of-a-kind insulin facility in the region has started the trial production in Ras Al Khaimah, The National reported Sunday. Gulf Pharmaceutical Industries (Julphar) projected that its manufacturing plant would generate AED5.56 billion ($1.51 billion) in sales in the UAE. The incidence of diabetes mellitus among Arabs varies depending on where they come from. It occurs in increasing order of frequency from Yemen, Dubai, Ras Al Khymah, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia to Qatar, so much so that from Qatar every second or third middle aged or elderly person is likely to be a diabetic. In Yemen it is a rare disease. Its AED550 million facility is completing trials before launching commercial production during the second quarter of this year, the UAE daily reported. The company says it aims to produce more than 40 million vials of insulin annually, making it the fifth-largest insulin producer in the world and the only one in the Middle East. "Recently we entered the diabetes business because there is huge demand," said Ayman Sahli, the chief executive of Julphar. "This plant is big enough to produce 1,500 kilograms of insulin (crystals) per year. This is beyond the need of the Emirates and GCC region," he said. While this is now Julphar's 11th facility in the UAE, and specifically RAK, most of the company's products are exported to the more than 45 countries. Last year, revenue at Julphar topped AED1 billion, up 11.3 percent over 2010, and the company forecasts 16 per cent growth this year. Sales in the Emirates, however, account for only about 10 percent of Julphar's overall revenue, as residents tend to prefer branded medicines from the US.
