Biocon and Voluntis deal to transform insulin biosimilars personalized care through digital therapeutics

Biocon Biologics India, a subsidiary of Biocon, and digital therapeutics company Voluntis have recently announced a global collaboration agreement between Biocon Biologics’ subsidiary Biocon Sdn. Bhd., Malaysia and Voluntis to develop and distribute FDA-cleared and CE-marked digital therapeutic product ‘Insulia’ to type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients across several markets. The deal introduces Insulia to a large number of Biocon’s insulin biosimilar users and transforms personalized care in T2D, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Insulia is a prescription-only software medical device available on the web and mobile app platforms and intended for use by healthcare professionals (HCPs) and their T2D patients to support insulin titration for long-acting insulin analogs including Lantus, Levemir, Toujeo, Tresiba (U-100) and Basaglar.

Venkat Kartheek Vale, Pharma Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Biocon aims to transform patient lives by creating universal access to high-quality insulin at low-cost and pairing its products with disruptive technologies that cater to the needs of patients individually. This affordable pricing combined with Voluntis’ digital therapeutics to improve patient care can be said to be a paradigm shift in T2D management.”

According to GlobalData’s ‘Digital Therapeutics and Their Impact on Healthcare’, there are four digital therapeutics available in the market that are approved by regulatory authorities for T2D management-WellDoc’s Blue Star (FDA-approved), Voluntis’ Insulia (FDA-approved and CE-marked), Diabeo (CE-marked) and Omada Health’s Omada (Diabetes Prevention Recognition Program accreditation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).

Biocon plans to create a comprehensive digital therapeutics portfolio by extending its Insulia platform to its complete range of insulin products - insulin glargine (Semglee), insulin aspart and recombinant human insulin (rh insulin). By the end of March 2020, Semglee was approved in 60 countries and launched in several countries including the EU, Australia and Japan, while rh insulin was approved in over 40 countries and launched in India, Malaysia, Mexico and selected other countries. The company’s insulin aspart is under regulatory review in the EU.

Vale concludes: “T2D causes enormous burden on the healthcare system due to side effects such as hypoglycemia and T2D-related complications including cardiovascular and renal diseases. Digital therapeutics can potentially address some of these problems by facilitating remote patient management and personalized treatment through high-quality, safe, and effective data-driven interventions. Since digital therapeutics market is driven by an increased emphasis on cost-effective healthcare, Biocon and Voluntis can derive maximum benefit from this agreement and expand their businesses further.”