PLYMOUTH, Minn. – A ribbon-cutting ceremony by executives this month marked a significant milestone for Medtronic employees and those living with type 2 diabetes.

“Having our own space means we’ve firmly committed to Medtronic being a leader in type 2 diabetes,” said Laura Stoltenberg, vice president and general manager of the Non-Intensive Diabetes Therapies (NDT) business unit at Medtronic.

The new office space located in Plymouth, Minnesota is the global headquarters for NDT and will be the home for product development as research and development, marketing and operations employees work to tackle one of the world’s biggest health challenges. There are nearly 400 million people living with type 2 diabetes.  

“Our business expands the population that Medtronic can serve beyond our historical type 1 focus,” said Stoltenberg. “It is our vision to make glucose a vital sign and therefore, the monitoring of glucose to be an essential part of the care pathway. Our employees in Plymouth are directly contributing to that vision and improving lives of our patients.”

During the ceremony, Medtronic leaders referenced how far the once-small team has come. Leaders say NDT is growing into a business focused on “greater disease understanding and better outcomes for people with diabetes and pre-diabetes.”

Hooman Hakami, executive vice president and group president of Medtronic Diabetes, was also in attendance, calling the new office space “an exciting opportunity.”

“We started with a few people who had big ideas on how to make an impact in type 2 diabetes. Now, we’re growing quickly and making progress to achieve those dreams,” said Hakami. “The formation of the NDT business is instrumental in achieving our goal to serve 20 million patients by 2020, moving from a developed market pump and sensor company, into a global holistic diabetes management company.”

Medtronic leaders say the team will look to provide new products and innovative new solutions that improve disease understanding, compliance, and outcomes.

“Our vision is to transform diabetes care so people with diabetes can enjoy greater freedom and better health,” said Stoltenberg. “We’re here to stay. We have a lot of work to do and are humbled by the opportunity to make a difference for this patient population.”