KUALA LUMPUR (April 1): Pharmaniaga Bhd (KL:PHARMA) has secured its first contract to supply human insulin to government hospitals worth RM281.67 million, sources close to the matter told The Edge.
The contract spans three years and the company is expected to manufacture the product in-house at its Puchong facility, making it the first local company to produce human insulin in the country.
A check on the government procurement portal supports this, showing the award was issued on March 10 to Pharmaniaga's unit, Pharmaniaga Lifescience Sdn Bhd.
With the contract win, Pharmaniaga is likely the largest insulin provider to public hospitals in the country now, one source said. The company previously said it was eyeing a government tender to supply human insulin products worth over RM400 million.
Pharmaniaga declined to comment when contacted.
The government has mostly been sourcing its human insulin products from Duopharma Biotech Bhd (KL:DPHARMA), the primary distributor for Biocon Biologics. An Indian multinational, Biocon operates a manufacturing plant in Johor, and was able to fulfil about 80% of the government's needs. The remainder was previously sourced from Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk.
But Novo Nordisk made a strategic retreat from the human insulin market in 2024 to focus on more advanced insulin analogs and its high-growth obesity and diabetes drugs. This coincided with production issues at Biocon, triggering a severe human insulin shortage in August 2024.
This forced Malaysia to find an immediate backup, providing Pharmaniaga, which had just launched its Puchong biopharmaceutical plant in September that year, a chance to play a role. The plant is capable of producing up to 30 million doses of human insulin per year.
The exact market share Pharmaniaga secured under this new contract is not clear, though a source estimated it at about 50-60% of the government's human insulin requirements.
Pharmaniaga has just exited from its Practice Note 17 status on March 17. The company triggered the PN17 criteria for financially distressed companies after falling into the red in 2023 following a RM552.3 million impairment provision for its inventory of expiring Covid-19 vaccine.
Duopharma tipped to secure new insulin contract — TA Securities
Duopharma could also soon secure a new three-year contract to supply human insulin formulations to the government once its interim three-month extension expires on May 15, according to TA Securities.
The deal could be awarded under a dual-supplier arrangement between Duopharma and Pharmaniaga, the research house said in a note on Tuesday. “We expect the group to secure a new three-year contract in the near term,” TA Securities said.
Human insulin is estimated to contribute around 9-11% of Duopharma’s revenue in 2026 compared to about 12% in 2025, according to the research house.