Shantha Biotechnics building insulin production facility

Hyderabad: Shantha Biotechnics Pvt. Ltd on Thursday began building a facility to manufacture Insuman, an insulin product to treat diabetes.

French pharmaceutical company Sanofi SA, which acquired Shantha Biotechnics in 2009 through its vaccines division, Sanofi Pasteur SA, is investing Rs.460 crore to build the facility that, at full capacity, will produce 60 million Insuman cartridges annually, company executives said.

The plant located at Muppireddipalli in Medak district in Telangana will be Sanofi’s second Insuman factory globally after the one in Frankfurt. The new facility, spread over 13,400 sq. m, will be fully operational by 2019, according to the company.

“By setting up a manufacturing site at Shantha Biotechnics for our diabetes product Insuman, Sanofi is a front runner in its endeavour of addressing the growing epidemic of diabetes in India, ” Shailesh Ayyangar, managing director (India) and vice-president (South Asia) of Sanofi, said in a statement.

Diabetes is a prominent non-communicable disease affecting close to 382 million people around the world. India alone accounts for over 65 million cases, according to data from International Diabetes Federation. The number of people with diabetes in India is expected to rise to 109 million by 2035, Belgium-based International Diabetes Federation estimates.

Shantha Biotechnics said the new facility will address local as well as international demand for Insuman human insulin that treats type 1 and type 2 diabetes. An estimated 42 million diabetes patients depend on insulin in India, according to International Diabetes Federation.

Sanofi purchased majority stake in Shantha Biotechnics from a subsidiary of French bio-industrial group, Merieux Alliance, valuing the Hyderabad-based company at $783 million.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.