Square plans to export insulin

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Square plans to export insulin

Star Business Report

Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd plans to export insulin as it started producing and marketing the drug for the local market last month.

Ahmed Kamrul Alam, assistant general manager of the leading drug maker, said his company would serve diabetics with its new product — Ansulin — at a cost that is 22 percent less than that of the imported ones.

“We hope to keep the expensive drug within the reach of our patients,” he said.

The market size for insulin is over Tk 120 crore, of which around 80 percent are imported, according to industry insiders.

“Our unit will increase the share of local production by at least 10 percent, which will eventually reduce dependency on imported items,” said Alam.

Square holds a 20 percent share of the local market, and exports its medicines to more than 35 countries.

Square is the third company to produce insulin locally with Tk 92 crore in investment.

The company formally opened its insulin unit at Kaliakoir in Gazipur on April 28, and the factory has been built complying with the regulations of US Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency.

The plant manufactures insulin products using highly purified recombinant human insulin crystals in its formulation with different dosage types for covering a full spectrum of short, intermediate and long acting insulin.

“We have imported machinery of Modular Aseptic Compact (monoblock) system, which ensures precise and sterile production using a consolidated filling platform, with zero tolerance for cross contamination in manufacturing,” Alam added.

At present, according to statistics of Diabetic Association of Bangladesh, around 6.5 million people in the country have diabetes.