Shantha Constructs Insulin Facility in India

Shantha, a Sanofi Company, began construction of an insulin manufacturing facility near Hyderabad, India, the company announced in a Jan. 29, 2015 press release. The facility is located in Muppireddipalli, in the state of Telangana, and will help address local and international demand. Sanofi's existing plant for its Insuman branded product is in Frankfurt, Germany. Sanofi will invest INR 460 crores (nearly 75 million USD) in the facility in India, and the site should be fully operational by 2019.

“I am delighted that Sanofi has decided to manufacture Insuman insulin in Telangana state, so that it helps the 65 million diabetics in India have better access to affordable insulin," said Honourable Chief Minister Shri K Chandrashekar Rao, according to the press release. "We are shortly going to launch a new industrial policy that will fast track projects and make Telangana one of the most favored destinations, for investments, in the world.”

“Laying the foundation stone for the Insuman insulin manufacturing site is an important milestone in our journey, at Shantha, to improve public health in India," said Harish Iyer, CEO of Shantha Biotechnics, in the press release. "For the first time, we will be able to manufacture insulin, in cartridges, here. The new high technology facility will benefit from our existing biotechnology production expertise. This state-of-the-art facility will have the capability to ramp up manufacturing volumes to 60 million Insuman cartridges per year, within two to three years of commercial manufacturing.”