Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Limited and Aspen SA Operations (Pty) Ltd. have concluded an agreement with Novo Nordisk A/S (Novo Nordisk), for the technical transfer and commercial manufacture of Human Insulins. The collaboration allows for local production of Human Insulin in South Africa, to cater to the needs of people with diabetes on the African continent. Through the local conversion of the insulin into finished dose form vials by Aspen, the companies will leverage opportunities together, to ensure a reliable supply of products to populations that need it.

The collaboration aims to supply over 1 million patients (16 million vials) in 2024 with further upscaling to over 4 million patients in 2026. Aspen will manufacture these vials at its existing sterile facility in Gqeberha, South Africa. The Group invested ZAR 6 billion in building these facilities and related technologies.

The production of insulin will utilize the sterile infrastructure including some utilised for COVID-19 vaccine production. Aspen will deploy approximately 250 people for this production which is due to commence at the beginning of 2024. The collaboration will also reduce the transport related carbon footprint by 68%.