GEROPHARM Expands its Product Geography to Venezuela

On the 11^th of July, a GEROPHARM-chartered aircraft delivered 840,000 packs of insulin to Caracas. This is the first company’s supply that includes insulin analogues (in addition to recombinant human insulins) and expands treatment options for diabetes in Venezuela.

Insulin analogues are used in adults and children with type I diabetes. In expanding its range of exported products, GEROPHARM has fully covered the demands of Venezuelan patients in modern insulins.

Pyotr Rodionov, General Director, GEROPHARM, says, “Today, GEROFARM’s portfolio includes a wide range of insulins. We are happy that the company has enough capacity and resources to both cater to the domestic market and to export large volumes of various advanced, high-quality, and effective products. It is our intention to further expand our partnership with Venezuela and, as new biosimilar insulins are developed, make them available to Venezuelan patients as well.”

GEROPHARM is the sole insulin supplier to Venezuela. The current commercial batch includes rapid- and intermediate-acting recombinant human insulins Rinsulin R, Rinsulin NPH and Rinsulin Mix 30/70 in vials, as well as ultra-rapid- and long-acting insulin analogues RinLis (insulin lispro) and RinGlar (insulin glargine) in cartridges. This batch size is enough to cover the full demand of the country—more than 400 thousand patients with diabetes—for up to two months. In addition, 20 thousand reusable syringes RinsaPen II will be supplied to Caracas by sea by the 2^nd of August.

Notably, the company decided to supply 20 thousand packages of insulin pen needles to Venezuela free of charge. As GEROPHARM does not manufacture needles, the company procured them from one of the world’s leading manufacturers at its own expense. As a result, every patient receiving a RinsaPen II reusable syringe will be provided with safety insulin needles for long-term use free of charge.

Insulin supplies to Venezuela are made under a schedule approved by the parties. GEROPHARM is supplying a somewhat larger volume of products than declared so that, in the event of an emergency, patients are not left without vital medications. It is worth mentioning that even during the COVID-19 pandemic, shipments did not stop.

“GEROPHARM, together with Venezuelan partners, is implementing a very important project: supplying Venezuela with essential insulin medicines. The company fully fulfils its obligations, even if this means finding non-standard solutions. Reliability is the main criterion for true partnerships. GEROPHARM’s exemplary work in Venezuela has a positive impact on the reputation of Russian businesses in the Latin America region”, comments Sergei Melik-Bagdasarov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and the Republic of Haiti.

It is worth reminding that the company performs regular supplies under a strategic long-term cooperation agreement with the Government of Venezuela signed during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in 2019 by GEROPHARM CEO Pyotr Rodionov and Vice President of Venezuela for Economic Affairs Tareck El Aissami.

At the time when the strategic partnership agreement was signed, international insulin manufacturers almost completely stopped shipments of these vital medicinal products to Venezuela—a country with no local insulin manufacturers.

Implementation of the project plays a decisive role in the development of humanitarian cooperation between Russia and Venezuela, which significantly improves the country’s international image. By the end of 2020, GEROPHARM is expected to supply over 5 mln packages of its products to Venezuela. The company estimates that the share of GEROPHARM may reach 20 % of total trade between Venezuela and Russia in 2020.