Biocon starts campaign to treat diabetic children, train healthcare workers

India has one of the largest populations of children and adolescents living with Type 1 diabetes in the world with an estimated 1 million patients in this age group

Biocon Biologics will enable free supply of insulin to 1,000 children from marginalised communities suffering from Type 1 diabetes, the company said on Monday.

The pharma major has tied up with the Research Society for the Study of Diabetes in India (RSSDI), an organisation of researchers and healthcare professionals for diabetes, to launch a campaign for diabetes knowledge in Type 1 patients.

To address the issue of Type 1 diabetes in children, Biocon Biologics will work together with RSSDI to identify and train around 400 physicians in different districts across the country.

India has one of the largest populations of children and adolescents living with Type 1 diabetes in the world with an estimated 1 million children and adolescents dealing with this condition as of 2019, with the number increasing every year.

As a part of this initiative, RSSDI teams will develop the training material and train these physicians, to create awareness on effective diabetes management in Type 1 patients, among their peers, and the community at large in their respective districts. Biocon Biologics will provide educational and other diabetes awareness material for these training programmes. It will also facilitate the organising of these events.

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, executive chairperson, Biocon and Biocon Biologics, said, “As a part of the centenary celebrations of the discovery of insulin, Biocon Biologics has expanded its universal access program to  address the needs of young people with Type 1 diabetes in India in collaboration with RSSDI.”