Novo Nordisk To Maintain Presence In Malaysia

By Rosemarie Khoo Mohd Sani KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 21 (Bernama) -- Novo Nordisk, a global healthcare company in diabetes care, will continue to maintain its presence in Malaysia as its regional hub and clinical centre, says its Chairman, Dr Goran Ando. Novo Nordisk entered Malaysian market in 1992 and moved its South-East Asia headquarters from Singapore to here in 2010. Ando said the company's business in the mid- to long-term will grow steadily in line with Malaysia's fast economic and social development. "The country is impacted by the fall in oil prices and the weakening of the ringgit (Malaysia's currency) where we see a slowdown in businesses and the government prioritising its expenditure. "Fundamentally, Malaysia is on the right track and will grow steadily because in economy, you don't expect to realistically move all the way up in a straight line. So we believe these are all only for a short term," he told Bernama. The Danish-based company, which is the world's largest insulin manufacturer, currently has a total diabetes management market share of 21.5 per cent in Malaysia. He said the unfortunate fact was that a greater need for diabetes management was also a reason for the company to remain in Malaysia. Ando said over the last decade, Malaysia recorded the highest prevalence of diabetes in South-East Asia, which saw a 30 per cent increase to 3.2 million with the disease today. "In 2006, 11.5 per cent of adults (aged 18 and above) were living with diabetes. Today, it has increased to 16 per cent," he said. According to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), over 33 million people (20-79 years) are living with diabetes in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Laos, Singapore, Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam. IDF said 50 million people were expected to live with diabetes in the Asia-Pacific by 2035. The 'silent killer' has taken 4.9 million lives last year. Meanwhile, on the global front, the company's Executive Vice-President for Emerging Markets, Maziar Mike Doustdar, said Novo Nordisk registered a nine per cent sales growth to 55 billion Danish Krones (US$8.26 billion) for the first half of 2015 compared with the same period last year. "We also allocate about 15 per cent of the company's global turnover to be used for research and development," said Doustdar, adding that more allocation would be provided if needed for the department. He said the company has no intention to extend its manufacturing facility other than its largest plant in Copenhagen, Denmark, which used renewable energy resources. "We would rather spend our financial resources to come up with latest inventions than expanding. Besides, the production using renewal resources is efficient and sustainable," said Doustdar. The company produces all types of insulin -- Human Insulin, Modern (Analog) Insulin and the Next Generation Insulin. Doustdar said the Human Insulin is the most affordable form. "The company has committed to sell it at a minimum manufacturing cost in the least develop countries identified by the United Nations. "We want to make it affordable to them, probably about the price of a cup of coffee or tea per day, but over time, we will continue to innovate and produce advanced products for those who can afford it," said Doustdar. He said the company will be launching its latest product for diabetes care but declined to elaborate. --BERNAMA