Bigfoot acquires Asante assets, inks deal with Dexcom

Bigfoot Biomedical is making strides towards its goal of a bionic pancreas after inking a deal with Dexcom Inc. (NSDQ:DXCM), maker of continuous glucose monitors, and acquiring the assets of shuttered insulin pump maker Asante.

Bigfoot also said it will be relocating to Milpitas, Calif., where Asante was headquartered.

The deal signed with Dexcom is slated to allow Bigfoot to integrate data from Dexcom’s continuous glucose monitoring systems into its insulin delivery system, it said last week.

The deal makes sense, as the “homebrew artificial pancreas” system created by Bigfoot co-founder Bryan Mazlish that made headlines last year operated on a Dexcom CGM, his wife, Dr. Sarah Kimball, said in an interview with Healthline.

“We are thrilled to be working with such an innovative, impactful and highly-respected partner. Bigfoot Biomedical exists to serve the needs of the Type I diabetes community, and this partnership is our most important collaboration toward delivering an automated insulin delivery solution for people with T1D,” Bigfoot CEO Jeffrey Brewer said in prepared remarks.

“Dexcom’s advanced technologies are a great fit for Bigfoot’s pioneering efforts towards an artificial pancreas. Bigfoot has made a commitment to automated insulin control based on CGM data, and Dexcom is excited to participate in their development efforts with our sensor technology,” Dexcom executive vp of strategy & corporate development Steve Pacelli said in a press release.

Last month, Bigfoot acquired recently closed insulin pump maker Asante’s assets, but said it has no plans to market the existing Asante Snap insulin pumps. Instead, development will focus on integrating the already FDA-cleared system into the Bigfoot smart delivery system.

“We also expect this investment to de-risk the regulatory approval pathway, as well as substantially expedite our clinical trial plans for our automated insulin delivery system. The Asante Snap has real-world use history and a 510(k) clearance from the FDA, which provides an excellent precedent upon which to build with the agency,” Mazlish said in a prepared statement.

“The 10 years of work and technology behind Asante’s Snap pump was impressive. This technology will live on and provides Bigfoot a cornerstone for our next generation T1D management system. The acquisition will dramatically accelerate our time-to-market for our automated insulin delivery system, which we believe will be a transformative therapy for people affected by T1D,” Brewer said in prepared remarks.

With the acquisition, Bigfoot also saidannounced the move to Milpitas.
Asante announced in May that it was shutting its doors, after withdrawing from a planned $49 million IPO in April. The company’s Snap system won 510(k) clearance from the FDA in January 2013 for patients over age 21, for use with Eli Lilly‘s (NYSE:LLY) Humalog insulin cartridges.

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