Drugmakers look to fill ₹600 cr Novo vacuum

Danish firm to exit human insulin pen market by year-end

- SANKET KOUL

Indian drugmakers Eris Lifesciences, Wockhardt and Lupin are prepping to cash in when Danish company Novo Nordisk bows out of the human insulin pen market by the end of this year and creates an opportunity estimated to be worth ₹600-800 crore in the domestic market.

Some self-use disposable pens are pre-filled with insulin and others can be reused with new cartridges. Human insulin in vials has to be administered through conventional syringes.

While Novo is phasing out Penfill and FlexPen in India, its human insulin portfolio (Mixtard, Actrapid and Insulatard) will continue to be available in the vial form.

Ahmedabad-based Eris Life-sciences is positioning itself to capture Novo's market share with pen-fills from November or December this year once its Bhopal facility is commissioned in the fourth quarter of FY26.