The Hindu Business Line : Insulin prices have bottomed out, says Wockhardt chief

THE Chairman of Wockhardt Ltd, Mr Habil Khorakiwala, does not see any scope of insulin prices dropping any further. India is already the least-cost producer of insulin and "it is not possible to bring down the prices further," he said at a press conference here on Saturday.

The meeting was held to announce the launch of an insulin delivery device, a pen-like device that a patient can use for self-injection of insulin.

The pen costs Rs 1,099, slightly lower than similar imported devices, and the cartridge that contains the insulin costs Rs 169. In contrast, a vial of insulin containing the same quantity costs Rs 209, Mr Khorakiwala said.

He said that Wockhardt would start selling in Mexico, Brazil and South Africa through the units set up in those countries for marketing its products. The company's revenues from the bio-tech business (comprising insulin, hepatitis-B vaccine and erythropoietin ) will double to Rs 200 crore in 2006, Mr Khorakiwala said. He added that the company had achieved a breakthrough with Glargine, a long-acting insulin.

Wockhardt's officials said that the company proposed to invest around Rs 16 crore in upgrading its facilities at Wrexham in the UK. The upgradation will be useful in getting manufacturing jobs from European and US customers.

The company recently entered into a contract manufacturing agreement with US-based Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc for the development and commercial manufacture of a drug called Exenatide. Officials said that commercial supplies would start this year.

The company is scouting for acquisitions in Europe, for which it raised $100 million through an issue of zero-coupon foreign currency convertible bonds.

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