Biocon launches insulin pen, fully 'made in India' from new device plant

Biocon has begun commercial manufacturing at its Bangalore devices facility to support the launch of its insulin pen product, Basalog One.

Indian Government officials were among the attendees at the inauguration of the device facility yesterday, as Biocon officially launched its once-a-day insulin glargine prefilled pen product Basalog One.

Manufacture of the drug-device has already begun at the 100,000 sq ft site, a Biocon spokesperson told in-Pharmatechnologist.com, and the product will be available in India from next week.

“Biocon’s Basalog One, a long acting basal insulin glargine presented as an innovative, pre-filled pen, is the first product to roll out of this facility,” a Biocon spokesperson told in-Pharmatechnologist.com, adding the product will be “competitively priced when compared to comparable products available in the Indian market” when it becomes available next week.

Biocon introduced a reusable insulin pen to India in 2011, but this combo becomes the first such product for the Indian market to be made entirely within India.

The device being made at the site uses a 3 ml cartridge and was designed in collaboration with Becton Dickinson (BD), while the insulin glargine - the drug substance for Basalog One – is also manufactured by Biocon in Bangalore.

The product is being priced at 749 Rupees ($11.3) and according to Biocon is competitively priced when compared to comparable products available in the Indian market.”

The global insulin delivery devices market is set to reach $14.1bn in the next five years according to Biocon, which told us while Basalog One is launching in India, it is already eyeing markets further afield.

As we expand our reach in global markets to provide access to affordable diabetes therapy options, Basalog One will form a significant part of our offering to people with diabetes in different parts of the world.”