Biocon Biologics, a subsidiary of Biocon announced that its subsidiary Biocon Sdn. Bhd. in Malaysia has been awarded a three-year contract, valued at US $ 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 by 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’.