Biocon Biologics Limited a subsidiary of Biocon Ltd announced that its subsidiary Biocon Sdn. Bhd. in Malaysia has been awarded a three-year contract, valued at USD 90 million* (MYR 375 million), for its recombinant human insulin brand Insugen®, by the Ministry of Health (MoH), Malaysia.
Biocon Sdn. Bhd. in Malaysia, will manufacture and supply its range of insulins to its partner Duopharma Marketing Sdn. Bhd. (DMktg), a subsidiary of Duopharma Biotech, a leading pharmaceutical & biotech company in Malaysia.Biocon Biologics’ Insugen formulations will be available to patients at all Ministry of Health hospitals, district health offices and health clinics.
Susheel Umesh, Chief Commercial Officer, Emerging Markets, Biocon Biologics, said: “We are pleased to renew our commitment to provide affordable access to our recombinant human insulin for people with diabetes in Malaysia through this new government contract. This will enable us to serve over 400,000 people with diabetes using recombinant human insulin, helping the government in its journey towards equitable access to diabetes care.”
Kiran Kumar Gandhirajan, Senior Vice President and Site Head, Biocon Sdn. Bhd., said: “We have been partnering with the Malaysian government since 2016 and have expanded access to life-saving insulin therapy for patients with diabetes. Since our entry to Malaysia in 2011, prices of human insulin have dropped over 20% and insulinization has also improved by 30%. As the only insulin manufacturer in Malaysia, we have been able to achieve insulin self-sufficiency and improved access while providing savings to our partner – MOH, Malaysia.”
The rh-Insulin formulations, Insugen-R, Insugen-N and Insugen-30/70, are manufactured at Biocon Sdn. Bhd.’s Johor facility and have been approved by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Authority (NPRA), Malaysia.
Biocon Biologics has created a Center of Excellence (CoE) for insulins in Malaysia with end-to-end capabilities to manufacture a broad portfolio of regular, basal and rapid insulins. The state-of-the-art insulins facility in Johor, is the first and only biopharmaceutical sterile injectables facility in Malaysia to receive U.S. FDA and EMA approval. More recently, Biocon’s biosimilar insulin Glargine made at Malaysia, has received a historic U.S. FDA approval as the ‘first interchangeable biosimilar’.
In September 2021, Biocon Biologics’ Basalog (biosimilar Insulin Glargine) was awarded a multi-ministry pooled tender worth USD 4.2 million* by MoH, Malaysia for a period two years, in order to address the needs of patients in Malaysia.
Through its scientifically validated, high quality human insulin and analog products manufactured at Malaysia, Biocon Biologics is providing affordable access to these life-saving therapies to patients in many developed markets like U.S., EU, Australia, as well as many emerging market countries in the Middle East and Latin America.
In Malaysia, besides addressing the needs of people with diabetes through its comprehensive rh-insulin portfolio of Insugen R, Insugen N and Insugen 30/70 cartridges and its Basalag One, Insulin Glargine prefilled pens, Biocon Biologics is also catering to the needs of cancer patients through its portfolio of oncology biosimilars, like Zuhera (Trastuzumab 440 mg) and Krabeva (Bevacizumab 100 mg and 400 mg). These products are also distributed in Malaysia by its partner Duopharma.
As a leading global insulins player, Biocon Biologics has provided over 2.75 billion doses of rh-Insulin to patients across the world. The Company is committed to expanding affordable access to high quality insulins for patients and enabling savings for the healthcare systems across the world.
