The Hindu Business Line : Domestic companies fuelling growth in insulin segment

If the last two years saw new Indian players such as Wockhardt, Biocon and Shreya Biotech storm the multinational-dominated anti-diabetes bastion, the present sees local companies fuelling growth in this market.

About half a dozen companies are eyeing the local market on the back of bulk insulin produced by domestic companies, say industry representatives. At least three-to-six majors are in talks with Bangalore-based Biocon Ltd to source its bulk human recombinant insulin, an industry representative familiar with the development told Business Line. Biocon is said to be in discussions with companies such as USV, Ranbaxy and Zydus Cadila in this connection, the representative said.

An official with USV confirmed that they have begun buying bulk insulin from Biocon.

Earlier, the multinational company used to import its bulk, the official said. USV's insulin in India is sold under the brandname Human Mixact and its price has come down from about Rs 155 for a 10 ml vial to about Rs 135 now, following the local sourcing of input material, the official said.

Currently, about 80 per cent of insulin sold in the country comes from the multinational companies, Danish major Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly.

New entrants such as Biocon are estimated to have taken around five per cent of the Rs 220-crore market, industry representatives said.

While Biocon was unwilling to comment on the development, its Chairman and Managing Director, Ms Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, said Biocon aimed to have 25 per cent of the market in the next three years. Biocon, which launched its recombinant-human (r-human) insulin Insugen late last year, has a nine-year agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb to supply bulk insulin.

Ms Mazumdar-Shaw had earlier said Biocon was looking for tie-ups to expand its global insulin reach.

Earlier this year, a group company of Shreya Life Sciences — Shreya Biotech Pvt Ltd — said it was setting up a plant in Pune for the manufacture of r-human insulin, among other things.

Wockhardt, however, indicated that it was not outsourcing bulk insulin to other companies at this point in time.

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