Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao laid foundation stone for Shantha Biotechnics insulin manufacturing unit at Muppireddipalli in Medak district on Thursday. The unit being set up with an investment of Rs 460 crore is aimed at providing low priced insulin to diabetic patients in India.

‘’About 60 million people are suffering from diabetes in India and it is going to increase further in the coming days. There is a huge need for insulin and they have to be made available at affordable cost. It is commendable that Shantha Biotechnics has taken up this unit to provide insulin at low price,” said Chandrasekhar Rao at the foundation ceremony.

Shantha Biotechnics founder KI Varaprasad Reddy had earlier produced vaccines at much lesser cost. He focused on making vaccines available to all at affordable cost, even sacrificing his profits. I am confident that even this insulin manufacturing unit will go a long way in decreasing the treatment cost for diabetic patients in India, Chandrasekhar Rao remarked. Right now the cost of one insulin catridge is about Rs 850. The insulin cartridge produced by Shantha Biotechnics will be about Rs 150. Thus treatment cost for diabetes patients will come down drastically after the production starts here, said Harish Iyer, chief executive officer of Shantha Biotechnics.

The new insulin manufacturing unit will be spread over 13,400 sq metres and it will be fully operational by 2019. Shantha Biotechnics is a unit of Sanofi company which has a turnover of Rs 4,400 crore. Technology for manufacturing low priced insulin here will be provided by Sanofi, which is already producing insulin cartridges at units in Frankfurt, Germany. Employment to 2,000 people will be provided.

Shantha Biotechnics founder and chairman KI Varaprasad Reddy, industries minister J Krishna Rao, irrigation minister T Harish Rao, Sanofi senior VP Claude Spieser, industries special chief secretary Pradeep Chandra, were present.