Lilly and EVA Pharma Announce Collaboration to Enhance Sustainable Access to Affordable Insulin in Africa

For the first time, Lilly will supply API at a significantly reduced price along with pro-bono technical assistance, enabling EVA Pharma to manufacture and supply insulin to at least one million people in lower income countries

INDIANAPOLIS and CAIRO, Dec. 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) and EVA Pharma announced today a collaboration to deliver a sustainable supply of high-quality, affordable human and analogue insulin to at least one million people living with type 1 and type 2 diabetes in low- to middle-income countries (LMICs), most of which are in Africa.

In a first for Lilly, the company will supply its active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) for insulin at a significantly reduced price to EVA Pharma. Lilly will also provide a pro-bono technology transfer to enable EVA Pharma to formulate, fill and finish insulin vials and cartridges – establishing the company as a trusted manufacturer of these lifesaving products in Africa.

EVA Pharma expects to begin distribution of the African-made insulin products within 18 months and to reach one million people per year by 2030. This collaboration is part of the Lilly 30x30 initiative, which aims to improve access to quality healthcare for 30 million people living in limited-resource settings, annually, by 2030.

"Our new collaboration with EVA Pharma reflects Lilly's deep commitment to making equitable and affordable access to insulin a reality for people living with diabetes in low- and middle-income countries," said Ilya Yuffa, president of Lilly International. "This latest initiative from Lilly will empower local manufacturing, finishing and distribution of quality insulin – in Africa – which will transform communities and make life better for people throughout the continent."

"EVA Pharma is committed to empowering the fight for health and well-being as a human right," said Riad Armanious, CEO of EVA Pharma. "People suffering from diabetes in LMICs experience daily challenges in accessing treatment. We feel blessed to collaborate with the team at Lilly. Combining our African reach, state-of-the-art facilities, and Lilly's deep expertise in diabetes care, we aim to treat at least one million patients by 2030 who otherwise may not have access to life-saving medication."

According to the IDF Diabetes Atlas, the total number of people with diabetes in Africa is expected to increase 129% by 2045, reaching 55 million people.

WHO established the Global Diabetes Compact in 2021, a global initiative to support countries in implementing effective programs for the prevention and management of diabetes, one tenet of which includes engaging with the private sector to expand access to products that will improve the lives of people living with diabetes. The dialogues with WHO encourage implementation of and accountability for the commitments and contributions toward improving access to insulin.

"The success of these commitments to increase access for people living with diabetes is an important step in the right direction, but global engagement will need to be translated into implementation in regions and countries," said WHO Director for Noncommunicable Disease, Dr Bente Mikkelsen. "This is the starting point – the hope is to have insulin and diabetes devices as part of Essential Benefit Packages in low- and middle-income countries towards achieving Universal Health Coverage."

Lilly will work with EVA Pharma to ensure that their products meet the high-quality standards set for WHO prequalification, which has become a global symbol for safety, quality and efficacy.

About Lilly
Lilly unites caring with discovery to create medicines that make life better for people around the world. We've been pioneering life-changing discoveries for nearly 150 years, and today our medicines help more than 47 million people across the globe. Harnessing the power of biotechnology, chemistry and genetic medicine, our scientists are urgently advancing new discoveries to solve some of the world's most significant health challenges, redefining diabetes care, treating obesity and curtailing its most devastating long-term effects, advancing the fight against Alzheimer's disease, providing solutions to some of the most debilitating immune system disorders, and transforming the most difficult-to-treat cancers into manageable diseases. With each step toward a healthier world, we're motivated by one thing: making life better for millions more people. That includes delivering innovative clinical trials that reflect the diversity of our world and working to ensure our medicines are accessible and affordable. To learn more, visit Lilly.com and Lilly.com/newsroom or follow us on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. C-LLY

About EVA Pharma
EVA Pharma empowers the fight for health and well-being in communities around the world. With a 5,000-strong team of professionals, the company produces more than one million healthcare products a day at its state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, which are equipped with cutting-edge technology, are internationally recognized for innovation, and have been approved by multiple regulatory agencies.

The company's product portfolio focuses on pressing, yet unmet, disease areas, such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, oncology, neuroscience, ophthalmology, anti-infectives, bone and pain, hepatology, and reproductive health, to meet both local and international demand.

EVA Pharma is one of the fastest-growing healthcare companies in the Middle East and Africa, with an extensive pan-African presence, while operating in more than 40 countries worldwide.

For more information, please visit: www.evapharma.com & https://www.evapharma.com/newsroom or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn & Instagram.  

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements (as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) about a collaboration between Lilly and EVA Pharma and its potential benefits and reflects Lilly's current beliefs and expectations. However, as with any such undertaking, there are substantial risks and uncertainties in the process of drug research, development and commercialization. Among other things, there can be no guarantee that Lilly will realize the expected benefits of the collaboration, that the collaboration will succeed, or that Lilly will execute its strategy as expected. For further discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from Lilly's expectations, see Lilly's Form 10-K and Form 10-Q filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, Lilly undertakes no duty to update forward-looking statements to reflect events after the date of this release.

SOURCE Eli Lilly and Company