Eli Lilly launches reusable insulin pen

Eli Lilly and Company India aims to be in the top-20 list of pharmaceutical companies in the nation by 2020, Eli Lilly India MD Edgard A. Olaizola told Business Line here on Tuesday.

The company will be bringing in all its diabetes products to the country, Olaizola said. It has launched a new reusable insulin pen, the HumaPen Savvio.

“India is an important market for us within the emerging markets. In an area like diabetes it is one of the largest markets with about 60 million patients.

As a company our vision is to be among the top 20 companies in India by 2020,” Olaizola said.

The HumaPen Savvio will be priced at Rs 1,000 in the retail market. It will also be provided free of cost to physicians for distribution to patients.

The pen will be co-promoted by the Lilly-Boehringer Ingelheim alliance in India.

According to Olaiza, the USP of this product — which he said resembled an accessory rather than a medical product — is that it allows patients to manage the disease discreetly, besides being smaller and having a shelf-life of up to six years.

He added that all the diabetes products launched worldwide will be brought to India also in the next few years.

It is estimated that the number of diabetics in India will go up to 100 million in 15 years.

“From a market point of view we have been growing in double digits in the past 3-4 years. Lilly India has been growing faster than the market,” he said.

The company is also present in segments such as osteoporosis, cardiovascular, oncology and growth hormones.

aesha.datta@thehidnu.co.in

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