Diabetes sufferers in Africa will soon have access to cheaper insulin.

Following the signing of a manufacturing deal between Denmark’s Novo Nordisk and South Africa’s Aspen Pharmacare, about 16 million vials of insulin will be manufactured annually at Aspen’s sterile facility in Gqeberha, reaching an estimated 1.1 million people with type 1 and 2 diabetes. About 250 staff will be deployed for the production, which will begin next year.

Moneyweb reports that in terms of the contract, the insulin will be provided to African health authorities and non-profit organisations through a low-cost tender system, which will cap the price per vial at US$3.

According to Novo, by 2026 the amount of insulin produced will equate to the yearly consumption of 4.1 million people across the continent.

‘Especially in lower and middle income countries, diabetes is fundamentally a tragedy,’ said Katrine DiBona, Novo’s corporate vice-president for global public affairs and sustainability.

26 September 2023
Image: rawpixel.com/Freepik