The ascent of Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) and Flash Glucose Monitoring (FGM) technology represents the most significant structural challenge to the traditional European blood glucose test strip market. These systems, which allow users to measure interstitial glucose levels continuously or frequently without a finger prick, have dramatically improved the quality of life and clinical outcomes for many patients, particularly those with Type 1 diabetes. The clinical benefits—specifically the reduction in Hypoglycemia and improved Time In Range (TIR)—have led to increasing pressure on European health systems to grant widespread reimbursement for CGM/FGM, a trend that accelerated significantly between 2020 and 2023. In countries like the UK, where the NHS has rapidly expanded access, this has inevitably led to a decreased frequency of traditional strip use among the highest-testing patient cohorts.

However, the impact is not a wholesale replacement but a segmentation of the market. While CGM reduces the volume of strips needed for intensive monitoring, it has not rendered them obsolete. Strips remain necessary for initial sensor accuracy checks and, critically, for confirming hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia when a patient’s symptoms do not align with their sensor reading, a safety measure that is strongly recommended by clinical guidelines. Furthermore, the economic reality means that the significantly higher cost of CGM/FGM sensors means that many European health budgets prioritize their use for Type 1 patients, leaving the vast, growing population of Type 2 patients—estimated to be over 90% of all diabetics—to rely primarily on the more affordable, reimbursed test strips. Thus, while the market is evolving, the sustained need for traditional strips across this massive patient group stabilizes the overall volume. This resilience is clearly documented in reports detailing the Test strip manufacturing standards Europe and their impact on market quality.

The future of the strip market is closely linked to the speed and breadth of CGM reimbursement. If governments like those in Italy or Poland expand CGM access to all insulin-using Type 2 patients, the decline in strip volume will accelerate. In response, strip manufacturers are focusing on two core strategies: first, offering lower-cost, high-volume products aimed squarely at the non-insulin-using Type 2 demographic; and second, developing niche, high-accuracy strips specifically designed for critical hospital settings or as a robust backup for sensor users. Therefore, the European market is transforming into a bifurcated landscape: one characterized by high-cost, high-tech sensors for intensive management, and the other by high-volume, cost-effective test strips serving the vast majority of diabetic patients across the continent.

People Also Ask

  1. What is the main reason CGM has not entirely replaced test strips?

The main reasons are the high cost of CGM systems, which limits reimbursement to only certain patient groups, and the clinical requirement for strips as a backup and confirmation tool for sensor readings.

  1. Which patient group is most affected by the rise of CGM?

Patients with Type 1 diabetes are the most affected, as they benefit most from continuous data and require frequent testing, making them the primary target for CGM reimbursement policies.

  1. How do European clinical guidelines view the use of test strips with CGM?

Clinical guidelines typically mandate that patients keep test strips available for confirmatory testing during times of rapidly changing glucose levels or when symptoms do not match the sensor reading, emphasizing their safety role.

  1. Which European countries have the highest CGM adoption rates?

Western European countries like Germany, the Netherlands, and increasingly the UK, have the highest CGM adoption rates due to favorable public health reimbursement policies.

  1. What is the strategic response of test strip manufacturers to CGM?

Manufacturers are focusing on low-cost, high-volume strips for the Type 2 market and on developing advanced strips for use in critical care or integrated with connected digital health ecosystems.