An estimated 50 million people who suffer from diabetes lack access to insulin
By Bill Berkrot
NEW YORK, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk A/S pledged on Wednesday to provide insulin at steeply discounted prices in the world's least-developed nations in what it is calling its "access to insulin commitment."
The company, which produces almost half of the world's insulin, said the guarantee applied to Least Developed Countries as defined by the United Nations, other low-income nations as defined by the World Bank, and selected organizations providing relief in humanitarian situations.
"We guarantee that we will provide low-priced human insulin to ensure access to quality treatments for patients in the poorest parts of the world for many years to come," the company said in a statement.
Novo Nordisk Chief Executive Officer Lars Sorensen made the announcement while taking part in a panel discussion during the U.N. General Assembly on growing rates of non-communicable diseases among vulnerable populations.
The cost of a vial of the human insulin in 2017 under the program would be no more than $4, "which would ensure that the treatment cost per day for an individual would be anywhere between 10 and 15 cents a day," Sorensen said in an interview.
That amounts to less than 20 percent of the cost in developed countries.
Sorensen, who has been with the company for 34 years and been CEO since 2000, is stepping down at the end of the year but will work for Novo Nordisk's charitable foundation.
He pledged that the human insulin program for poor nations would be in place for "at least 10 years."
By then, Sorensen said, more modern insulin products would have become available as cheaper generics. "So I don't want to necessarily be committed to having to provide human insulin because then they might as well get the better version," he said.
More than 400 million people suffer from diabetes worldwide, while an estimated 50 million lack access to insulin, the company said. If not properly controlled, diabetes can lead to a wide range of serious health complications.
(Reporting by Bill Berkrot; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Peter Cooney)
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