Wearable Artificial Pancreas Could Stabilize Insulin Levels Of Diabetes Patients

South Korea’s EOFlow is preparing to launch wearable artificial pancreas by 2021. The device is designed mainly to stabilize insulin levels in the body, so it could be beneficial to diabetes patients.

The Investor reported Thursday that biotech firm EOFlow is looking to launch a wearable that can mimic the functions of a real pancreas in the next three years. The company is naming the world’s first wearable artificial pancreas as EOPancreas.

“We may be a follower right now, but hope to be a leader once our integrated wearable artificial pancreas, EOPancreas, hits the market in 2021,” said EOFlow CEO Jess Kim, who previously ran a semiconductor startup in Silicon Valley after graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The basic mechanism of EOPancreas is to link a blood sugar monitor to an insulin pump patch. The latter will work to stabilize insulin levels when it notices the need to do so through the former.

“We expect the integrated version to accrue a hefty market share, as it provides a simpler and more sophisticated way of managing blood sugar, which is a critical issue for diabetes patients,” Kim said.

EOFlow is also working on its own insulin patches, called EOPatch. The product is expected to be ready by next year. Compared to existing patches from Insulet and Valeritas, EOFlow’s upcoming product is designed to be lighter, thinner and more portable.

Kim explained that the EOPatch’s form makes it possible for consumers to wear them wherever and whenever. He pointed out that kids can wear EOFlow’s patches on the arm even when they are busy playing outside. This is because the company is eager to really deliver “wearable” medical devices.

Kim is hoping for his company’s EOPatch to become a game changer in the global market. But he admitted that this isn’t an easy task. For now, EOFlow is trying to attract more funding so it could further its technological endeavors. The company is seeking to list its shares on KOSDAQ by the end of this year.

In the U.S., 30.3 million Americans or 9.4 percent of the population were identified to have suffered diabetes in 2015. Of the figure, 7.2 million were undiagnosed. The metabolic disorder was also found to be prevalent in people 65 years of age and older, according to the American Diabetes Association.