Medtronic builds pharmacy channel for MiniMed insulin pump 

MINNEAPOLIS – Medtronic Diabetes has expanded U.S. pharmacy formulary access for its MiniMed 780F insulin pump through agreements with major pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and group purchasing organizations (GPOs), including Ascent and Zinc. 

These agreements also include access to the company's expanded CGM portfolio – Simplera sensor, Simplera Sync sensor, and Instinct sensor, made by Abbott – and build on existing pharmacy coverage for Medtronic CGMs and consumables, such as infusion sets and reservoirs. 

“Expanding pharmacy benefit coverage for the MiniMed 780G system is an important step forward in how people access automated insulin delivery,” said Que Dallara, EVP & president of Medtronic Diabetes. “Access through the pharmacy channel can help lower upfront costs compared to traditional durable medical equipment (DME) pathways and make it easier for people to get started on therapy. It also allows patients and care teams to better align pumps, sensors, and consumables under a single coverage pathway, supporting greater predictability when navigating access.” 

Medtronics’ payer account team is actively collaborating with downstream health plans partnered with these PBMs to further expand coverage of the MiniMed 780G system under the pharmacy benefit. These access gains strengthen the company’s end-to-end access to Medtronic Diabetes technologies through the pharmacy channel, it says. 

The company says to support a streamlined experience, providers can prescribe the MiniMed 780G system, and Medtronic Diabetes will continue to manage benefit investigation across both pharmacy and DME options. This established approach, it says, provides transparency into available coverage pathways and helps customers choose the options that best meets their needs.