Continuous Glucose Monitoring Market Forecast to Grow to $568.5 million by 2020

The global continuous glucose monitoring market will be worth $568.5 million by 2020, according to a new market report.

 That means that between 2013 and 2020, the market will witness a compound annual growth rate of 14.8%, according to Allied Market Research, which issued the report. CGM systems incorporate sensors that are placed underneath the skin to monitor glucose levels in tissue fluid. The sensor is connected to a wireless transmitter that routes the information to a display device.

The ease of use and convenience of CGM devices compared with conventional glucose monitoring such as glucose meters that provide one-time snapshots of a person’s blood glucose level, is fueling demand for CGM systems. Aside from that, global awareness of such products, the ability to detect hypo and hyperglycemic events early as well as the rise in incidences of diabetes worldwide is contributing to the market growth.

“The market is overcoming several challenges towards the commercialization of closed loop CGMs with significant focus on technological innovation. This is expected to take the concept of CGM to a next level from research to mass adoption" said Allied Market Research analyst Debbie Shields, in a news release.

Companies that make CGM devices include Medtronic, Dexcom and Abbot.

Transmitters and receivers market made up the lion’s share of revenue of the overall global continuous glucose monitoring systems market accounting for $88.5 million out of $194.8 million in 2012. But these components of the CGM system will be outstripped by glucose sensors, which is expected to grow to $235.9 million, while the overall market grows to $568.5 million by 2020.

While technological innovation has created CGM devices that are now being adopted globally, the ultimate goal is to create an artificial pancreas that mimics the functionality of a real pancreas. Many companies are trying to build an artificial pancreas. Medtronic has taken a step toward that with its MiniMed 530G with Enlite sensor that the FDA approved in September. The system is able to suspend the delivery of insulin when the sensor is able to detect that a pre-determined low glucose threshold has been reached in a patient’s body.

-- By Arundhati Parmar, Senior Editor, MD+DI
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