Novo Nordisk to provide discounted insulin to poorest nations

pharmafile | September 23, 2016 | News story | Medical Communications, Sales and Marketing |  Novo Nordisk, diabetes, insulin 

Danish pharma firm Novo Nordisk has announced its intention to provide insulin at discounted prices to the world’s poorest nations as part of its “access to insulin commitment.”

“We guarantee that we will provide low-priced human insulin to ensure access to quality treatments for patients in the poorest parts of the world for many years to come,” the company said in a statement. “It is our ambition to continue being the leading supplier of low-priced human insulin in the world. We wish to provide affordable insulin treatment to significantly more patients in developing countries, and we are committed to passing on possible future gains in production efficiency to patients.”

Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Sorensen, who is stepping down at the end of the year, made a statement on the commitment as part of a panel discussion during the UN General Assembly on growing rates of non-communicable diseases among vulnerable populations. He explained that the programme would provide vials of the human insulin for no more than $4 in 2017, “which would ensure that the treatment cost per day for an individual would be anywhere between 10 and 15 cents a day.” He committed to the programme being in place for ten years.

Of the 415 million people suffering from diabetes worldwide, the majority live in middle and low-income nations, and an estimated 50 million do not have access to insulin.

Matt Fellows