Twiist: Millyard company celebrates next generation insulin infusion device

MANCHESTER, N.H. – Diabetes management company Sequel Med Tech on Wednesday celebrated advancements on the company’s upcoming twiist automated insulin delivery (AID) system.

The event, dubbed the “twiist Employee Experience” or TEE Kickoff, honored 37 diabetic employees agreed to become early users of the twiist device, which is scheduled to be released to the public later this year.

Sequel CEO and co-founder Alan Lotvin was grateful for the aid of the employees as well as coming to a conclusion of nearly two years working on the device as the company, located in the millyard, was built from scratch.

“In the two years we’ve built this company and launched the product, I would tell you that it was far harder than I thought it was (going to be), and I thought it was going to be hard. We learned a ton and I wouldn’t recommend trying that again,” said Lotvin.

“The great thing is that 37 employees, close to 15 percent of our team, elected to trust their health to a brand-new device. That really says something,” Lotvin added.

Physical components for the device are manufactured a few hundred feet down Commercial Street at DEKA, with DEKA founder Dean Kamen also serving as one of the co-founders of Sequel. The name for the company comes from the fact that Kamen invented the first insulin autosyringe in the 1970s, with hopes that the twiist device can serve as a sequel to that generation of diabetes management.

Indeed, the proximity to DEKA was the key reason why Sequel placed its offices in Manchester.

“All of our engineers and manufacturing is right down the road. When we’re this close, it creates a real back and forth as you saw. Dean wanted to show me something, I asked for them yesterday and they already had a new prototype,” said Lotvin, who was interrupted by Kamen while talking to media on Wednesday.

Twiist, spelled uniquely to incorporate the acronym for “insulin infusion,” looks to revolutionize insulin delivery by measuring the volume of insulin delivered with each micro-dose. A proprietary technology within the Twiist device uses soundwaves to detect blockages up to nine-times faster than other AID systems. Algorithms within the device also can predict needed future micro-doses of insulin based on predicted glucose levels, real-time sensor readings and personalized data submitted by the patient. The device, which fits into the palm of the hand, was originally supposed to be called “Oreo” given that it looks like the famous cookie, although it was determined that it would be inappropriate given that Oreos can have severe negative impacts on the blood sugar of diabetic people.

According to Sequel representatives, many people with diabetes will be able to pay $0 for the first month of twiist and no more than $50 per month afterward for those with health insurance. The device will also be available from pharmacies rather than medical device suppliers, also reducing the cost.

More information on the device and Sequel can be found at sequelmedtech.com