Dexcom

Dexcom is an American medical-technology company focused on continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), a category of devices that measures glucose levels through a small sensor worn on the body and communicates readings to a receiver, smartphone, smartwatch, or connected diabetes-management platform. Its systems are designed to provide repeated glucose readings and trend information throughout the day and night, helping users and healthcare professionals understand changing glucose levels and make more informed diabetes-management decisions. Founded in 1999 by Scott Glenn, John Burd, Lauren Otsuki, Ellen Preston, and Bret Megargel, Dexcom developed from a specialist medical-device company into one of the best-known dedicated CGM brands. The company received United States Food and Drug Administration clearance for its first commercial system, the Dexcom STS Continuous Glucose Monitoring System, in 2006. The three-day device established the company’s core proposition: giving people with diabetes frequent glucose information without requiring a separate finger-stick measurement for every reading. Dexcom followed it with the Seven system in 2007, which extended sensor wear to as much as seven days and improved accuracy. The company’s product development subsequently centered on longer-wear sensors, improved accuracy, wireless connectivity, remote data sharing, mobile applications, and integration with insulin-delivery systems. The Seven Plus arrived in 2009, while the G4 Platinum, introduced during the early 2010s, added a color receiver, extended transmission range, and improvements in low-glucose accuracy. A pediatric indication and the G4 Platinum with Share broadened the product’s use and enabled glucose data to be shared with designated followers through mobile applications. Dexcom’s G5 generation made Bluetooth connectivity a central part of the product experience. Following regulatory clearance in 2015 and 2016, users could send readings directly to compatible mobile devices, reducing reliance on a dedicated receiver. The G6, cleared in 2018, further developed the company’s connected CGM platform and became an important component in automated insulin-delivery partnerships. Dexcom has worked with insulin-pump and digital-health companies including Tandem Diabetes Care, Insulet, Companion Medical, Livongo, and Welldoc. These collaborations have connected CGM data with insulin pumps, smart pens, chronic-care platforms, and diabetes-management software. Dexcom’s G7, cleared by the FDA in December 2022, represents a newer generation of the company’s mainstream CGM platform. The company has also expanded beyond traditional prescription CGM through Stelo, an over-the-counter glucose monitor intended for eligible adults who do not use insulin. Time recognized Stelo as one of its best inventions of 2024. Dexcom has continued to position its brand around accuracy, ease of use, interoperability, data sharing, and making glucose information more accessible to people living with diabetes. Dexcom became a publicly traded company in 2005 and trades on Nasdaq under the symbol DXCM. It was added to the Nasdaq-100 in April 2020. Its global headquarters and research-and-development center are in San Diego, with manufacturing operations reported in Mesa, Arizona; Batu Kawan, Malaysia; and Athenry, County Galway, Ireland. The company operates internationally and has also established Dexcom Ventures, an investment arm focused on emerging CGM, analyte-sensing, medical-device, and medical-device cybersecurity technologies.

