Wockhardt may file global process patents for human insulin

Wockhardt Ltd, which has become the fourth company in the world to produce recombinant human insulin, is planning to file process patents internationally to safeguard its technology.

The company is understood to have filed a process patent application in the United States.

The Rs 1,100 crore (Rs 11 billion) company claims to have worked on the technology for over 10 years and spent around Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion).

"The technology is extremely complex and difficult. The company will be filing process patents globally with a plan to market the product in various regulated and unregulated markets soon," Ramprasad Bhat, the group product manager, said at the formal launch of the product in Hyderabad on Thursday.

"Our product is based on the latest yeast-based technology which is superior to the older technology based on E.coli bacteria. We are manufacturing from the basic stage," he added.

Wockhardt is manufacturing its insulin product under the brand name Wosulin at its Rs 150 crore (Rs 1.50 billion) biotechnology park in Aurangabad, Maharashtra.