Price of Diabetes Drug Slashed in India

The price of commonly used diabetes drug empagliflozin has been slashed by almost one-tenth, with the entry of its generic versions in the market.

Developed by German pharma giant Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) empagliflozin, it is sold under the name Jardiance. It is an oral medication that helps control blood sugar in patients with type 2 diabetes.

The drug which costs around ₹60 per tablet, will now be sold for ₹5.5 per tablet. It comes as drugmakers Mankind, Alkem, Glenmark launched generic versions of empagliflozin.

In a statement, Mankind Pharma said that its Empagliflozin will now be sold at ₹5.49 per tablet for the 10 mg variant and ₹9.90 per tablet for the 25 mg variant.

“We are ensuring that cost is no longer a barrier to access,” said Rajeev Juneja, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Mankind Pharma.

Alkem has launched the drug under the brand name Empanorm at nearly 80% less than the cost of innovator products.

“With a patient-centric approach, Alkem has introduced anti-counterfeit security band on the pack of Empanorm, as well as comprehensive patient education information, including basic details on diabetes management in Hindi and English with infographics, and QR codes that provide prescribing information and additional patient education information on diabetes, heart failure, and chronic kidney disease in 11 languages,” Alkem said in a statement.

Mumbai-based Glenmark Pharmaceuticals has also introduced a generic drug of Empagliflozin under the brand name Glempa (Empagliflozin 10/25 mg), along with its fixed-dose combinations Glempa-L (Empagliflozin 10/25 mg + Linagliptin 5 mg) and Glempa-M (Empagliflozin 12.5 mg + Metformin 500/1000 mg).

“The launch of Glempa range reinforces this commitment by providing anew comprehensive and affordable solution that empowers healthcare professionals and patients to manage type 2 diabetes with established cardiovascular disease more effectively,” said Alok Malik, President and Head of India Formulations Business, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals.

India is known as the diabetes capital of the world with over 10 crore people diagnosed with the lifestyle disease, as per the Indian Council of Medical Research–India Diabetes (ICMR INDIAB) study in 2023.

Lowering the cost of anti-diabetes medicines may be a crucial step in tackling the disease burden.

—IANS