Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao and his cabinet team along with the Sanofi and Shantha leadership team
Shantha, a Sanofi Company, announced the laying of the foundation stone in Hyderabad, by Telangana's Honourable Chief Minister, K Chandrasekhar Rao, for a new production facility to manufacture Insuman, a leading human insulin product from Sanofi's range of diabetes treatments.
Sanofi will make an investment of INR 460 crore in this insulin facility. Located in Muppireddipalli (Telangana), the facility will be equipped with the latest technology to produce Insuman.
This will be Sanofi's second plant aside from the Company's existing Insuman manufacturing plant in Frankfurt.
The construction of the 13,400 square-meter building will begin immediately, with the site fully operational by 2019.
The Honourable Chief Minister, Shri K Chandrasekhar Rao welcomed the commitment towards health, technology transfer and job creation by Shantha in Telangana State.
Also, present on this special occasion, was Dr Varaprasad Reddy, the founder and chairman of Shantha Biotechnics.
Speaking on the occasion, Honourable Chief Minister, Shri K Chandrasekhar Rao said, "I am delighted that Sanofi has decided to manufacture Insuman insulin in Telangana state, so that it helps the 65 million diabetics in India have better access to affordable insulin. We are shortly going to launch a new Industrial policy that will fast track projects and make Telangana one of the most favored destinations, for investments, in the world."
Describing the significance of this project, Dr Harish Iyer, CEO, Shantha Biotechnics said, "Laying the foundation stone for the Insuman insulin manufacturing site is an important milestone in our journey at Shantha, to improve public health in India. For the first time, we will be able to manufacture insulin - in cartridges here. The new high technology facility will benefit from our existing biotechnology production expertise. This state-of-the-art facility will have the capability to ramp up manufacturing volumes to 60 million Insuman cartridges per year, within two to three years of commercial manufacturing."
While Sanofi's Frankfurt facility will continue to manufacture the human insulin, Insuman, Shantha Biotechnics' INR 460 crore facility will contribute towards addressing the local demand for Insuman.
Dr Shailesh Ayyangar, MD, India and VP, South Asia, Sanofi, said "By setting up a manufacturing site at Shantha Biotechnics for our diabetes product - Insuman,Sanofi is a front runner in its endeavor of addressing the growing epidemic of diabetes in India. Furthermore, the technology transfer and a successful collaborative effort within the Sanofi Group, underline our commitment to investing and 'Making in India'. We look forward to the successful 2/3 completion of the Insuman site construction, so that many more diabetic patients in India can have easier access to better disease management and quality of life."
Type 2 Diabetes is a prominent non communicable disease (NCD).
Globally, diabetes afflicts close to 382 million people with India alone accounting for over 65 million cases.
The number of people with diabetes in India is expected to rise to 109 million by 2035.
Out of the estimated 42 million patients on insulin in India, ~ 3.3 million patients are prescribed Regular Human Insulin (RHI) for diabetes management and control.
The local production of Insuman will thus enable patients in India get access to the best available therapeutic options in diabetes.
Post completion, the facility will operate with high performance work systems, which drive production efficiencies and save energy.
The facility is expected to meet local and international demand.
Insuman (human insulin) is used in people with diabetes (type 1 and type 2) who need treatment with insulin.
It is produced from rDNA technology in Sanofi laboratories ensuring quality and purity.
Insuman is licensed in 90 countries for use. Since its first introduction 17 years ago, more than 5 million patient-years with Insuman have been accumulated.
In clinical studies with Insuman, more than 1,500 patients have been included.
