Diabetes has reached epidemic proportions over the last three decades and India continues to have the second-largest number of adults with diabetes worldwide, after China. Consequently, lifestyle management is a  crucial step in improving  patient outcomes and metabolic parameters associated with the disease. In this context, various pharmaceutical companies and healthtech companies are offering personalized support through digital diabetes care programs in India, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

According to GlobalData’s ‘Pharmaceutical Intelligence Center’, the number of diagnosed prevalent cases of type 2 diabetes in India is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 3.97%, from 76.2 million in 2021 to 91.7 million in 2028.

Neha Myneni, Pharma Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Improving aspects on lifestyle, such as diet and exercise, is a key part of diabetes control. Many people living with diabetes can struggle to manage this effectively and need extended support and guidance.”

Against this backdrop, key pharmaceutical companies in India’s diabetes market such as Novo Nordisk, Sanofi, AstraZeneca, Roche, Abbott, and Cipla are offering support through tailored diabetes care programs.

According to GlobalData’s ‘Digital Marketing Intelligence’, these diabetes care programs are supported through various websites (Sanofi’s Saath7psp.com and Intolife.in; Novo Nordisk’s Cdicindia.org and AstraZeneca’s Beyondsugar.in) and Cipla/Wellthy’s Wellthy Care app. Sanofi’s Saath 7 is one of the industry’s longest running patient support programs for diabetes patients in India.

Furthermore, Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre, GOQii Smart Vital Plus device and Roche’s Diabefly with Accu-Chek are supported by smart devices. GOQii’s diabetes care program, the most recent entrant in the category, is an integrated lifestyle medicine for diabetes patients in India.

Key features of these programs include counselling in terms of disease and lifestyle management, treatment support (insulin administration), and personalized coaching.

Myneni concludes: “Since the launch of the Digital India campaign in 2015, the country has quickly adopted digital services across various sectors, with healthcare being no exception. With increasing access to the internet and more people looking for digital healthcare support in the current pandemic scenario, improved focus on digital health services for chronic conditions such as diabetes is expected to improve the standard of care further in the near future.”