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On-line Diabetes Resources

Part 12: Insulin Web Sites

By David Mendosa

Last Update: May 20, 2009

This Web page brings together in one place descriptions of and links to those Web pages of companies marketing medications for blood glucose control and certain complications of diabetes. In some cases, where company information is particularly sparse, it is augmented by information on other Web sites. This page is also linked to the 15 other On-line Diabetes Resources pages dealing with other Web pages, other parts of the Internet, and other on-line services. Those links that I think are especially valuable are marked in red.

An interactive educational diabetes/insulin tutorial is available on my site now, thanks to Dr. Eldon Lehmann of the Imperial College and St. Bartholomew's Hospital in London, England, who kindly lets me host these files that he prepared. This Web-based tutorial aims to teach a little bit about balancing insulin and diet in diabetes, as well as offering some information about different insulin-dosage adjustment regimens.

Two companies dominate the worldwide insulin market. In 1999 Eli Lilly had 48 percent of the worldwide market in volume terms and Novo Nordisk had 44 percent, according to IMS Health, the leading market research firm tracking the global pharmaceutical industry. A distant third was Hoechst, which has since merged with Rhône-Poulenc to form Aventis, with 5.5 percent.

Going!

Eli Lilly announced July 6, 2005, that it is discontinuing production of Iletin II Pork Insulin (Regular and NPHformulations), HumulinU Ultralente, and HumulinL Lente (Humulin U and Humulin L) insulins.

Research and Markets Ltd valued the world market for human insulin at $4.5 billion in 2002. Europe accounted for 40 percent of the market and the U.S. for 33 percent. They expect the world market to reach $7.9 billion by 2007.

World-wide insulin sales reached $4.7 billion in 2003, according to analysts from SG Cowen Securities Corporation, a U.S. securities and investment banking firm focused on the emerging growth sectors of health care and other markets. They reported this at a March 2004 investment conference in Boston last week, according to Kelly Close in Diabetes Close Up, V3, #6 March 17, 2004. Her website is http://www.closeconcerns.com.

In the U.S. Lilly had an 86 percent share of the retail pharmacy market in 1999 compared to Novo's 14 percent. But Lilly's share drops to 78 percent when you factor in insulin use in hospitals and elsewhere where prescriptions aren't required. Only these two companies manufactured insulin sold in the United States in 1999, although Aventis subsequently took the market by storm with its introduction of very long-acting Lantus insulin.

In the United Kingdom there is a relatively minor insulin manufacturer, CP Pharmaceuticals, which Wockhardt Ltd. recently purchased. This company also exports its insulins, including porcine and bovine insulin, to people in the United States on a personal use basis. The URL is http://www.cppharma.co.uk/

Brasil is another country with its own source of insulin, Biobrás. Insulin was formerly manufactured in India by Boots Pharmaceuticals, which Knoll Pharmaceuticals Ltd. purchased in 1995. But Knoll apparently no longer manufactures insulin.

In Argentina, Laboratorios Beta manufactures Betasint, bovine and porcine insulin and Betalin, human insulin.

India now also has two or more companies that manufactures insulin there. Wockhardt Limited produces recombinant human insulin. The Indian press reports that Shreya Life Sciences Pvt Ltd in Mumbai (formerly Bombay) has launched recombinant human insulin under the brand name Recosulin. Further, in August 2004 Biocon's recombinant human insulin was expected to be on the market in three months.

Diosynth, an Akzo Nobel business unit, is a leading manufacturer of insulin, but does not sell it to consumers.

Two companies in Poland, Polfa Tarchomin and Bioton, manufacture human insulin, according to The Warsaw Business Journal.

The first joint Russian-Chinese enterprise for producing insulin analogs will open in Penza, Russia. It will produce 12 million insulin vials a year, providing one-third of Russia's demand. The plant will also produce insulin pens. The URL is
http://en.rian.ru/society/20050623/40751061.html

  • Wanbang Biopharma Co. in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, China, has produced animal insulin since 1981 and human insulin since 2005. Overseas Director Yvonne Kim writes me that the company is the largest manufacturer of insulin products in China. The URL is
    http://www.chinawanbang.com/english/index.asp

    Here is contact information that I have for some of these companies:

    Eli Lilly and Company
    Lilly Corporate Center
    Indianapolis, Indiana 46285 USA
    Phone: +1-317-276-2000
    http://www.lilly.com/

    Novo Nordisk A/S
    Novo Allé
    2880 Bagsvaerd
    Denmark
    Phone: +45 4444 8888
    Fax: +45 4449 0555
    http://www.novonordisk.com/

    Aventis S.A.
    67917 Strasbourg, Cedex 9
    Strasbourg 67917, France
    Phone: (917) 965-1412
    http://www2.aventis.com/homepage/homepage.htm

