Indian Pharma Targets Rs 800 Cr Insulin Pen Market Post Novo

Novo Nordisk's declaration to put an end to its Penfill and FlexPen products in India by December 2023, Indian pharmaceutical companies like Eris Lifesciences, Wockhardt, and Lupin, are getting ready to capitalize the local human insulin pen segment. Analysts believe that this transition can open up a market opportunity of Rs 600–800 crores for insulin cartridges.

Injections of human insulin are taken at least 30 minutes before meals, and the insulin is available in pens as well as vials. Disposable pens are pre-filled, whereas reusable ones allow cartridge replacement. However, Novo Nordisk will keep handing out human insulin in vials.

As a consequence of the commissioning of the Bhopal facility in Q4 FY26, Eris Lifesciences will implement a strategy to use backward integration to start pen-fills from November or December. “It is expected that the stock of Novo’s cartridges will be exhausted by October, thereby creating a time window to make money from the segment starting from November-December,” said a member of the Eris management team.

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Wockhardt and MJ Biopharm, as well as Lupin, are also taking the initiative of the segment by building a larger capacity. Wockhardt is setting its sight on increasing the scale by two to three times within the following 24 to 36 months. The Managing Director, Dr. Murtaza Khorakiwala, informed that the departure of Novo from the disposables would be an advantage for the Indian companies that are already in the market. The local Indian market is estimated at Rs 450 crore, and the emerging markets are $157 million, he said.

The rising competition is, however, unlikely to cause a significant drop in insulin prices, which will continue to be regulated by the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) framework.