Sanofi has inaugurated a new assembling and packaging line to produce its flagship pre-filled insulin injection pen Lantus SoloSTAR at its Beijing plant located at the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area (BDA).

Presiding over the inauguration ceremony, Christopher A Viehbacher, CEO of Sanofi, announced the second phase of the US$ 90 million project to install a high-tech cartridge aseptic production line. With a designed capacity of 48 million units per year, the facility is expected to help fulfil the needs of people with diabetes and ultimately improve the standard of diabetes care in China.

Senior officials from the Beijing municipal government, Beijing Food and Drug Administration, and the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area attended the inauguration ceremony. They recognized Sanofi for its contribution to the development of the biopharmaceutical industry in Beijing. In 2010, the Beijing municipal government launched a strategic initiative to stimulate the growth of the biopharmaceutical industry and recognized a group of companies including Sanofi.

Lantus (insulin glargine) is the most widely used insulin worldwide, backed by 47 million patient-years of experience by type 1 and type 2 diabetes patients. Lantus is prefilled in the award-winning disposable insulin pen SoloSTAR for administration in a precise and easy way. Since its launch in China in 2008, Lantus SoloSTAR has transformed patient experience with insulin injections and enhanced the quality of care for millions of people suffering from diabetes.

“The local production of Lantus SoloSTAR marks an important milestone for Sanofi’s commitment to China and our global commitment to fighting diabetes,” declared Viehbacher. “As a member of the Chinese society, we have a responsibility to work with the government, the scientific community, and patients to control the epidemic of diabetes. In the coming years, Sanofi will bring integrated and personalized solutions to Chinese patients, including oral anti-diabetic drugs, insulins, glucose monitoring devices, and enhanced services to help patients achieve better outcomes. We will also seek ways to broaden patient access to Lantus,” added Viehbacher.

Sanofi’s diabetes portfolio also includes the novel blood glucose meters BGStar and iBGStar. Launched in many European countries in 2011 and 2012, these easy-to-use, convenient and accurate blood glucose monitoring devices represent integrated solutions which seamlessly fit the lives of now more than a hundred thousand insulin users. The iBGStar, which directly connects to the iPhone and iPod touch, comes with innovative data management options that can be personalized such as an App and blood glucose trend charts. This enables users to monitor and manage their diabetes at any time and place. Both iBGStar and BGStar are expected to be made available in China in the near future.

Later this year, Sanofi will launch Apidra, a rapid-acting insulin for patients with type 1 and advanced type 2 diabetes. It is widely used with long-acting insulin or basal insulin analog such as Lantus. In addition, Lyxumia (Lixisenatide), a glucagon-like peptide-1 agonist (GLP-1), is under global development for the treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Lyxumia is the intended trademark for lixisenatide. Lixisenatide is not currently approved or licensed anywhere in the world.

Sanofi continues to collaborate with the government and the scientific community to improve diabetes management by better understanding the disease, training physicians, and educating patients. In 2011, Sanofi supported the launch of “China Initiative for Diabetes Excellence,” a five-year initiative led by the Bureau of Disease Prevention and Control of MOH and undertaken by the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Chinese Diabetes Society (CDS) and World Health Organization Collaboration Centre at the International Diabetes Centre (IDC) to develop 500 future leaders of diabetes care and train 10,000 community and county doctors. In the clinical research field, Sanofi has collaborated with CDS and supported major programs including a landmark “China Type 2 Diabetes Research Project” involving 46,000 diabetic and non-diabetic patients, and a large-scale “Observational Registry for Basal Insulin Treatment - ORBIT Study”. The company’s commitment also extends to type 1 diabetes through its support to CDS and the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) to launch an innovative study in 2011 – “3C Study on Type 1 Diabetes in China”, to understand coverage, cost and patient care.

Lantus is a 24-hour basal insulin without a pronounced peak, and therefore efficaciously and safely lowers blood glucose. It is indicated for once-daily subcutaneous administration in the treatment of adult patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who require basal (long-acting) insulin for the control of hyperglycemia and for adult and paediatric patients (6 years of age and older) with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Lantus demonstrates a consistent slow, prolonged absorption and a relatively constant concentration/time profile over 24 hours. Lantus was launched in China in 2004.

SoloSTAR is an easy-to-use disposable pen for the administration of Lantus. It allows the administration of doses from 1 up to 80 units, in one unit increments, in one injection. SoloSTAR is small, discreet and eliminates the need for the patient to change insulin cartridges.

The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design awarded a 2007 GOOD DESIGN Award for the SoloSTAR disposable insulin injection pen.

Sanofi, a global and diversified healthcare leader, discovers, develops and distributes therapeutic solutions focused on patients’ needs. It has core strengths in the field of healthcare with seven growth platforms: diabetes solutions, human vaccines, innovative drugs, consumer healthcare, emerging markets, animal health and the new Genzyme.

Sanofi is one of the first foreign pharmaceutical companies to open offices in China. It is also one of the fastest growing healthcare companies with a diversified business ranging from pharmaceuticals, vaccines and consumer healthcare to rare diseases (Genzyme) and animal health (Merial).