Diabetes monitoring device sales are growing

Drug Store News, Nov 19, 1990

Diabetes monitoring device sales are growing

New products, lower prices, and stepped-up education programs on diabetes treatment by vendors and retailers will help sustain sales growth of blood glucose monitoring devices at the 15 percent to 20 percent pace they've experienced in recent years, industry sources say.

Drug chains will want their pharmacists to stay abreast of trends in this category, with $700 million in retail sales last year. The diabetic is among a store's most valued customers, and sales of meters and strips can yield 30 percent-plus margins.

Peoples Drug is among chains that have experienced brisk sales of meters this year in its four home health care stores in Virginia and Washington, D.C., according to a source in that market.

Strong selling devices have been Boehringer Mannheim's Accu-Check IIM and Tracer II, MediSense's Exac-Tech meters, and Lifescan's One Touch. The Glucometer III, the new item in the Ames brand line from Miles Inc. launched this past January, has been particularly strong as customers responded to the under $50 price point.

Vendors say that the massive rebating of recent years which allows customers a net zero cost for a meter - will persist. For example, Boehringer Mannheim will have rebates of up to $60, with $40 more added with the trade-in of a used meter.

Among the new developments: * MediSense late this year or early next year will ship its second generation Exac-tech meter in both the pen shape and Companion models. The new products will further improve on test time by eliminating the timing period and the need to press a button to activate a sensor. They reduce test time to 20 seconds from 30 seconds for the first generation Medisense meters, said Michael DiToro, director of communications.

By employing electrical current rather than the photometric processes of reading favored by the other major vendors, the Exac-tech meters allow the user to avoid inserting the strip into the meter and thus avoid the need to clean it. The ease is designed to prompt more use. Exac-tech users test, on average, 1.6 times a day compared with 0.8 times a day with photometric systems, DiToro claims. * This summer Boehringer launched a 24-hour seven-day-a-week customer service phone line. A staff of health professionals are fielding questions from consumers, physicians and nurses, said Randy Hitchens, senior group product manager.

Boehringer is also a major sponsor of a first-of-its-kind weekly talk show program on diabetes which debuted in October. * Mile's Glucometer III offers "the lowest everyday price in the market" at under $50, and $35 off for a trade-in, said John Emgenbroich, marketing communications manager.

Including a videotape on use, the model "III" is smaller and simpler to use than earlier models, and features a one-button operation, and strip film technology which makes them easier to wipe and handle.