Tandem Lands a ‘Sweet’ Deal as Medtech M&A Picks Up

The med-tech deals keep on rolling in as the U.S. is re-opening after being shut down to help stop the spread of the novel coronavirus [COVID-19]. This time its Tandem Diabetes Care (TDC) keeping the M&A fires warm as the San Diego, CA-based company announced it is picking up Sugarmate, developer of a popular mobile app for people with diabetes who use insulin.

The deal is for an undisclosed sum.

Under the deal, Sugarmate will become a subsidiary and will be led by its founder Josh Juster. He will also join TDC as VP, Sugarmate.  Susan Morrison, Executive VP and Chief Administrative Officer for Tandem, spoke to MD+DI about the deal and the role Sugarmate played going forward.  

“As we were considering this, what stood out to us was the Sugarmate application and the response from people with diabetes on how much they liked the app,” Morrison told MD+DI. As we look at our future digital health offerings, we’re looking to build out an ecosystem of diabetes products and services that help support that overall mission.”

She added, “[The Sugarmate app] is a very popular application by people who use insulin pumps as well as people who use multiple daily injections. It really helps visualize diabetes therapy data in innovative ways. It allows users to log health and nutrition information and it can provide notifications and alerts to the users as well as their families. It very much helps support people’s diabetes management.”

TDC said Sugarmate will continue to serve its current customers and operate as a standalone entity in the near term. Sugarmate app users, and anyone wanting to use the app, will continue to go through the app and website for information and support.

The company said Sugarmate would not replace the upcoming t:connect mobile app.

“Sugarmate was founded as a way to help others in the diabetes community get the most out of their data and is the result of a passion for diabetes technology and consumer software development,” said Josh Juster, founder of Sugarmate. “Joining Tandem, a company that shares these passions is a natural next step for Sugarmate and will help us continue to build new features and functions for our current and future users.”

Deal-making picked up this week as the industry saw one of its biggest deals since the U.S. shutdown because of COVID-19. Invitae said it would acquire ArcherDx, in a deal valued at $1.4 billion. The combined company could be a driving force behind the precision oncology landscape.