Novo Nordisk, Indonesia's Bio Farma sign deal to package insulin
JAKARTA (Reuters) -Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk has signed a deal with Indonesia's state-owned pharmaceutical company Bio Farma to package insulin to combat diabetes in the Southeast Asian country, a Bio Farma senior official said on Wednesday.
Novo Nordisk has made international news in recent months for its popular diabetes drug Ozempic and is known for being one of the world's biggest producers of insulin.
Novo Nordisk said in its 2023 annual report that the company has been expanding efforts to address diabetes care in Asia, increasing enrolments of children in India, Indonesia and other countries in one programme.
A company spokesperson said the memorandum of understanding is related to the packaging of insulin in Indonesia, not the production of it in the country. Novo produces insulin itself in Denmark and the United States, the spokesperson added.
The investment value or when production will start are still being finalised, Soleh Ayubi, Bio Farma's deputy chief executive officer, told Reuters, adding this is the first of Novo Nordisk's manufacturing deals in Indonesia.
Novo Nordisk will provide the "expertise in diabetes treatment and insulin production" while Bio Farma will provide local manufacturing facilities, Bio Farma said in a statement.
Sreerekha Sreenivasan, vice president and general manager of Novo Nordisk in Indonesia, said in the same statement the deal "strengthens our commitment in Indonesia."
There are over 19 million Indonesians with diabetes or 10.8% of its total adult population of nearly 180 million people, 2021 data from the International Diabetes Federation shows.
(Reporting by Stanley Widianto; editing by Alexandra Hudson)
