Singapore: Marking a major achievement in Indian biosimilar history, India's Biocon announced that close on the heels of receiving approval for its IQsulin Glargine from the Japanese regulator last quarter, its partner FUJIFILM Pharma (FFP) has launched the product in Japan recently.

Insulin Glargine BS Injection Kit (FFP) has been developed & manufactured by Biocon, and is being commercialized by FFP in Japan. The product is a ready-to-use, prefilled disposable pen with 3 ml of lOOIU Insulin Glargine. It will provide a high quality, yet affordable, world-class long-acting biosimilar basal Insulin Glargine for patients of diabetes in Japan.

There were 7.2 million people with diabetes in Japan in 2015, according to the International Diabetes Federation. The Company through its partner aims to capture a significant share of the Japanese Glargine market of $ 144 mn, which is the second largest market outside of North America & Europe and is largely dominated by disposable pens.

Speaking on the launch, Biocon Chairperson & Managing Director, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said, "The launch of our biosimilar Insulin Glargine in Japan by our partner, furthers our mission to provide affordable access to high quality biopharmaceuticals for chronic diseases. We believe with FUJIFILM Pharma's commercial network, we will enable access to this world-class, prefilled disposable pen for better diabetes management for patients in Japan."

Biocon is recognized as Asia's largest insulins producer and has been committed to affordable diabetes management through rh-Insulin (InsugenÂ) and Insulin Glargine (BasalogÂ) in India and several emerging markets. The company currently has marketing approvals in over 60 countries for rh-Insulin and in over 20 countries for Insulin Glargine. It is also developing Insulin Glargine for the developed markets outside of Japan in collaboration with Mylan.

Recently another Indian company, Intas pharmaceutical too had announced the launch of a biosimilar (filgrastim) in the highly regulated markets of EU, US and Japan. Experts opine that the acceptance of Indian made biosimilars in highly regulated markets indicate how well the biosimilar industry is evolving.