Egypt signed a collaboration on Wednesday with the American pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly to manufacture analogue insulin for diabetes in Egypt and to deliver a sustainable supply of insulin in low- to middle-income countries, according to the Egyptian
The American company will supply its active pharmaceutical ingredient API to Egypt’s EVA pharma to manufacture insulin at a significantly reduced price, the statement said.
Eli Lilly will also provide a technology transfer to enable EVA Pharma to formulate, fill and finish insulin vials and cartridges, setting up the company to be a trusted manufacturer of these lifesaving products in Africa.
According to the statement, EVA Pharma expects to begin distribution of the African-made insulin products within 18 months and to reach 1 million people per year by 2030.
In November, Egyptian Minister of Heath and Population Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar announced that Egypt's Medical Union Pharmaceutical Company (MUP) was launching a new high-capacity production line for insulin, and that the country would begin exporting insulin to African countries as soon as it attains self-sufficiency.
The number of diabetics worldwide is 422 million, and is expected to reach 500 million by 2030, according to the World Health Organisation.
Seventeen percent of Egyptian adults aged 20 to 79 have diabetes, which means that Egypt ranks 9th among countries with the highest cases of diabetes. Egypt is expected to rise to the 8th rank by 2030.
Wed, Dec. 14, 2022
