Written by
Bill:
As a Cozmo user for 18 months I too am very dissapointed. I got a different perspective by reading some of the Minneapolis news stories (searching with Google). Apparently, Smiths just couldn't make enough money without having an integrated system that needed more supplies, i.e., cost more per patient. Nowadays more supplies comes from using CGM. I've been using an insulin pump since 1980 and I always have A1Cs less the 6.0%. I see no reason to complicate my life with CGM, thank you any way. For now I'll do just as you describe. Maybe in two years someone will make a pump that's as user friendly and fully features as the Cozmo. I hope so.
Thanks for sharing your Cozmo journey with all of us readers.
Hi Dr. Quick,
Thank you for the mention of my blog post. As you said, it was a complete surprise to all of the employees I know and worked with, both field sales and internal employees like me.
What saddens me most (even more than losing a job I loved) is to see future development on Cozmo abandoned. I am still very attached to my Cozmo, and plan to use it as long as I'm able.
The information I heard about the Cozmo Pump going away is (this came from an Smith Medical Employee high up) was that Medtronic had filed a lawsuit against Smith Medical. Apparently Medtronic claimed some feature or part of the pump was copied from their pump. Smith Medical felt the leal fees to fight this lawsuit was too much and decided to shut down the pump division. Thanks to Medtronic we now lost a great pump!
If Cozmo copied technology from Medtronic, how is it that Medtronic is to blame?
However, if you believe that Medtronic has somehow acted unethically by using a lawsuit to financially destroy a competitor please share some evidence of this. But don't slander good companies (be they Animas, Omnipod, or Medtronic) because you are upset that Cozmo could not produce and support a pump that was financially sustainable. Medical device companies do amazing things (for profit) that make our lives better and are overwhelmingly very ethical - they have to be because they are so closely watched. Don't be so sour.
I, too, love my Cozmo and was also floored when I received my letter. To make matters worse, my warranty ran out in December and requests to upgrade (I am two upgrades behind) were denied by my insurance unless my pump was broken. Wish the company would have given me that heads up when I called about a crack in the casing less than a month from the end of my warranty! Now I am worried about having a problem and having to wait for a new pump while I go through the frustrating maze of insurance, Dr. coordination, etc., etc. What I don't get is that they just came out with a continuous glucose monitor. Why do all these wonderful things and then just dump it all!
From what I understand, as explained by my CDE, the feature that allows you to deliver the insulin directly from the suggested bolus is what Medtronic claims to be a patent violation. When you input the total carbs and the pump gives you a suggested bolus, you would then have to manually key in the amount, instead of just pressing deliver to administer what's shown in the display. Stupid if you ask me. It's why I'll never use or suggest Medtronic to anyone. These things are supposed to make our lives easier. I've been using a Cozmo for almost 5 years now, and just upgraded to the 1800 Model, last year. It's been a great pump.
Cheers,
KC
I've enjoyed my Cozmo pump for 2 1/2 years. I was surprised and very angry when I received the letter from Smith's Medical a month ago. I belong to an intensive insulin therapy group at work and the knowledgeable doctor that runs the group sent me and other Cozmo users one of the trade-up offers that she heard about.
The good news is that for the Animas offer and the Medtronic offer, it doesn't go through your health insurance company. you just get another pump, get trained, and send your Cozmo in and pay a small fee. The group at work had both Animas and Medtronic representatives at a meeting to demo their pumps, supplies, and infusion sets. They were each given 20 minutes for presentations and then we got to ask questions.
I used to have a Disetronic D-Tron pump. I like the pre-filled cartridge feature. The FDA stopped Disetronic from selling them in the USA about 2 years after getting my D-Tron. I waited until a year after my warranty expired to go with the Cozmo. Now there will not be a newer, more features Cozmo in my future. In fact, Smith's Medical issued a recall on my 1800 because the bolus delivered amount was not accurate. I was assured if I wanted a Cozmo with that feature fixed, I would receive one. I've been waiting for 5 months and now I guess I'm not going to get one.
I think the one feature I'm looking for in my next pump is that the company that manufactures it is going to stay in the insulin pump business long after my warranty expires and will continue to push for advances in insulin pump therapy. I also want a pump that has a staffed 7x24 technical support line. If something happened to my Cozmo on the weekend, I could call, but they couldn't do anything until Monday.
So, as soon as I use up the last of my Cozmo supplies, I'm trading this puppy in.
I loved my Deltec Cozmo. It was the first insulin pump I ever had and it definately made my life as a type 1 diabetic much more easy. I received the approved vendor list from Smith's Medical and was told by a Smith's Medical Employee that two of the vendors would accept the type of insurance plan I was on. (Blue Cross/Anthem California) I have been making phone calls since I found out about the shutdown to try and find a supplier that would continue to deliver my supplies until I could find another pump company who could support my needs and listen to my budget, and I am having no luck what so ever. Does anyone out there have my type of insurance or any types of advice that might help me out? Right now I am considering going with the sucky minimed pump, only because they're offering me such a good deal, and I can't AFFORD anything else. I really think that Smith's Medical dropped the ball and forgot that there are millions of people with this disease that depended on those little machines called pumps. I am literally scramblinig to find a way to keep up my health while at the same time trying to find a replacement. As far as I am concerned Smith's can kiss my diabetic butt.
I have 2 kids with Type 1 and we were looking to get a couple of Cosmo pumps, as we saw them as the best. We are getting the money together and have had a visit from a rep a couple of months ago.
My wife bumped into an old school aquaintance at the petrol station and learnt of the Deltec decision - no news from the rep.
We are really dissapointed.
If we are to look at the bright side, maybe companies like Deltec see the writing on the wall w.r.t. a cure?
My problem with this whole situation is that the company is sending us used recertified pumps. I don't know if they were doing that before or not, but I'm noticing a huge difference in the last few replacements. My daughter is 9 and she did extremely well on the cozmo for the first 2 or so years. Only needed something like 2 replacements (both due to cracking). Lately, she has had to get at least 4 pumps replaced. Two within a 3 week period! Is anyone else having this problem? Some have been cracked and some have been malfunctions of the actual electronics. We have loved all the features of the pump, but now it's time to get a new pump because this is really affecting her and, at times, making her sick. Does anyone know much about the omni-pod? I love the idea of no tubing, but I want to make sure we get something that will not be constantly having problems and something that has at least most of the cozmo's features.
I have been on the Deltec Cozmo for 8 years. I am disappointed that this pump will no longer be available. I get my cartridges from Libery now. I have been well satisfied with the pump and customer service. That is all water under the bridge, so where do I go now? I am seriously considering the Omnipod. My other problem is that I have good insurance now but in a couple years I will be on Medicare and how they will pay. I know that most of the people on these websites are much younger than I am and have different problems but----would like some input on which pump the Cozmo users are going with. My other choice Medtronic. What do you think?
We went with the Accucheck Spirit. Partially because they are supposed to be coming out with something similar to the omni pod that is smaller. They also have great customer support. I am not so fond of the ease of use of the spirit. I think the cozmo was sooo much easier in that respect than any of the other pumps out there. We also looked at the omni pod. We were planning to go with it until my daughter wore some of the trials and they fell out very quickly. They were also very large on her small body. So we decided against it. We did play with their programing a little and it is the most like the cozmo out of all the pumps that we've seen. I would recommend trying to get to an event where most of the companies are present and you can compare everything. Our doctor calls it a pump night.
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Is there any chance another company might buy the Cozmo business?
I inquired about this, and other possibilities, like selling their patents to other companies, and was told that all of these had been considered. They did not clarify if any were completely ruled out.