The Glucose Sensor That Predicts the Future with Mark Tapsak

In this episode, Henry Norton sits down with Mark Tapsak, Chief Science Officer at Glucotrack and one of Dexcom's earliest employees.

Mark Tapsak left Medtronic for a "crazy startup" called Dexcom after seeing data so compelling he couldn't say no. Two decades later, he's back in the CGM game as Chief Science Officer at Glucotrack, working on a 3-year implantable sensor that lives in the bloodstream.

Key Topics:

• Mark's path from blue-collar Minnesota to polymer chemistry PhD

• The founding days of Dexcom and the "three fathers" of CGM (Goff, Updike, Heller)

• Why early CGM struggled to convince endocrinologists of continuous data's value

• Dexcom's pivot from implantable to short-term sensors

• Glucotrack's evolution from non-invasive ear clip to intravascular 3-year sensor

• Current trial progress in Brazil and Australia, and the path to US IDE

Related Insights:

• Why implanting devices in the body is "harder than going to the moon"

• The business case for long-term implantables vs. wearables

• How the immune response creates a "sleep period" that tanks glucose signals

• Why timing and market readiness matter as much as technology

Core Challenges:

• Early CGM implantables worked in only ~50% of patients, forcing a pivot to wearables and delaying long-term solutions by decades.

• Glucotrack is now targeting a 3-year intravascular sensor that bypasses the aggressive subcutaneous immune response, with US trials expected in 2026.

🎧 Tune in now to hear how CGM went from academic curiosity to medical device success story, and what comes next.

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