Dexcom was founded in 1999 by Scott Glenn, John Burd, Lauren Otsuki, Ellen Preston, and Bret Megargel to develop continuous glucose monitoring technology. The company’s central innovation was to make glucose information available repeatedly through a wearable sensor rather than relying exclusively on periodic finger-stick testing. Dexcom became publicly traded in 2005, establishing access to capital for regulatory development, manufacturing, and commercialization. The first major regulatory milestone came in 2006, when the FDA cleared the Dexcom STS Continuous Glucose Monitoring System. The STS used a three-day sensor and was designed to provide up to 288 glucose measurements over a 24-hour period. In 2007, Dexcom received approval for the Seven system. Its sensor could be used for up to seven days and improved accuracy compared with the earlier platform. During 2008, Dexcom announced development relationships with Insulet, Animas, and Edwards Lifesciences. These agreements reflected an early strategy of extending CGM beyond a standalone monitor into insulin delivery and hospital applications. Dexcom received FDA approval for the Seven Plus in February 2009, and the product obtained a CE mark later that year. The company continued to develop partnerships and platform integrations, although its development work for integration with Insulet was discontinued in 2013. In parallel, Dexcom expanded its own product family. The G4 Platinum received FDA and European approvals in 2012 for adults. It offered a color display, longer transmission range, and improved performance in detecting low glucose. The FDA expanded its use to people aged two to seventeen in 2014. In 2015, the G4 Platinum with Share enabled users to transmit data to designated followers through Dexcom’s Share and Follow applications. The G5 generation moved Dexcom further toward smartphone-based monitoring. In 2015, the FDA cleared the G5 as a standalone CGM and its transmitter incorporated Bluetooth connectivity, allowing readings to be sent directly to compatible mobile devices. The system also received European certification that year. Dexcom entered a non-exclusive agreement with Tandem Diabetes Care in 2015 to support integration of the G5 and future G6 systems with Tandem insulin pumps. Dexcom also partnered with Google Life Sciences, later associated with Verily, on development work connected with the future G7 platform. The G6 received FDA approval in 2018 and became a key platform for connected diabetes care. Its data was integrated into insulin-delivery and digital-health ecosystems. Tandem’s Control-IQ technology, authorized in 2019, used Dexcom G6 readings with the t:slim X2 insulin pump to adjust insulin delivery in response to glucose levels. Dexcom also announced collaborations with Companion Medical, Livongo, Welldoc, and Insulet. These relationships connected CGM data with smart insulin pens, chronic-care services, digital coaching, and tubeless insulin delivery. A 2020 agreement with Insulet supported integration with the company’s Omnipod Horizon automated insulin-delivery system. Dexcom was added to the Nasdaq-100 in April 2020. In early 2021, it created Dexcom Ventures to invest in emerging CGM and analyte-monitoring technologies, as well as relevant medical-device software and cybersecurity. The company received FDA clearance for the G7 in December 2022. The G7 continued the company’s emphasis on compact wearable hardware, connected data, and simplified user experience. Dexcom later broadened its addressable market with Stelo, an over-the-counter glucose monitor for eligible adults who do not use insulin. In 2024, Stelo was recognized by Time as one of the year’s best inventions, and Dexcom announced a strategic data partnership with Oura. Dexcom’s global headquarters and research center remain in San Diego. Its reported manufacturing footprint includes Mesa, Arizona; Batu Kawan, Malaysia; and Athenry, Ireland. The company’s history reflects the wider development of CGM from a specialist clinical tool into a connected consumer-facing and data-enabled platform used alongside insulin pumps, smart pens, mobile applications, and digital-care services.

1. 2024Stelo is recognized by Time

   Time names Dexcom Stelo among its best inventions of the year.

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2. 2022G7 receives FDA approval

   The FDA clears the Dexcom G7 as a standalone CGM system.

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3. 2021Dexcom Ventures is established

   The company launches a venture arm focused on glucose monitoring, analyte sensing, medical devices, and related software security.

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4. 2020Dexcom joins the Nasdaq-100

   Dexcom becomes a component of the Nasdaq-100 index.

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5. 2018G6 receives FDA approval

   The G6 becomes Dexcom’s next major connected CGM platform.

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6. 2016G5 receives standalone FDA approval

   The G5 is approved for standalone use, with Bluetooth enabling direct transmission to compatible mobile devices.

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7. 2015Dexcom expands connected-care partnerships

   Dexcom signs an integration agreement with Tandem Diabetes Care and announces development work with Google Life Sciences.

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8. 2012G4 Platinum reaches the market

   The G4 Platinum receives FDA and European approvals for adult use and adds improvements in accuracy, transmission range, and display technology.

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9. 2009Seven Plus receives regulatory clearance

   The FDA approves the Seven Plus, which later receives a CE mark.

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10. 2007Dexcom Seven is approved

    The Seven system extends sensor use to as much as seven days and improves accuracy.

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11. 2006FDA approval of the Dexcom STS

    The FDA clears Dexcom’s first commercial CGM, a three-day sensor system.

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12. 2005Dexcom becomes publicly traded

    Dexcom completes its public-market transition and trades under the ticker DXCM.

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13. 1999Dexcom is founded

    Scott Glenn, John Burd, Lauren Otsuki, Ellen Preston, and Bret Megargel establish Dexcom to develop continuous glucose monitoring technology.

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A premium, technology-led CGM specialist emphasizing accuracy, real-time glucose visibility, connected care, interoperability, and user-friendly diabetes management.

• Dexcom STSContinuous glucose monitoring system2006

  Dexcom’s first major commercial CGM system, cleared by the FDA in 2006. It used a three-day sensor and provided repeated glucose measurements during the day and night, establishing the product architecture that would define Dexcom’s later systems.

• Dexcom SevenContinuous glucose monitoring system2007

  The second-generation Dexcom system, approved in 2007. It extended sensor wear from three to seven days and improved accuracy, making longer-duration monitoring a central part of Dexcom’s product proposition.

• Dexcom Seven PlusContinuous glucose monitoring system2009

  An updated version of the Seven platform approved by the FDA in 2009. It continued Dexcom’s development of wearable glucose sensing before the company transitioned to the G-series products.

