A randomized study from Insulet of adults and children with Type 1 diabetes found that moving from multiple daily injections of insulin to their first automated pump improved users’ time in a healthy glucose range and lowered their HbA1c.
The company described its Radiant trial as the first controlled study to evaluate the direct transition from multiple daily injections to an automated insulin delivery system—in this case, Insulet’s tubeless Omnipod 5, paired with Abbott’s Freestyle Libre 2 continuous glucose monitor—among people who were not previously meeting their blood sugar goals.
The results were presented at the International Conference on Advanced Technologies & Treatments for Diabetes, being held in Amsterdam.
Multiple daily injections, or MDI, is the most common therapy for people with Type 1 diabetes. While automated insulin delivery approaches, or AID, have been shown to be more effective, many people still lack access to the technology.
“The RADIANT experience showed us that it was easy to implement in pump naïve patients, with very good results,” said study investigator Hélène Hanaire, professor and head of the Department of Diabetology, Metabolic Diseases and Nutrition at the University Hospital of Toulouse in France.
“It encourages us to pursue a direct switch from multiple daily injections to automated insulin delivery so patients can immediately receive the clear benefits, without a long period of manual pump treatment,” Hanaire said in a statement.
The study—which included 188 people between the ages of 4 and 70 across France, the U.K. and Belgium—started with a baseline average HbA1c of 8.1%.
After three months using the Omnipod 5, participants saw their levels drop by 0.8 percentage points, while increasing their time-in-range by 5.4 hours per day to a daily average of 65%, compared to 39% at the start of the trial. At the same time, people who began the study with an HbA1c of over 8% saw larger drops, with an average 1-percentage-point improvement.
“Results from this randomized controlled trial build on our previous studies and once again clearly demonstrate the significant therapeutic benefits for people who require insulin to live and switch from injections to Omnipod 5,” said Insulet’s chief medical officer, Trang Ly, Ph.D.
This week, Insulet also announced it was expanding Omnipod 5’s commercial reach to four new international markets—Australia, Belgium, Canada and Switzerland—with plans to connect with CGMs including Dexcom’s G6 and G7 and Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre 2 Plus.
The move follows launches in January across Italy, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. In the coming months, the company said it is also planning Omnipod 5 debuts in Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait.
To help fund the effort, and to finance its debt in convertible senior notes coming due in 2026, Insulet proposed a $450 million offering as well as changes to its existing revolving credit facility.