Lilly and IABL collaborate to supply high-quality affordable insulin in Bangladesh

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) will supply its low-cost active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) for human insulin to International Agencies Bangladesh Ltd. (IABL) to increase patient access and improve affordability for high-quality insulin for nearly one million diabetes patients in Bangladesh by 2030.

IABL will formulate, fill and finish human insulin vials and cartridges under its own trademark and brand name by 2025. The IABL-produced insulin will be exclusively for the Bangladesh market, reports Prnews.

"Lilly is committed to addressing the critical gaps in access to essential medicines for people living with diabetes in low- and middle-income countries," said Ilya Yuffa, president of Lilly International. "Through collaborations like this one with IABL, we are working to reduce barriers to access and ensure ongoing production and uninterrupted supply of insulin so that a greater number of patients can live healthier lives."  

Addressing the impact of diabetes has been at the heart of Lilly's purpose for more than a century. This is the second recent collaboration aimed at ensuring access to high quality, reduced cost insulin and improving diabetes care across the world. In December 2022, Lilly announced an agreement with EVA Pharma to enhance sustainable access to affordable insulin in 56 low- and middle-income countries, mostly in Africa. Both are part of Lilly's 30x30 initiative, which aims to improve access to quality healthcare for 30 million people living in limited-resource settings, annually, by 2030.

These collaborations are in line with the private sector asks in the World Health Organization's Global Diabetes Compact, a global initiative to support countries in implementing effective programs for the prevention and management of diabetes. Today, people with diabetes can also access more than 150 Lilly patient support programs across 51 countries, reaching close to two million people each year.

"We are very pleased that Lilly has made their world-class insulin crystals available to IABL so that we can manufacture and supply the highest quality insulin to people living with diabetes in Bangladesh," said Mr. Swapan Kumar Modak, managing director and CEO of IABL. "Local manufacturing of human insulins will help meet the insulin demand in Bangladesh and reduce the cost of diabetes treatment and disease complications."

According to the IDF Diabetes Atlas, 13.1 million people are living with diabetes in Bangladesh and this number is expected to increase to about 22.3 million by 2045. Through the Lilly 30x30 initiative, Lilly is active in Bangladesh in additional capacities, including nonprofit collaborations to help improve health outcomes for children and adolescents living with chronic, non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and to provide high-quality diabetes care and treatment for children with type 1 diabetes.

"This agreement has a remarkable potential to reach more patients with locally manufactured human insulins using Lilly's API and augment the company's Lilly 30X30 vision to transform communities and make life better for people around the world," said Vineet Gupta, associate vice president and managing director of Lilly India and alliances. "As a company, Lilly remains committed to delivering breakthrough outcomes for people with diabetes, including in resource-limited settings."

International Agencies (Bangladesh) Ltd. (IABL) group is one of the largest healthcare providers in Bangladesh.