STAFF CORRESPONDENT

For millions of people living with diabetes in Bangladesh, insulin could soon become more affordable and easier to access, as Eskayef Pharmaceuticals Ltd has begun producing modern penfill cartridges in partnership with Danish company Novo Nordisk.

To that end, Eskayef has entered a technology transfer arrangement with Novo Nordisk, which supplies roughly 40 percent of Bangladesh’s insulin demand, marking a shift from reliance on imports.

The price of the locally manufactured products, expected to hit the market from next month, will be 18 percent lower than imported ones, while maintaining the same quality standards, officials said.

“Today’s event is a step forward …. It is a new start for our country,” Health Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain said at the launching event of the initiative at a city hotel yesterday.

“It demonstrated that ‘we can’,” the minister said, hailing the collaboration between the two companies.

The world’s largest producer of insulin, Novo Nordisk has been supplying Bangladesh with NovoMix and NovoRapid insulin products for more than two decades through shipments from its global manufacturing sites.

The penfill cartridges of NovoMix and NovoRapid are small pre-filled insulin containers used in injection pens, allowing patients to take more precise and convenient doses compared to traditional vial-and-syringe methods.

Under the new arrangement, these cartridges will be produced locally by Eskayef using Novo Nordisk’s technology and manufacturing processes, aligned with international standards. Each batch will also be verified in Denmark to ensure compliance with the company’s global quality requirements.

Currently, more than 14 million patients in the country are living with diabetes and the burden continues to increase, creating an urgent need for local capacity, officials said.

Simeen Rahman, group CEO of Eskayef owner Transcom Limited, described the initiative as marking “a proud milestone”.

“This achievement is the result of years of commitment, precision and collaboration,” she said, adding that Eskayef has invested over $30 million (around Tk 370 crore) in this project.

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