a statement that the acquisition marks the next phase of growth for the company.
“Together, we’ll work to advance innovation in wearable insulin patch technology to expand our reach to more individuals around the world living with diabetes,” Kim said.
The announcement also comes shortly after Medtronic revealed its fourth quarter earnings — which resulted in $8.54 billion in sales. While sales surpassed the expectations of $8.25 billion, the full year revenue of $31.2 billion was a year-over-year decrease of 1.4%. Full year diabetes revenue saw a decrease of 3.3% to $2.26 billion.
