Sanofi-aventis announced the upcoming launch of the blood glucose monitoring (BGM) devices BGStar and iBGStar, developed by sanofi-aventis and its partner AgaMatrix. Due to their convenience, accuracy and ease-of-use, BGStar and iBGStar will help the decision-making process for people with diabetes and their healthcare professionals, with the aim of improving patient self-management. iBGStar connects to the iPhone or iPod touch. This is an important step towards sanofi-aventis' vision of becoming the leader in global diabetes care by integrating innovative monitoring technology, therapeutic innovations, personalized services and support solutions. BGStar and iBGStar are planned to be made commercially available in the first markets in early 2011.

"Our patient-centric approach means we truly understand the challenges faced by people with diabetes," explained Pierre Chancel, senior vice-president, global diabetes division, sanofi-aventis, speaking at the 46th Annual European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Meeting in Stockholm, Sweden. "This generation of innovative blood glucose monitors is key to making diabetes care fit into the everyday lives of people with diabetes and potentially improving their confidence in managing their condition. It is an important step toward our goal of delivering seamless connectivity between diagnostics, treatment and monitoring."

BGStar and iBGStar have been designed by listening to the needs and desires of people with diabetes. Both products aim to integrate convenient, accurate and easy-to-use blood glucose management with decision-making support in everyday lives of people with diabetes. The ultra-compact iBGStar can be plugged into an iPhone or iPod touch and displays results on a full-colour, touch screen. It can also be used separately for on-the-go testing. The specially-designed and simple iBGStar Diabetes Manager App will allow data to be easily managed and communicated to healthcare professionals.

Along with iBGStar, sanofi-aventis' BGStar is based on the patented Dynamic Electrochemistry technology ensuring accurate and reliable blood glucose readings and both devices do not require coding. BGStar has various feedback features including alerts, programmable reminder alarms and positive feedback to indicate what the results mean. A large, backlit display allows results to be quickly and easily viewed, managed and discussed. In addition, the iBGStar product range offers users access to a full service telephone hotline and other support services so people with diabetes can feel more confident to take charge of their lives.

"Blood glucose values recorded for immediate and future analysis, forming a complete record, are the basis of well-informed decision making," stated Prof. Thomas Haak, chief physician at the diabetes clinic Bad Mergentheim Germany. "Specifically designed devices, which fit conveniently into a patient's daily lifestyle, resulting in blood glucose self-monitoring at the recommended level, will improve diabetes management."

For people with diabetes, blood glucose monitoring is essential for maintaining tight blood glucose control and preventing numerous diabetes-related complications that can compromise overall health and quality of life. However, factors such as reliability, accuracy, discretion and ease-of-use of blood glucose monitors continue to be issues of concern for a significant proportion of people with diabetes.

New technologies, such as BGStar and iBGStar, will help enable better patient self-management, increase compliance and strengthen the partnership between patients and their healthcare professionals. In the field of blood glucose monitoring, sanofi-aventis, together with its partner AgaMatrix, has developed these innovative solutions with the aim of simplifying diabetes management for both patients and healthcare professionals.

Sanofi-aventis' offer in diabetes management - including Lantus, the number one prescribed insulin worldwide, the novel rapid-acting insulin analogue Apidra, the award winning injection pens SoloSTAR and ClikSTAR for easy use of insulin, and the monitoring devices BGStar and iBGStar- will form a unique, holistic model to overcome fragmentation in the delivery of diabetes care. With the addition of more personalized support and customer services in the future, the ultimate goal of providing these integrated solutions is to lead to better patient outcome.

Sanofi-aventis strives to be a 360º partner delivering innovative and integrated solutions for people living with diabetes. The company currently has insulin products, including Lantus, Apidra (both also available as injection pens: Lantus SoloSTAR and Apidra SoloSTAR), plus Insuman. Also available in some countries (outside the US) is ClikSTAR, a reusable insulin injection pen for Lantus or Apidra for people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Following the formation of its Diabetes Division, sanofi-aventis has agreements with other companies for the development of blood glucose monitoring solutions and the potential first regenerative treatment for diabetes. Investigational compounds also in the pipeline include a once-daily injectable GLP-1 agonist as a monotherapy and in combination with Lantus as well as long-acting insulin analogs.