Drug major Eli Lilly will discontinue its animal insulin product Iletin after this year and is planning to conduct trials for "inhaled insulin" in the country.
"Throughout the world, animal insulin has already been phased out and our product will be available only this year", Eli Lilly & Company India chairman and managing director Rajiv Gulati told reporters in Mumbai Friday after announcing a cut in price for human insulin product Huminsulin.
Huminsulin vial of 10 ml would now cost 33.5 per cent less at Rs 145 instead of earlier price of Rs 218, pegging it to prevailing prices of animal derived insulin.
"We are able to cut the price as the drug will now be manufactured at Sun Pharmaceuticals plant at Halol (Gujarat)", he said.
Animal-sourced insulin has 50 per cent market share in India but the use of human insulin was growing, Gulati said.
On the new product development, he said, the US-based parent company, along with an Indian scientist, is working on "inhaled insulin" as an alternative to current injection based doses and would launch erectile dysfunction drug Siales in India next year.
The company would need to take government's permission to conduct phase-II and III trial for the proposed inhaled version, he said, adding this drug would be available only five years down the line and cost more due to higher requirement of dose compared to injectable product", he said.
