The Hindu Business Line : Wockhardt launches long acting insulin

Wockhardt has launched its version of recombinant long acting human insulin analogue, Glaritus, at a price less than the original product from innovator company Sanofi Aventis.

The new product would make the Mumbai-based drug maker the first company to globally make a similar version of the advanced product that works for over 24 hours, Wockhardt said.

Wockhardt has priced its Glaritus at Rs 435 compared with the innovator’s product priced at about Rs 484, a company official said.

Wockhardt’s product, administered through a pen form device, is priced at Rs 450, compared with the innovator’s product at Rs 1,200 and its product delivered through the disposable pen is priced at Rs 585, compared with the innovator’s Rs 884, the official added.

Glaritus has been clinically tested on 300 diabetic patients for safety and efficacy parameters and is approved by the Drug Controller General of India, the company added. The product will be manufactured at Wockhardt’s biotech park in Aurangabad.

With India being the diabetes capital of the world, the launch of a low-cost product is welcome, said a leading endocrinologist. But since the product is a bio-similar, a segment that is still evolving, safety and efficacy issues need to be established and validated, he observed.

The advantage of the product is that it is administered once a day and it provides basal glucose control over 24 hours. It can also be combined with other oral medications of diabetes for effective blood glucose control, the note added.

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