Stumble It!
OmniPod “Softens the Switch” from Cozmo
Insulet Corp., makers of the OmniPod tubeless insulin pump system, is now also offering a low-cost switch option to users of the discontinued Cozmo pump:
For a limited time, Cozmo users will be able to start on OmniPod for as little as $49.99. This offer includes an OmniPod Starter kit and a one-month supply of Pods. More info is available at
the website: www.myomnipod.com/support/Cozmo/ or by calling 1- 866-941-4579.
Hopefully this one won’t rub some people the wrong way — as did the recent “upgrade” offer by Medtronic.
A number of people complained that they found it “cheesy” for a competitive company to swoop in with an alternative offer so quickly — potentially before the news of Cozmo’s demise has even reached its full customer base (?)
I happen to be a die-hard OmniPod user myself. (I love the tubeless freedom!) And my feeling was that if this product were to be continued — even if current warranties were still being honored — I would indeed feel like my beloved life support system was being “yanked away.” And I don’t think I’d be angry if another company was offering a replacement. I may choose not to jump on the offer, but it’s nice to know that competition in the insulin pump market is healthy enough for other vendors to be courting my business.
Maybe some folks were annoyed because Medtronic’s offer for Cozmo customers includes a re-certified pump, a fancy term for a used unit, rather than a brand new insulin pump. That I can see. Yet in the spirit of living green, is it so important that the plastic casing is brand new, as long as you’re fully guaranteed by the company that the unit works reliably?
In any case, sources tell me there are circa 30,000 to 35,000 Deltec patients “ripe for conversion,” so it shouldn’t be long until the other player in the pump market, J&J’s Animas, jumps in with a special offer for former Cozmo pumpers as well.
** UPDATE 4:20 PST**
Thanks to a tip from reader Angela (thank you!), I’ve learned that J&J Animas already has a 90-day upgrade offer posted for Deltec customers, at www.animascorp.com/For-Deltec-customers.aspx. They’re offering a re-certified Animas pump for $900, plus you can trade in your existing pump for a rebate of up to $700. You also get a free month’s worth of supplies (cartridges and infusion sets).
“Not ready to switch? We understand,” their site states. “Please know we’re here to help with supplies. Not only do we carry the Cozmo® cartridge, but our infusion sets all work with the Cozmo® pump. For more details on the Animas Access program, call us at 1-877-YES-PUMP”
So there you go. All the big pump companies are ready to catch falling Cozmo customers with special offers — take ‘em or leave ‘em.
Explore posts in the same categories: OmniPod-ing, Products
A full 4 year warranty would be nice. With Minimed’s offer, any Cozmo user with more than 2 years of remaining warranty would be downsizing to a 2 year Minimed warranty.
One of the links above did not work for me: http://www.myomnipod.com/support/Cozmo/ .
Posted by: Don | April 10th, 2009 at 11:29 amIt sounds like the recertified pumps may pass inspection on their way out to a customer, but fail in real life because they can’t test for every possible situation before they send them out. I’ve heard horror stories about repeatedly having to send back recertified pumps from users of every pump out there. As a Cozmo customer with just under two years left, I don’t want to give up my Cozmo any more quickly than necessary. Frankly, I’d rather look at where each of the pump companies is at in two years and see which one has the most features (that I care about) in their current pump.
Posted by: Sarah | April 10th, 2009 at 12:01 pmHere’s the key thing: Deltec is sitting on wonderful assets (IE: Cozmo), and it makes sense for them to sell Cozmo to the highest bidder. It would make sense for Abbott or even Animas themselves to buy up the intellectual property and rights. Abbott’s Freestyle Navigator + Cozmo would be a win for Cozmo pumpers. Cozmo software in the Animas hardware (physical pump) would be a win for most of the pump market.
Posted by: Alex | April 10th, 2009 at 1:59 pmThese offers are sneaky. Minimed’s offer is restricted to 90 days — they want you to switch to their pump before Deltec sells anything. Minimed wants to take away your opportunity to transfer over to whomever buys Cozmo. Don’t give up hope on Cozmo, folks. Disetronic came off the market, got picked up by Roche, and got rebranded as Accu-Check. I bet the same thing will happen to Cozmo. Any deal is likely to take time. Medtronic and the other “switch now!” companies are circling like vultures, and Cozmo’s not dead yet.
