The Health Ministry has awarded Duopharma Biotech Bhd more than RM225 million in insulin supply contracts, with long-time partner Biocon Limited supplying the products from its Johor manufacturing facility, The Star reported.
Duopharma’s wholly owned subsidiary, Duopharma (M) Sdn Bhd, was awarded the contracts, which cover recombinant human insulin, insulin glargine, and insulin aspart for public healthcare facilities across the country.
According to a statement from the pharmaceutical company, the contracts include a three-year agreement worth approximately RM155.27 million for recombinant human insulin, as well as two separate two-year contracts worth approximately RM18 million for insulin glargine and RM52.5 million for insulin aspart.
Under the terms of the agreements, Biocon’s Malaysian subsidiary, Biocon Sdn Bhd, will supply the insulin products to Duopharma’s wholly owned subsidiary, Duopharma (M).
The companies stated that the collaboration is consistent with the government’s goals under the 13th Malaysia Plan (RMK-13) and the New Industrial Master Plan 2030 (NIMP 2030) to improve healthcare resilience and ensure a steady supply of essential medicines.
Duopharma group chief executive officer Wan Amir-Jeffery Wan Abdul Majid said the latest awards marked a decade of collaboration between the two companies and underscored the importance of strengthening domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing capabilities.
“It is more critical than ever to have robust domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity to safeguard patient access to essential medicines, strengthening national medicine security and achieving healthcare self-reliance for the country” he said.
Meanwhile, Biocon’s CEO and Managing Director, Shreehas Tambe, stated that Malaysia has been central to the company’s insulin business for more than a decade, thanks to its integrated insulin manufacturing facility in Johor, which it describes as Asia’s largest.
“Our Johor operations enable us to deliver insulin at scale, expanding patient access in Malaysia and around the world. This reinforces our strategy to address growing healthcare needs while advancing our mission of making life-changing medicines affordable and accessible to patients everywhere.”
Joe Sian, site head at Biocon Sdn Bhd, stated that the collaboration with Duopharma has helped to increase access to insulin therapies in Malaysia, where an estimated 4.75 million people suffer from diabetes.
