Sanofi, Medtronic join on diabetes drugs, devices

French drugmaker Sanofi and U.S. medical device manufacturer Medtronic Inc. have joined in a project to develop new combinations of drugs and devices for diabetes care.

The two major companies announced Saturday the "global strategic alliance," which they said was aimed at improving experience and results for people with diabetes around the world. The companies say the initial priorities will be developing drug-device combinations and providing care-management services to simplify insulin treatment.

Paris-based Sanofi has expertise in developing insulin drugs while Minneapolis-based Medtronic makes insulin pumps and devices for monitoring glucose to control blood sugar.

According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 347 million people worldwide have diabetes. In the U.S., about 30 million people have the disease.

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