INDIA — Biocon has announced the signing of a semi-exclusive partnership agreement with Zentiva, a leading pharmaceutical company in Europe, for the commercialization of its vertically integrated, complex formulation, Liraglutide.
Under the terms of this agreement, Biocon will be responsible for the manufacturing and supply of Liraglutide to Zentiva, for its commercialization across 30 countries in Europe.
With a focus on research and development, and four flagship manufacturing facilities in Bucharest, Prague, and Ankleshwar, Zentiva is rapidly expanding its reach in Europe and beyond.
Biocon will also retain the right to commercialize this product under its own brand in the region.
Liraglutide injection is used in the treatment of Type 2 diabetes and obesity.
Liraglutide injection is used with a diet and exercise program to control blood sugar levels in adults and children 10 years of age and older with type 2 diabetes when other medications did not control levels well enough.
Liraglutide injection is also used to reduce the risk of a heart attack, stroke, or death in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus and heart and blood vessel disease.
According to International Diabetes Federation, about 32.3 million adults were diagnosed with diabetes in the European Union in 2019, up from an estimated 16.8 million adults in 2000.
An additional 24.2 million people in Europe were estimated to have diabetes but be undiagnosed in 2019.
Obesity on the other hand has reached “epidemic proportions” in Europe, the World Health Organization says, as a major report shows the disease is causing 200,000 cancer cases and 1.2 million deaths a year.
The WHO said in the first such study in 15 years that overweight and obesity rates had reached lethal levels and were “still escalating.”
According to the report, no country in the region was on track to meet the WHO global noncommunicable disease (NCD) target of halting the rise of obesity by 2025.
Across Europe, 59% of adults are overweight or obese, as are 8% of children under the age of five and one in every three school-aged children.
According to a report presented at the European Congress on Obesity, the prevalence of obesity in Europe is higher than in any other region of the world except the Americas.
Obesity is linked to a string of other diseases, including musculoskeletal complications, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and at least 13 types of cancer.
The report said excess body fat led to premature death and was a leading risk factor for disability.
Of all the countries in the Europe region, the UK ranks fourth for having the most overweight and obese adults, behind Israel, Malta, and Turkey, according to the study. On obesity rates alone, the UK is third after Turkey and Malta.
The report said the causes of obesity were more complex than just an unhealthy diet and physical inactivity.
It said that “environmental factors unique to living in modern Europe’s highly digitalized societies are also drivers of obesity,” such as online marketing of unhealthy food to children, and the “proliferation of sedentary online gaming.”
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