Neopharma invests in pharma plant, clinical studies

MUSCAT: Neopharma, one of the leading pharmaceutical manufacturing companies in the region, has invested a total of OMR92 million towards diabetes management in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and global markets.

These investments include OMR10 million ($27 million) in a state-of-the-art Japanese factory, OMR28 million ($72 million) in the acquisition of patents and licenses and an additional investment in clinical studies amounting to OMR54 million ($140 million).

The factory in Japan will manufacture supplements for patients in the pre-diabetic stage and also Type II diabetes patients.

Neopharma Japan has acquired a 65 per cent stake in the Japanese pharmaceutical company, Cosmo ALA (now known as Neo ALA), to manufacture this dietary supplement. The product NatuALA is a breakthrough in the management of Type 2 diabetes. WHO predicts that diabetes will become the seventh major cause of death around the world by 2030.

Furthermore, according to WHO, nearly 422 million people are diabetic worldwide. This figure is expected to spiral to 642 million by 2040. In the region, 35.4 million suffer from diabetes and by 2040; the number is estimated to surge to 72.1 million. “Obesity is a growing concern in many nations in the Middle East as approximately a third of adults are now obese and diabetes and other weight-related diseases are becoming serious public health issues. The diabetes epidemic is largely focused on massively increased rates of obesity in the region. Obesity when left unchallenged, leads to prediabetes or metabolic syndrome,” said Dr. B.R. Shetty, chairman and managing director, Neopharma.

“Either of these conditions, if not swiftly acted against, can lead to the development of full-blown Type 2 diabetes. The diabetes epidemic occurs at different rates throughout the world, with the condition changing in some countries from a minor to a fundamental problem in a matter of years,” he added.