Diabeloop Announces the Appointment of Meinhard F. Schmidt as Chairman of the Board

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PARIS, June 25, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Diabeloop, the company behind the next generation automated insulin delivery system for Type 1 diabetes, has appointed Meinhard F. Schmidt as its new non-executive chairman. Mr. Schmidt, a healthcare executive and entrepreneur with more than 25 years of international experience in the healthcare, diagnostics and medical devices industries, succeeds Dr. Guillaume Charpentier, who founded Diabeloop in 2015 and has held the position of Chairman since then.

"We are delighted to welcome Meinhard to the Board during this exciting time for Diabeloop," says Erik Huneker, Diabeloop's CEO. "With more than 25 years of experience in the global healthcare, diagnostics and medical device sector, he brings an invaluable international, industry, and corporate knowledge to the Company."

Diabeloop is working on the european commercial deployment of its first product, the DBLG1^TM System, an integrated device for autonomous diabetes management. The company is working on obtaining reimbursement agreements in France and Germany. The company, which is currently finalizing a second funding round, also plans to apply for FDA approval in the near future.

After Dr. Guillaume Charpentier stepped down as chairman of the board, Mr. Schmidt assumed this position on June 18, 2019. Dr. Charpentier will remain a member of the Board and Diabeloop Chief Medical Officer.

Dr. Guillaume Charpentier explains: "Bringing a project from an academic prototype to a marketed medical device that will have significant impact on patients' lives, in less than 4 years, is a tremendous accomplishment for the Diabeloop team and its partners, the CEA-Leti* and the CERITD**. An ambitious task now awaits us to make this innovation available to all families living with Type One diabetes. Meinhard will help us through the next stages of our  development, to achieve our  ambitions."

Meinhard F. Schmidt adds: "I was drawn to Diabeloop because it has all the hallmarks of a successful, commercial digital health company, including novel technology with the most advanced and promising closed-loop system. Diabeloop introduces an active intelligence layer in the traditional value chain of medical devices for diabetes treatment – something I was looking for since my 20 years of active engagement in the Diabetes Care industry. It's a privilege to be joining the team at this important time and I am very excited about Diabeloop's future and the difference we can make at a key phase of our transformation from a company focused on product development, to a full global acting commercial enterprise."

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*non-profit association focused on preventing and improving  the treatment of diabetes
** Technology Research Institute

About Diabeloop® SA

Created in 2015 in Grenoble by Erik Huneker and Dr. Charpentier, Diabeloop® and CEA-Leti are linked within a joint research laboratory to accelerate the development of the DBLG1 device. The company is co-managed by Marc Julien and Erik Huneker and had a staff of 51 in May 2019. In order to develop and bring the DBLG1 System to market, the company made a first round of funding of 13.5 million euros in mid-2017, a second round of funding, to support international commercialization and an ambitious R&D roadmap, is in progress.

About DBLG1 System

Originating from a French artificial pancreas research program, the DBLG1™ System is a device that embeds machine learning to better serve patients. The DBLG1™ System is based on a self-learning algorithm hosted in a dedicated handset and associated with a continuous glucose measurement system and an insulin patch pump. This breakthrough technological innovation automates almost completely the treatment of type 1 diabetes by reproducing the functions of the pancreas destroyed by the disease.. DBLG1 calculates the amount of insulin required and automatically adjusts insulin delivery. Following clinical trials, DBLG1 was CE marked in November 2018 in adults. The device will be released gradually in reference centers from 2019.

SOURCE Diabeloop