• Dexcom G4 PlatinumContinuous glucose monitoring system2012

  The G4 Platinum introduced a color receiver, longer transmission range, and improved low-glucose accuracy. Its approval was later expanded to pediatric users, and the G4 Platinum with Share added remote data sharing through Dexcom’s connected applications.

• Dexcom G5Connected continuous glucose monitoring system2015

  The G5 brought integrated Bluetooth connectivity to Dexcom’s CGM platform. Its transmitter could send readings directly to compatible mobile devices, supporting use without the standalone receiver and enabling broader software and insulin-delivery integrations.

• Dexcom G6Connected continuous glucose monitoring system2018

  Approved in 2018, the G6 is a connected CGM system that sends glucose readings and trend information to compatible receivers, phones, and digital-health platforms. It became a widely used data source for automated insulin-delivery collaborations, including Tandem’s Control-IQ ecosystem.

• Dexcom G7Continuous glucose monitoring system2022

  The G7 is Dexcom’s next-generation mainstream CGM platform. FDA-cleared in December 2022, it continues the brand’s focus on wearable sensing, real-time readings, mobile connectivity, trend information, and integration with diabetes-management tools.

• Dexcom G7 15-DayExtended-wear continuous glucose monitoring system

  An extended-wear G7 variant described as the most accurate currently approved CGM in the United States in the supplied reference material. It is intended to lengthen sensor use while retaining the G7 connected-monitoring experience.

• Dexcom SteloOver-the-counter glucose monitor2024

  Dexcom’s over-the-counter glucose-monitoring product for eligible adults who do not use insulin. Stelo extends the company’s glucose-sensing proposition beyond its traditional prescription CGM audience and was recognized by Time in 2024.

• 2024Expansion into over-the-counter glucose monitoringProduct launch

  Dexcom sought to reach eligible adults outside the traditional prescription CGM market.

  What changed. It introduced Stelo as an over-the-counter glucose monitor for adults who do not use insulin.

  Aftermath. The product expanded Dexcom’s consumer-facing proposition and received recognition from Time as a notable invention of 2024.

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• 2022FDA clearance of Dexcom G7Product launch

  Dexcom needed to update its core CGM platform as the market moved toward smaller, simpler, and more connected wearable sensors.

  What changed. The FDA cleared the G7 for standalone use.

  Aftermath. G7 became Dexcom’s next-generation flagship platform and continued the company’s emphasis on mobile connectivity and real-time glucose trends.

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• 2021Launch of Dexcom VenturesStrategy

  Dexcom identified opportunities in next-generation glucose monitoring, measurement of other analytes, medical devices, and device software security.

  What changed. The company created Dexcom Ventures as a venture-capital arm for investments in emerging technologies.

  Aftermath. The initiative broadened Dexcom’s involvement in the wider sensing and connected-medical-device ecosystem.

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• 2020Global Insulet integration agreementStrategy

  Dexcom and Insulet pursued interoperability between CGM systems and Insulet’s tubeless insulin-delivery platform.

  What changed. The companies signed a non-exclusive global agreement covering current and future Dexcom CGM systems and Insulet’s Omnipod Horizon system.

  Aftermath. The agreement was intended to support automated insulin delivery through CGM-informed dosing and smartphone-based control.

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• 2015Tandem insulin-pump integration agreementStrategy

  Dexcom sought to extend CGM data into insulin-delivery systems and connected diabetes care.

  What changed. It entered a non-exclusive agreement allowing Tandem Diabetes Care to integrate forthcoming Dexcom G5 and G6 systems with its insulin pumps.

  Aftermath. The relationship supported later connected and automated insulin-delivery offerings, including Tandem Control-IQ using Dexcom G6 data.

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• 2024Time recognizes Dexcom Stelo as a best invention

  Time included Dexcom’s Stelo over-the-counter glucose monitor in its annual list of notable inventions.

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• 2024Dexcom and Oura announce a strategic partnership

  Dexcom announced a partnership and data exchange with Oura, linking CGM information with the smart-ring company’s health data ecosystem.

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• 2022FDA clears the Dexcom G7

  The FDA authorized the G7 as a standalone continuous glucose monitoring system, extending Dexcom’s next-generation CGM platform.

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• 2021Dexcom launches Dexcom Ventures

  The company established a venture-capital arm focused on emerging glucose-monitoring, analyte-sensing, medical-device, and related cybersecurity technologies.

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• 2020Dexcom becomes a Nasdaq-100 component

  Dexcom joined the Nasdaq-100 index, replacing American Airlines Group.

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1. Dexcom
2. Dexcom official website