iSage Rx: A New Type 2 Dosing App for All Major Basal Insulins

By Lynn Kennedy and Adam Brown

Amalgam Rx receives FDA clearance for basal insulin dosing app, iSage Rx; available with a prescription to adjust Lantus, Levemir, Toujeo, Tresiba, and Basaglar

A new type 2 diabetes app with FDA clearance, iSage Rx, launched earlier this month to help people more easily dose basal insulin. It also offers support in the form of reminders to check fasting blood glucose, remote data monitoring by a healthcare provider (opening up the possibility for ongoing care), and optional short videos, trivia questions, and educational messages to help users overcome some of the obstacles associated with insulin therapy.

Available on Google Play and the iTunes store, iSage Rx’s software is compatible with all major basal insulins (Lantus, Levemir, Toujeo, Tresiba, and Basaglar), an exciting first for an FDA-cleared insulin dosing app.

iSage Rx requires a prescription-only activation code before it will run. A healthcare provider prescribes iSage Rx and selects an “algorithm” that adjusts and personalizes basal insulin dosing based on a person’s specific needs (e.g., weight, risk of hypoglycemia, etc.). The user with diabetes then receives an activation code, which they can enter into the app to get started. Once activated, iSage Rx runs on its own, using a fasting blood glucose reading inputted once daily to constantly update basal insulin dose recommendations – for example, “Today’s Dose: 14 units.” The app also tries to go beyond the numbers to provide education and encouraging messages like “Be patient because it can take up to three months to see your blood glucose readings reach goal.”

There is no pricing information available yet, but the app’s maker has shared that it does not expect to have a “direct-to-consumer” model, meaning it will pursue insurance coverage instead. Assuming insurance does cover the app, there will still be a copay for the user (although how much this will cost is not yet known). Those interested in iSage Rx can ask a healthcare provider about the service or learn more about the app at the iSage Rx website.

While the app currently requires the user to manually enter blood glucose levels, the company that created iSage Rx, Amalgam Rx, hopes to partner with other companies to integrate diabetes device data more automatically in the future (i.e., Bluetooth-enabled blood glucose meters, Bluetooth-enabled CGM, and upcoming smart insulin pens). Amalgam Rx has announced that it expects one such partnership by the end of 2017.

Amalgam Rx has also said it hopes to get FDA clearance for its basal insulin/GLP-1 agonist (e.g., Soliqua, Xultophy) dosing software by the end of June, as well as clearance by the end of 2017 for a basal-bolus adjustment software (i.e., for those on multiple daily injections, or MDI). If cleared, these new options would provide dosing support to a much broader population than just those on basal insulin alone.

iSage Rx is one of multiple emerging insulin dosing decision support apps and software. For more information on “My Dose Coach,” another recently cleared basal insulin dosing app, as well as others coming soon, see recent diaTribe coverage here.