SUNNYVALE, Calif., Jan. 27, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Asante Solutions Inc., manufacturer of the Asante Snap^TM Insulin Pump, has partnered with Tidepool^TM, a Silicon Valley-based non-profit organization committed to reducing the burden of type 1 diabetes.

With this partnership, Asante has become the first diabetes device company to make its data protocols open and available via the Tidepool Platform. This will enable users of the Tidepool Platform to easily download and access data from their Asante insulin pump.

"At Asante, we are committed to simplifying the management of diabetes. Part of doing so is making sure the data captured in our pump is available to the user – wherever the user wants that data to be," said David Thrower, CEO of Asante Solutions. He continued, "Some pump manufacturers only allow their data to be downloaded into their own proprietary software, thereby making it more difficult for the people with diabetes and their clinicians. We decided to be customer-focused and are working to make the data available for Snap users in a way that will allow the most convenient access for them – be that via their provider offices, their computers at home, and one day even their smartphones. Partnering with Tidepool makes sense given our commitment to simplifying diabetes."

"Tidepool is about bringing all the data available in diabetes into one usable place. Our open platform will do just that while accelerating further innovation in diabetes. We are glad to have Asante as the first insulin pump partner," said Howard Look, founder, CEO, and president of Tidepool. He continued, "We envision our platform connecting all the different diabetes devices so the data is available in one place. Asante's vision to simplify diabetes management lines up perfectly with what we are trying to do at Tidepool."

Under the partnership, Snap Insulin Pump data will be downloadable into the Tidepool Platform. The Tidepool Platform then integrates data from different sources so that it can be used to make things easier for the person with diabetes. "You will be able to get the data from your Asante Snap pump and your CGM in one place. That data can then be used in ways never before possible. As an example, an app developed on our platform could use your Snap data and your CGM data to give you trending information or even tips on healthy eating that are specific to your trends," said Look. 

Under this partnership, development will begin immediately. Once the platform is available, all current Snap clinics will be eligible to download the data to the Tidepool platform. A system for people with diabetes to download at home will be a follow-on feature. Tidepool is aggressively working to establish a master file with the FDA and will be developing connectivity between the Tidepool platform and diabetes devices in 2014. The open source code for the Tidepool Platform and applications is available at https://github.com/Tidepool-org.

About the Asante Snap Insulin Pump

The Asante Snap Insulin Pump is designed to be an easy-to-use system for those on intensive insulin therapy. In developing the Snap, Asante scrutinized and improved each step of the pumping process, from filling the pump to the user interface to detecting occlusions to pricing. The resulting Snap Insulin Pump lets patients spend less time working on their pump and more time enjoying their lives. More product details are available at www.snappump.com.

About Asante Solutions, Inc.

Based in the heart of Silicon Valley, Asante Solutions, Inc. is a privately-held medical device company developing simple solutions for diabetes. For more information, visit www.snappump.com.

About Tidepool

Tidepool is a non-profit, open source effort with the mission of reducing the burden of living with type 1 diabetes. Tidepool is creating an open data platform and elegant, intuitive applications that are a delight to use. The source code for the efforts is freely available and vendor-agnostic, accelerating progress towards commercialization of closed-loop systems. For more information, visit Tidepool.org.