Non-invasive glucose monitoring technology by GlucoModicum, a University of Helsinki spinout, performs 13 times better than previous needle-free approaches

Data published in Scientific Reports, part of the Nature Portfolio Journals, paves the way for groundbreaking wearable solutions to monitor diabetes. The innovation is based on research conducted at the University of Helsinki, which has been one of GlucoModicum’s owners since 2018.

GlucoModicum, an innovator of needle-free health and biomarker monitoring solutions, announces that data from research with its proprietary magnetohydrodynamics technology (“MHD”) for needle-free measuring of glucose levels from the skin has been published in Scientific Reports, part of the Nature Research portfolio, the world’s leading multidisciplinary scientific journals. These peer-reviewed results show that GlucoModicum’s novel approach of sampling dermal interstitial fluid was 13 times faster and more effective when compared to its predecessor, reverse iontophoresis.

The innovation by GlucoModicum is based on research conducted at the University of Helsinki. It was commercialised according to the University’s commercialisation process, with the spinout established in 2018. 

GlucoModicum has significant commercial potential

“GlucoModicum has significant commercial potential. In addition to over 400 million diabetics, there are 1.9 billion people at risk of developing the disease in the world. The recent research findings further reinforce our faith in GlucoModicum’s ability to introduce the solution to the market in the coming years,” says Chief Financial Officer Marjo Berglund of the University of Helsinki.

Blood glucose monitoring is essential for the diagnosis and management of diabetes, however there are currently no needle-free glucose monitoring solutions on the market. Currently available invasive technologies can be painful and time consuming and can lead to extreme glucose levels remaining unnoticed, as people do not want to stick needles in their body to monitor their health. There is therefore a strong need for the development of a non-invasive glucose sensor and continuous glucose monitoring devices.

However, high quality, non-invasive sampling of interstitial fluid has been the missing piece of the puzzle in enabling accurate needle-free glucose monitoring by wearable devices. GlucoModicum believes it has a highly capable technology to overcome this, and with these data, the Company is scaling up to further develop its wearable glucose monitoring solution based on its MHD technology.

Combining its novel platform technology with the development of highly sensitive biosensors and advanced algorithms, GlucoModicum is paving the way for groundbreaking ways to monitor diabetes, both as a wearable device and remotely for healthcare professionals. This approach to measuring glucose levels is non-invasive and would offer a solution that is gentle on the skin, whilst enabling needle-free and continuous glucose monitoring, delivering rapid and accurate results. GlucoModicum’s MHD technology was discovered as part of a scientific research project at the University of Helsinki in 2016. 

Jokke Mäki, Chief Executive Officer of GlucoModicum, commented: “These results demonstrate a key point of validation of GlucoModicum’s unique MHD technology and confirm our belief that we can offer patients a much-needed, needle-free alternative to glucose monitoring. We are focused on translating this exciting science into a wearable technology, that can ultimately reduce the patient burden associated with diabetes.”

These data follow GlucoModicum’s successful patent approval with broad market coverage for its core technology platform. In subsequent publications, GlucoModicum will release more high-impact data related to the applications of its technology.

In 2019 the Finnish healthcare authority (HUS) approved GlucoModicum’s industrial prototype to be used in clinical trials with Type 2 diabetics. Additionally, the Finnish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency (FIMEA) have verified GlucoModicum’s clinical trial plans. Adhering to these protocols, GlucoModicum has already conducted a successful clinical trial of 50 Type 2 diabetics. In the continuing clinical trials GlucoModicum can enroll up to 240 patients.

GlucoModicum has miniaturized and productized its technology to develop a commercial grade medical device. The “Talisman”, pictured above, is the product version currently in development.

Dr. Alejandro García, Chief Technology Officer at GlucoModicum, said: “These results confirm the validity of our technology for noninvasive biomarker monitoring. The study represents a major step forward for people suffering from type 2 diabetes and demonstrates the strength of GlucoModicum’s platform to enable the monitoring of glucose and eventually additional valuable analytes.”

For more information, please contact:

University of Helsinki

Marjo Berglund, CFO

Email: marjo.berglund@helsinki.fi

GlucoModicum

Jokke Mäki, Chief Executive Officer

Email: info@glucomodicum.com

Consilium Strategic Communications (GlucoModicum)

Amber Fennell, Carina Jurs, Maya Bennison


Email: glucomodicum@consilium-comms.com

Read also:

GlucoModicum's press release 

About GlucoModicum

GlucoModicum is an innovator of needle-free health and biomarker monitoring solutions.  Founded in 2018 as a spinout of the University of Helsinki, GlucoModicum combines an experienced, multi-disciplinary in-house team with world-class productization and manufacturing partners to deliver groundbreaking solutions for personal biomarker monitoring. Built on the foundation of its novel platform technology for non-invasive sampling, and utilizing state-of-the-art miniaturized biosensors and algorithms, GlucoModicum’s solutions have the power to improve the health and quality of life for hundreds of millions of people around the world. In addition to receiving private funding from investors with extensive knowledge of the MedTech domain, GlucoModicum has obtained significant public funding from Business Finland, the Finnish Government’s funding agency for high impact innovations.  For more information, please visit: www.glucomodicum.com

About Diabetes

Diabetes affects 463 million people globally and results in $800 billion in healthcare costs annually, representing a major public health and economic concern. Further, 374 million people worldwide have impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) – a high-risk state for diabetes. Wearable devices for continuous self-monitoring of glucose can play a crucial role in both the prevention and management of diabetes. However, the current lack of truly non-invasive solutions is preventing widespread uptake of these devices.