Firms Will Test Digital Platform to Help Patients Manage CF-Related Diabetes

Attain Health will partner with DarioHealth, a digital health and big data solutions company, to test its Dario Engage platform to monitor blood sugar levels in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients with CF-related diabetes (CFRD). Attain Health provides integrative health coaching for CF patients.

CFRD is an unusual form of diabetes that affects a subset of the estimated 30,000 CF patients in the United States and 70,000 worldwide. Experts say that the hyperglycemia (high blood sugar levels) seen in CFRD patients results in higher rates of bacterial lung infections, and an increased risk of death.

“Effective diabetes management in cystic fibrosis patients is critical, as there is a sixfold increase in mortality among cystic fibrosis patients who have diabetes as compared to those who don’t. The increased risk of mortality from lung infections is correlated with hyperglycemic events,” Kat Quinn Porco, founder of Attain Health, said in a press release.

The three-month pilot study will include real-time tracking of 12 patients with CFRD using the Dario Engage digital platform, which includes a blood sugar monitoring device that transmits readings to the clinic. Attain Health will pay for access to the Dario Engage Dashboard to monitor participants.

The app is designed to help clinics detect blood sugar trends that could lead to disease progression. Disease management is also expected to be improved by DarioHealth’s ability to provide health education content via the app.

“We are very excited to move forward with DarioHealth in exploring the benefits of digital health solutions for patients living with cystic fibrosis. We chose to work with DarioHealth because of their platform’s patient-centric approach, ease of use, real-time actionable data, and their very favorable reputation in the diabetes market,” Porco said.

The companies plan to jointly present preliminary findings at the North American Cystic Fibrosis Conference Oct.18-20 in Denver. Final results are expected in December.

Attain Health plans to obtain grant money for continuous use of the DarioEngage program with up to 200 patients a year.

“By piloting this study in partnership with Attain Health, DarioHealth is taking a leadership position in addressing CFRD by deploying what we believe are the best digital health management tools on the market today. This agreement and pilot study mark DarioHealth’s foray into chronic disease treatment markets that overlap with and expand beyond the treatment of diabetes, our company’s first treatment indication,” said Erez Raphael, president and CEO of DarioHealth.