Indian firm markets vegetarian insulin
An Indian drug company has launched
what it claims is Asia's first vegetarian
insulin.
The new insulin is derived from yeast,
as opposed to pigs or cows, as most insulin
in India is at present. The company which
has manufactured the drug, Wockhardt,
says that this type of insulin will also avoid
other viral infections such as BSE and CJD
associated with insulin derived from
animals.
Until now nearly 90% of the insulin
available on the Indian market was derived
from pigs or cows which are proscribed
respectively in the Muslim and Hindu communities.
Wockhardt says it has launched the
yeast-based insulin after 10 years of
research.
Company chairman Habil Khorakiwala
says: “This is a technology breakthrough
not for Wockhardt but for India.”
Insulin-dependent diabetes patients have
to use the drug for life and for that reason a
vegetarian variety is welcome in India,
which has the world's largest population of
diabetics.
But medical experts believe selling the
new product to an existing patient will not
be easy because switching over to the new
insulin might lead to complications. Most
insulin products currently on sale in India
are manufactured by foreign multinational
companies, but are assembled and packaged
in the country. This will be the first type of
insulin to be manufactured inside India.
Wockhardt has priced a 10-centilitre bottle
of the insulin at 130 rupees (nearly $3)
Other insulin products are available at
between $5 and $8 a bottle. But critics are
concerned that once the patients are dependent
on insulin the company might raise the
price.
The World Health Organisation predicts
that by 2025, the number of people suffering
from the disease in India will rise from 30m
to 57m.
(BBC, 5 Aug 2003)
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