    Biocon Limited 20th KM Hosur Road Electronics City Bangalore 560 100 India Web site: http://www.biocon.com

    CP Pharmaceuticals Ltd
    Ash Road North, Wrexham Industrial Estate
    Wrexham LL13 9UF
    Wales U.K.
    Toll Free Phone: 011 800 667 55 555
    Fax: 011 44 1978669230
    http://www.cppharma.co.uk

    Biobrás S.A
    Praça Carlos Chagas, 49
    Santo Agostinho
    Belo Horizonte - MG
    Brasil
    Cep. 30.170-020
    Phone +55 31 290 2900 - General
    Fax +55 31 290 2933 - General
    Biobrás is now a subsidiary of Novo Nordisk, according to http://www.fdanews.com/dailies/world/1_133/news/16203-1.html.

    Diosynth BV
    Kloosterstraat 6
    P.O. Box 20
    5340 BH Oss
    Netherlands
    Tel. : +31 (0)412 66 12 17
    Fax : +31 (0)412 66 25 21
    http://www.diosynth.com/site/index.html

    Knoll Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
    Knoll Pharmaceuticals is a subsidiary of Knoll AG, the pharmaceuticals business of the BASF Group, based in Ludwigshafen, Germany.
    17 R Kamani Marg
    Mumbai Maharashtra 400001
    India

    Dongbao Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
    1 Dongbao Ave
    Tonghua City, Jilin Province, China
    Zip Code: 134123
    Tel: 0435-5858025
    Fax: 0435-5858025
    This company produces recombinant human insulin. A European subsidiary has a Web site at http://www.luckfurt.com/

    Laboratorios Beta S.A.
    Avda. San Juan 2266
    (1232) Buenos Aires - ARGENTINA
    Tel: (54 11) 5921-6387 / 6389
    Fax: (54 11) 5921-6200 / 6300
    Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
    Web site:http://www.betalab.com.ar/ingles/Default.htm Wockhardt Limited
    Wockhardt Towers
    Bandra Kurla Complex
    Bandra (East)
    Mumbai 400 051, India
    Web site: http://www.wockhardtin.com'

    Insulin Dose Calculators

      1. Thorpe Products in Cambridge, UK, offers the Calsulin, a new electronic insulin dose calculator. Because Calsulin calculates the insulin dosage in the same manner as an insulin pump, users of syringes and pens can enjoy the same level of blood sugar control as pump users. The URL is
        http://www.thorpe-products.com/

      2. Insulin Helper computes your insulin required prior to each meal using a customized wallet sized card. It is a product of Mistebar Computer Consultants (whose owner has diabetes and created the Insulin Helper to help him improve his own blood sugars). Mistebar also has a booklet which teaches how to use the Insulin Helper and has 30 pages of tips on how to improve blood glucose. The URL is
        http://www.mistebar.com.

    On the table below I have included links to allow visitors to simulate examples of some diabetes cases using the various listed insulin preparations. Over time I will add examples for different categories of insulin. This interactive simulation facility makes use of a widely applied free diabetes simulation engine at "AIDA On-line," which can be accessed directly at: http://www.2aida.org/online. The AIDA U.S. mirror site can be accessed at http://www.2aida.net/online. A freeware downloadable version of the glucose-insulin simulator for PCs (and Apple Macintoshes running PC emulation software) is available from http://www.2aida.org. The AIDA U.S. mirror site can be accessed at http://www.2aida.net.

    Name Company Web Site Type
           
    Rapid acting (onset less than 15 minutes)

    Humalog® (insulin lispro) Eli Lilly and Company http://www.lillydiabetes.com/ Analog
    Humalog® Cartridges Eli Lilly and Company http://www.lillydiabetes.com/ Analog
    NovoLog® (insulin aspart) Novo Nordisk http://www.novolog.com/NovoLog_Prescribing_Info.pdf Analog
    Apidra™ (insulin glulisine) Aventis Pharmaceuticals http://www.apidra.com/ Analog
           
    Short acting (onset 1/2-2 hours) Simulate This Insulin

    Humulin® R (Regular) Eli Lilly and Company http://www.lillydiabetes.com/ Human
    Iletin II Regular™ Eli Lilly and Company http://www.lillydiabetes.com/ Pork
    Humulin® R Cartridges (1.5 ml) Eli Lilly and Company http://www.lillydiabetes.com/ Human
    Novolin® R (Regular) Novo Nordisk http://www.novonordisk-us.com/view.asp?ID=1177 Human
    Velosulin® Human (Regular) (Buffered) Novo Nordisk http://www.novonordisk-us.com/view.asp?ID=1177; Discontinued; Novo has advised doctors that retail pharmacies will deplete their supplies of Velosulin BR by approximately 4/30/04. Human
           