OmniPod WOULD have been our second choice, but not with the current IOB feature. The company e-mailed me to confirm that they will NOT be enhancing the IOB to include both correction AND meal boluses…so…for us, that leaves OmniPod out of the running. They’re on the cutting room floor with MM — who never even made it to our table for consideration.
Guess that leaves Animas…if we HAD to decide today, that is.
But, we don’t…and we’re in NO rush to give up our beloved Cozmo.
Posted by: Wendy | April 10th, 2009 at 2:55 pmYou’re welcome, Amy.
My pleasure to help out!
Posted by: AngelaC | April 10th, 2009 at 6:34 pmOh.. this seems to be very costly for me..
@Don, I could open the link without any problem. Can you try again and check?
Posted by: What Makes a Man Good or Bad? | April 12th, 2009 at 10:05 amThe person who mentioned that they don’t like the OmniPod’s IOB setup is right on! I wore the Pods for a full year. One day, while wearing a POD, after having taken a correction bolus recommended by the PDM, I was sitting in a doctor’s office (NOT an endocrinologist, mind you.) I decided to test my BG, as it was my habit to do so often. The OmniPod PDM read 49! I re-tested, and again got 49. I realized later that the Pod’s PDM was totally ignoring IOB, and that I should be ignoring its recommendations for correction bolusing, except right before a meal.
Posted by: June S. | April 13th, 2009 at 3:49 pmJune: I’ve been wearing the pod for over 2 years and you are half wrong about the IOB. The IOB calculator assumes that you properly determined your mealtime bolus. So the calculator never takes that amount into consideration. I think this is how it should be. It correctly determines IOB rates when you have done correction boluses only. It’s all of matter of your own logic. You can easily check your records to see how much insulin you have on board after eating plus you learn how to do correct boluses rather than relying on an IOB calculation. For people who are new to pumping, the POD IOB makes sense. For those who are used to the old fashioned IOB on other pumps, they may have difficulty with it. I love the PODD as much as I love Obama!!
Posted by: Jacey | April 14th, 2009 at 10:26 amI’m with Jacey re IOB. I’ve always felt typical pumps’ IOB calculation to be barely useful info as I consider any remaining meal bolus to be “spoken for” by any remaining digestion. All I want is for a pump to display when my last bolus occurred in case I have a high reading and I need to determine whether it is due to a normal post-meal spike or due to insufficient meal bolus for which I should take a correction bolus. In any case, meal bolus IOB is simple for me to track in my head using a 30/30/30/10 rule.
Posted by: Don | April 15th, 2009 at 6:49 amI just made the switch from the Cozmo to OmniPod. I LOVE the pod. But I’m not so happy about the PDM. No strings is great great great!!! I feel more mobile, more flexible and just downright giddy to be rid of the tubing. The PDM on the other hand… seems really 1980’s. I hear rumors of a Gen 2 coming out soon… but I’m hoping more to incorporate my cell phone. Wouldn’t that just be so sweet!
I had zero problems with the conversion, and this is the first I’ve heard of the IOB problem. Thanks for sharing — and what is the 30/30/30/10 rule?
Posted by: Carrie | April 19th, 2009 at 1:19 pmActually, Medtronic’s swap out program is $0 to switch over. You can also get money off of their continuous glucose monitor.
Posted by: Katrina | June 3rd, 2009 at 6:03 pmIf you still have 3 years (or whatever) on your cozmo it will carry over to the medtronic pump. Just go to their website and call the number and talk to someone.
You can take my Cozmo and CozMonitor from me when I am cold and dead. I am so pissed that no other company offered to purchase this line from Deltec.
I learned that my warrantee expired ONE DAY before Deltec told us they were closing shop.
People that I depended upon at Deltec lost their jobs because the other companies were too stupid to pick it up.
I don’t need a stupid warrantee.
I’ll use my Deltec Cozmo until the damn thing stops working.
After all, how hard is it to go back to shots anyway?
I hope whatever you all have works for you.
Posted by: Jimbo205 | October 19th, 2009 at 5:42 pm