Doctors and patients warned on Tuesday of the risk of a momentary disruption in the manufacture of a vital insulin pump for certain type 1 diabetics, including some in Charente-Maritime.
Read also: Diabetes: patients denounce the price of treatments
While a meeting on this subject has just taken place at the Ministry of Health, Eric Renard, president of the association of doctors Evadiac (EVAluation in Diabetes treatment with Active Implants) welcomed an " advance notable ”towards a“ solution ”. But this head of the Endocrinology-Diabetology-Nutrition service at the Montpellier University Hospital, who follows 80 affected patients out of 250 in France, regretted the delays to be expected in the supply of these pumps: " For 10% of patients, this is vital, unless you are permanently hospitalized ”.
The concern of doctors and patients arose a few months ago when the American company Medtronic, world leader in medical technologies according to its website, decided to stop the manufacture of its pumps in 2020. These latter, implanted in the abdomen, make it possible to lead a normal life to patients for whom, according to them, " there is no other treatment ". A collective has risen to demand the continuation of production. Last week, Medtronic " renewed its commitment to supply 50 pumps by July 2020 " and "do everything possible to resolve supply tensions ," according to a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health. But according to Professor Renard, two companies ready to take over the Medtronic patent " say they can be ready in 2023 ... there is no solution before 2023 ", he regretted.
Read also: Diabetics: the Assembly tackles discrimination at work