As of 2019, over 37 million Americans, or 11.3% of the
population had diabetes.
I've had type one diabetes for 25 years, and the best
thing a diabetic can do to stay healthy is to keep
their blood sugars in normal range.
Technology like continuous glucose monitors or cgms
allow diabetics to see their blood sugar 24/7 Cgms
are incredibly useful tools, allowing diabetics to
get insight on how blood sugar reacts to insulin,
food and many other things that affect it.
Abbott Laboratories focuses on diagnostics,
pharmaceuticals and medical devices.
There are a few companies who make Cgms, but Abbott
and Dexcom are the leaders in the space.
In 2021, Freestyle Libre sales totaled $3.7 billion,
with 4 million users globally, while Dexcom, who
only makes CGM Systems, reported $2.4 billion in
revenue in 2021 and 1.25 million users globally.
Abbott's previously based systems were flash cgms,
meaning you had to hold your reader or phone up to
the sensor to get a reading, a tool more
suitable for diabetics who may not need to check blood
sugar readings quite as often.
Abbott's newest CGM, the Freestyle Libre three, has
just been released.
It's now sending data straight to your phone.
Abbott sent CNBC three sensors to review.
Let's check it out.
The cartridge comes in a small box and is rather
compact. The Libre three is FDA approved to only be used
in the arm. Okay, Ready?
Three, two, one.
And there she is.
It's so small.
Open the app and scan the sensor.
Then it takes 60 minutes to warm up during the first 12
hours. A blood drop icon will appear.
Abbott says the sensor is acclimating in that time and
to use a glucometer to ensure that the sensor is
accurate. I found that it was accurate as soon as I
put it on. It still doesn't require finger sticks or
calibration. The system stays on for 14 days.
It gives a new reading every minute versus every 5
minutes. Like the Dexcom G6, The adhesive worked well
and showed no sign of falling off after 14 days.
The trend arrows tell you if your glucose is steady,
rising or falling, the alarms are customizable.
You have the option to silence low and high alerts.
The urgent low alarm cannot be silenced, which is an FDA
requirement. The app does have some good features with
graphs for your average glucose, time and range and
a share option for loved ones.
It also has a reports feature that gives you
insights into patterns allowing you to make dosage
adjustments. I put my Dexcom G6 nearby to compare
the sizes and there is a big difference.
After using the library for over a month, I had a few
key takeaways and the biggest one is just how
small it is. I kept forgetting that I even had
it on. The library was accurate most of the time.
I found that during times of rapid change, like if I
forgot to take insulin for a meal, it became inaccurate
and had a hard time keeping up.
There were a few things that I think could be
improved in the app.
You can't customize the graph size.
I'd like the ability to choose that, so it's a
little bit tighter. You also can't zoom in to past
readings. Sometimes when I'm having a low blood
sugar, I like to be able to zoom in and see how quickly
the number is changing.
And while it does send notifications to my iWatch,
they have yet to make an app compatible to use with
it. So seeing your blood sugar value on your watch is
not possible yet.
Abbott says that's something they are working
on for the future.
The Libre three is prescription only, so the
cost will be different for everyone.
Abbott said users with insurance can expect to pay
0 to $25 per sensor and $70 per sensor without
insurance. So would I recommend this to other
diabetics? Yes, but it depends on the user.
For diabetics like me who use an insulin pump, the
LIBRE three still isn't compatible with them yet,
although Abbott says they should be in the near future
for diabetics who use multiple daily injections or
diet to manage their diabetes. I think the Libre
three is a great tool to help manage blood sugar.