Animas Buys Out Cygnus: Is Noninvasive Glucose Monitoring a Casualty?

Originally Published MX May/June 2005

BUSINESS NEWS

In late March, insulin pump manufacturer Animas Corp. (West Chester, PA) completed its purchase of Cygnus Inc. (Redwood City, CA), maker of the only completely noninvasive glucose monitor approved by FDA. Animas paid $10 million in cash for the intellectual property rights, production equipment, license agreements, and inventory belonging to Cygnus.

The sale of Cygnus left some wondering if this may be the death knell for the company's approach to noninvasive glucose monitoring. "The purchase by Animas is an acknowledgment that the Cygnus device remains a specialty product, as opposed to the mainstream glucose monitoring solution originally envisioned by Cygnus," says Mark S. Vreeke, PhD, partner and cofounder of Rational Systems LLC (Houston), a technology consulting firm.