Roche Diabetes Care India launches its first mass market glucometer

– Accu-Chek Instant S enables affordable access to a diabetes monitoring meter for over 70 million* people with diabetes in India.

Mumbai, February 28, 2018: Roche Diabetes Care India, the country’s market leader in diabetes monitoring with Accu-Chek as its product brand, today announced the launch of its new glucometer Accu- Chek Instant S, which marks the entry of the organisation into the mass market segment in diabetes self- monitoring.

Speaking at the launch, Mr Sidhartha Roy, Managing Director of Roche Diabetes Care India said, “With India having the second highest population of people with diabetes (PwDs) in the world, we saw the need to take regular self-monitoring of diabetes to a larger population with a product that is not just affordable but is also easy to use. Self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) is integral to diabetes management. We have seen in our experience that PwDs who practice SMBG and consult with their doctors regularly do not compromise on their lifestyle and face minimised risks of diabetes-related complications. Despite all the benefits of self-monitoring, only ~10%^ of PwDs own a blood glucose meter.

We notice that in India, PwDs deviate from their diabetes management routine often to keep up with their family and social commitments, and thus suffer glycaemic variability. However, they worry about their blood sugar fluctuation and either increase exercise or resort to diet restrictions, or even alter their medicine dosage to keep their blood sugar level under control. These efforts, they believe, have worked to bring their blood sugar levels back within range, without actually monitoring to check the reality.”

The new Accu-Chek Instant-S offers best-in-class accuracy and meets the latest global ISO 15197:2013 standards, at an affordable price of Rs 1099/-. Blood glucose testing with Instant-S is simplified, and the reading of results made easy. The meter has a 9-level target range indicator, which gives the PwD an indication of which range their reading falls in – normal, high and low – making for easy understanding of the reading.

Dr Varsha Khatry, Head – Medical and Scientific Affairs of Roche Diabetes Care India said, “During our interactions with PwDs we have found out that they perceive their body to be the best sensor of blood sugar fluctuations as they think their body gives symptoms (of weakness, tired feeling, increased urination, hunger etc.) whenever their blood glucose level fluctuates and thus they don’t really need to monitor it on a regular basis. However, managing diabetes on the basis of such assumptions can increase risk of developing complications along with co-morbid conditions.”

The Accu-Chek Instant-S blood glucose monitoring system from Roche Diabetes Care India is designed to provide a truly effortless solution for PwDs in India. The meter does not require any set-up. The strip is inserted, a small blood sample applied and the value is shown in less than 4 seconds providing instant clarity. The intuitive target range indicator points to blue for above range, green for in range and red for below range. The meter can automatically synchronise all blood glucose results via USB to the Accu-Chek Connect Online Portal. The Accu-Chek Instant S blood glucose monitoring system offers reliable test results that exceed the new global ISO standards.

*IDF Atlas 2017: https://www.idf.org/our-network/regions-members/south-east-asia/members/94-india.html

^Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose Systems in India, Frost & Sullivan Report 2010.

Corporate Comm India(CCI Newswire)