Sanofi India Limited

PHARMA/HEALTH

Sanofi launches specially designed ‘made in India’ re-usable insulin pen  AllStar

Oct 9, 2012

Sanofi India Limited (formerly known as Aventis Pharma Limited) announced today the launch of AllStar™, its first indigenously manufactured re-usable insulin pen. Developed especially for Indian patients by Sanofi’s Medical Device Development team at Frankfurt (architects of Sanofi’s award winning devices such as the Solostar®, Clickstar®, BGStar® and iBGStar™), AllStar™ is indicated for use of insulinized patients using Sanofi’s insulin portfolio. The AllStar™ re-usable insulin pen conforms to ISO (International Organization for Standardization) standards and is equipped with state-of-the-art, unparalleled 10-in-1 features.

Insulin therapy is a one of the cornerstones of diabetes management, and its efficacy in early as well as late-stage diabetes is well-established. Yet, the first 

choice of doctors in India for most diabetics has so far been to attempt sugar control through OADs (Oral Anti-Diabetics), diet control, exercise and lifestyle changes. One of the key reasons for delaying control through insulin is the resistance and fear in patients, of taking injections daily, particularly self-administering the same. AllStar™ is custom-made for patients in India. AllStar™ will help improve both insulin initiation and compliance; and bring ease and reassurance to the lives of Indian patients, giving them the convenience of international standards at an affordable price.

Announcing the launch of AllStar™, Dr. Shailesh Ayyangar, Managing Director, Sanofi India & Vice President South Asia, Group Sanofi, said, “Sanofi has always been at the forefront of diabetes research and development and AllStar™ is a testament to our patient-centric approach. For almost three years, Sanofi’s scientists worked closely with our team here to develop a device that was ‘made in India, for India’.”

Dr. Ayyangar further added “AllStar™ heralds a new era of indigenous device manufacturing for Sanofi India, which we hope to utilize for other devices in future.

‘The launch of AllStar™ is a significant milestone in Sanofi India’s diabetes growth story, and also underlines the Sanofi Group’s focus on diabetes, emerging markets and our regionalized approach to finding solutions that are adapted to local needs.”

Commenting on the genesis of this development, Susheel Umesh, Head of Commercial Operations, Sanofi India, said “In line with our mission to truly become a 360 degree partner in diabetes management, we always start with the patient, to understand from them and their physicians what their real needs and expectations are, and work towards introducing solutions to address those needs and expectations.

‘AllStar™ is the result of a successful collaborative multi-country effort within the Sanofi Group that brought together technology, resources and intellectual capital to help Sanofi India develop a pen that its patients aspire for; one that combines convenience and affordability.”

Through a perception study done in July 2011[i], Sanofi found that the most valued features of an insulin pen are ease of use, readability of dose, reverse dialing and high quality. At that time, the study group perceived AllStar™ as better than other pens in the market on most parameters, with ease of use, lighter, smaller and slimmer design being the key differentiators.

Speaking on the AllStar™ pen’s technical aspects, Dr. Volker Korger, Head – Diabetes Device Projects, (MED Frankfurt) Sanofi, shared that, “AllStar™ is a combination of sleek design styling and sophisticated technology. We brought together Sanofi’s award winning Solostar® design team in Germany and UK to make AllStar™, the lightest reusable insulin pen in India. The German team contributed its renowned expertise in quality medical devices, and from Taiwan we included accurate tooling, as in a device such as this, extraordinary accuracy is most vital in even the smallest of components. Finally, the manufacturing is being done in India – well recognized today for producing high-precision components.”

With close to 62 million diabetic patients, of whom many are either undiagnosed or uncontrolled because of poor compliance, diabetes is a major health problem in India. Given the social and economic impact of diabetes, it is important to make concentrated efforts to help create awareness about diagnosis, management and treatment of diabetes and further, to re-inforce among physicians and patients the necessity of preventing complications in diabetic patients through early insulin therapy.

Dr. Shashank Joshi, Consultant Endocrinologist, Lilavati Hospital and President, Indian Academy of Diabetes, shared that “India has the second highest number of diabetics in the world. The thin fat Indians (though they appear to be thin they have a higher body fat content) are often diagnosed late and often have poor glycemic control. Due to poor muscle mass (sacopenia), they often need insulin. Indian patients have a lot of myths and misconceptions about insulin which is an evidence based option, as it often improves not only glucose control but also overall well being and therapeutic outcomes of diabetic patients. Once daily novel basal insulins are very easy to use. In India, on an average, doctors prescribe insulin therapy to about one-third of their total diabetes patients. Of these, close to 75% patients are on vials with syringes and 25% on insulin pens.

‘Insulin pens definitely offer greater advantage than vials and syringes in terms of ease of usage thereby increasing patient initiation and compliance to therapy. A key parameter that doctors consider while evaluating insulin pen brands is ‘ease of use’, and features such as reverse dialing, quality and availability are also vital. The newly launched AllStar™ is one of the devices that takes into consideration all of the Indian patients’ needs. It’s a state-of-the-art device that is simple-to-use, and will also support physicians in early initiation of insulin therapy for better glycemic control and enhanced therapeutic outcomes.”

AllStar™ is supported by a patient support team of certified diabetes educators to assist patients under guidance of treating physicians, and a toll-free number. The re-useable AllStar™ will be available for use with Sanofi’s insulins – Lantus® and Insuman® – on doctor’s prescription at all leading chemists and distributors across India.

Susheel Umesh added, “We are striving to help people manage the complex challenge of diabetes by delivering and enabling access to a range of innovative, personalized solutions, because we want people to live ‘beyond’ diabetes, to achieve aspirations and make the most of everyday!”