SpectRx Inc has re-initiated development work on its continuous glucose monitoring technology. SpectRx previously announced that it was seeking to end its research, development and license agreement with Abbott Laboratories, which Abbott subsequently terminated. As a result, all of SpectRx's rights to the continuous glucose monitoring technology were returned.

"We believe the continuous glucose monitoring technology, combined with our innovative and expanding line of SimpleChoice diabetes management products, constitute an outstanding opportunity to create value for our customers and shareholders in the multi-billion-dollar diabetes treatment and monitoring markets," said Mark A. Samuels, chairman and CEO of SpectRx Inc. "We plan to proceed with the development of our continuous glucose monitoring technology as quickly as possible as a key element of creating a standalone diabetes business unit. We also plan to seek technology and financial partners that already have experience with continuous glucose sensors and since receiving our notice from Abbott, we have already had preliminary discussions with several interested groups."

"The clinical studies of our continuous glucose monitoring technology under a grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are on-going, the results from which should be available this summer." said Mark Faupel, executive vice-president and chief technical officer of SpectRx Inc. "Our near-term goals are to improve the operating interval and reliability by integrating our interstitial fluid (ISF) sampling technology with a production glucose sensor. Once this is accomplished, final product design, engineering, production, marketing activities and regulatory approval would be needed before making the product available in the U.S. We plan to launch the product in international markets while it is awaiting U.S. FDA approval. Timing for these new development activities depends on sufficient funding and the availability of an appropriate glucose sensor."

"Continuous glucose monitoring should become an important component of diabetes management for both children and adults," said Peter Chase, principal investigator of the CDC study being conducted at the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes in Denver. "In this regard, we feel that the SpectRx system, we have been working with under the CDC grant, holds promise for making a positive impact."

SpectRx's continuous glucose monitoring sensor, worn on top of the skin, once developed, would allow people with diabetes to continuously monitor their glucose levels without the pain and inconvenience of multiple fingerstick blood tests or implanting a sensor. Prototypes of the device have shown the capability of providing readings once a minute. The technology measures glucose levels in interstitial fluid rather than blood. A stream of ISF is collected through an array of microscopic holes or micropores created with a laser in the outer layer of skin, and measured in a patch containing a glucose sensor.

Blood glucose levels are a measure of an individual's health status. Because people with diabetes cannot properly metabolize glucose, they typically monitor their glucose levels by frequently pricking their fingertips to draw the drop of blood necessary for conventional glucose monitoring. The estimated worldwide market for glucose testing is $4.5 billion with an annual growth rate of 12 to 18 percent.