    Intermediate acting (onset 2-4 hours) Simulate This Insulin

    Humulin® L (Lente) Eli Lilly and Company http://www.lillydiabetes.com/ Human
    Humulin® N (NPH) Eli Lilly and Company http://www.lillydiabetes.com/ Human
    Iletin II Lente® Eli Lilly and Company http://www.lillydiabetes.com/ Pork
    Iletin II NPH™ Eli Lilly and Company http://www.lillydiabetes.com/ Pork
    Humulin® N Cartridges (1.5 ml) Eli Lilly and Company http://www.lillydiabetes.com/ Human
    Novolin® N (NPH) Novo Nordisk http://www.novonordisk-us.com/view.asp?ID=1177 Human
           
    Long acting (onset 4-6 hours) Simulate This Insulin

    Humulin® U (Ultralente) Eli Lilly and Company http://www.lillydiabetes.com/ Human
           
    Very long acting (24+ hours)

    Lantus® (insulin glargine, formerly HOE901) Aventis Pharmaceuticals http://www.lantus.com/ Analog
    Levemir® (insulin detemir, formerly NN304) Novo Nordisk http://www.novonordisk.com/ Analog
           
    Mixtures

    Humalog® Mix 75/25™ (75% Insulin Lispro Protamine Suspension and 25% Insulin Lispro Injection (rDNA Origin)) Eli Lilly and Company http://www.lillydiabetes.com/ Analog
    Humalog® Mix 75/25™ Pen (75% Insulin Lispro Protamine Suspension and 25% Insulin Lispro Injection (rDNA Origin)) Eli Lilly and Company http://www.lillydiabetes.com/ Analog
    Humulin® 50/50 (50% NPH, 50% Regular) Simulate This Insulin Eli Lilly and Company http://www.lillydiabetes.com/ Human
    Humulin® 70/30 (70% NPH, 30% Regular) Simulate This Insulin Eli Lilly and Company http://www.lillydiabetes.com/ Human
    Humulin® 70/30 Cartridges (1.5 ml) Simulate This Insulin Eli Lilly and Company http://www.lillydiabetes.com/ Human
    Novolin® 70/30 (70% NPH, 30% Regular) Simulate This Insulin Novo Nordisk http://www.novonordisk-us.com/view.asp?ID=1177 Human


    Insulin Pumps

    Six companies manufacture and sell insulin pumps:

    Animas Corp. in Frazer, Pennsylvania, offers the IR 1000, IR 1200, IR 1250, and the 2020 insulin pumps. The URL is http://www.animascorp.com/

    Medtronic Diabetes in Northridge, California, a division of Medtronic Inc., offers the Paradigm 512 and 712 insulin pumps. Medtronic Diabetes has the majority share of the insulin pump market in the United States. The URL is http://www.minimed.com

    Nipro Diabetes Systems in Miami, Florida, a subsidiary of Nipro Corporation, offers the Amigo Insulin Pump. The URL is http://www.niprodiabetes.com

    Roche Disetronic in Burgdorf, Switzerland, a division of Roche Diagnostics, currently manufactures the D-TRONplus and the H-TRONplus insulin pumps, but the FDA currently prohibits the company from selling its insulin pumps in the United States. I anticipate that Roche Disetronic will reenter the United States market during 2004. Roche Disetronic currently has the leading market share of the insulin pump market in Europe. The URL is http://www.disetronic.com/

    Smiths Medical MD Inc. in St. Paul, Minnesota (formerly known as Deltec Inc.), a subsidiary of Smiths Group plc, offers the Deltec Cozmo Insulin Pump. The URL is http://www.cozmore.com

    Sooil Development Co. Ltd. in Seoul, Korea, offers the DANA Diabecare II insulin pump. The URL is http://www.sooil.com/


    [Go to Diabetes Software Web Page] Go to Diabetes Software Resources Page

    [Go to Medications Web Page] Go back to Medications Web Resources Page


    You may quote part of this page in on-line documents and printed publications, but please notify me so I can add a reference and make sure that you add pointers to the places where people can get the latest version.

    Permission to link this site to yours is not needed. Of course, I would be delighted to hear from you, especially if you have a new site that you think should be linked here.

    I have no control over the content or continued existence of any external on-line resources linked here, and I therefore cannot guarantee that they will function as promised. The appearance of a site on this list does not imply any endorsement by me.

    Since this information is constantly changing, readers are urged to email corrections and updates to me at [email protected].

    If you have a question about your health, please go to either Diabetes Questions & Answers at the Diabetes Monitor, or use the Question Form for the Diabetes Team at Children with Diabetes.

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