Medtronic seeks wider diabetes reimbursement

CHICAGO, March 12 (Reuters) - The head of Medtronic Inc.'s (MDT.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) diabetes business on Monday said wider insurance coverage for continuous blood sugar monitors is still several years off, but demand for insulin pumps will drive growth in the interim.

"We do expect to continue to grow faster than the corporate average for Medtronic and be one of the primary growth engines of the company going forward," said Chris O'Connell, president of Medtronic's diabetes division, whose sales climbed 24 percent in the latest quarter.

Medtronic on Monday said U.S. regulators approved an expanded indication for its continuous glucose monitoring device in children.

The device, approved for adult patients last year, alerts diabetics to dangerous spikes or dips in their blood sugar levels via wire-like sensors inserted under the skin that measure glucose levels and trasmit the data wirelessly to a pager-size receiver.

The company plans to conduct clinical studies to demonstrate the cost effectiveness of the technology, O'Connell said. "It's probably going to take two to three years for us to develop a broad enough body of clinical evidence in the United States to secure widespread reimbursement for the sensor," he said in an interview.

((Reporting by Susan Kelly, editing by Martin Golan; Reuters Messaging susan.kelly.reuters.com@reuters.net; susan.kelly@reuters.com, phone 312 408 8134)) Keywords: MEDTRONIC INTERVIEW/

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