Biocon aims to be the global leader in insulin business

Looks to capture 20 per cent of world market in five years as global majors are exiting category.

Bengaluru-based biopharmaceuticals major Biocon Limited aspires to be the global leader in the insulin business in the next five years as all the big insulin companies want to get out of the category and focus on GLP-1 drugs, said Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairperson of Biocon Group.

“The big companies want to exit the insulin business. They want to make insulin only in vials and GLP-1s. Nobody wants to make insulin in pens and cartridges. We are the only company to make insulin in pens and cartridges,” she told visiting mediapersons at Biocon’s research and manufacturing facilities, here.

She added that Biocon was the first company to be approved for the interchangeable insulin. “Insulin technology is a very special technology. We developed our own technology when many people told us that we will fail. But we followed our process and got success,” she said.

Biocon is also the only company in the world with two interchangeable insulins. “It is not just bio-similar, it is bio-identical,” she said. 

Mazumdar-Shaw said Biocon is witnessing huge demand for its insulin and is expanding its insulin capacities. “It is an essential life-saving medicine for many people. We will continue to expand capacities,” she added.

Globally, approximately 537 million adults (20-79 years) were living with diabetes in 2021, and this number is expected to rise to 643 million by 2030, and 783 million by 2045. Biocon has emerged as the third-largest supplier by biologic volume of both rh-Insulin and Insulin Glargine worldwide. 

The global cost of diabetes for 2019 was estimated at $760 billion, accounting for 1-8 per cent of the global GDP, and this number is expected to rise.

Biocon has a significant presence in the US market and currently one in five insulin-dependent patients in the US use Biocon’s insulin. It aims to capture similar market size world over, including India. “Our aim is to achieve 20 per cent market share in the global insulin market,” Shreehas Tambe, CEO and MD of Biocon told DH.

Mazumdar-Shaw said Biocon has approvals across 80 countries for its insulin and it plans to expand. “We have identified 20 emerging markets as growth markets. Our aspiration is to tap one in five insulin-dependent patients in the next five years,” she added.

In 2004, Biocon pioneered the development of a recombinant human insulin using its proprietary Pichia pastoris platform. Biocon offers a portfolio of regular, long-acting, and rapid-acting insulins. 

New products

Biocon is also gearing up to launch five new products in the market this year. It has already developed three new products for launch shortly. 

“We are partnering with local companies in the US, India and other parts of the world. Overall, when we include manufacturing alliances along with our own integrated facilities, we have enough facilities,” Mazumdar-Shaw
added.

Tambe said diabetes cases are projected to grow by 45 per cent over the next 10 years and touch 850 million.

Biocon aims to focus on three major areas — oncology, diabetes, and immunology.