AstraZeneca aims to impact 10 mn diabetics by 2023, starts awareness drive

India will have 115 mn diabetics by 2030. Forty-four per cent of patients hospitalised for heart failure have type-2 diabetes

Aiming to touch the lives of 10 million diabetics in three years, biopharmaceutical major AstraZeneca India has joined hands with the Research Society for Study of Diabetes in India (RSSDI) to drive awareness about the disease digitally in order to prevent complications arising from the uncontrolled incidence of diabetes.

Reports show that India will have around 115 million diabetics by 2030. Forty-four per cent of patients hospitalised for heart failure have type-2 diabetes showcasing the steep correlation between diabetes and the latter. Therefore, it is critical that diabetes be controlled to decrease the incidence of heart failure in India, said the Bengaluru-based company.

“We will be leveraging digital channels such as social media to empower diabetes patients so they are able to act early on to manage and prevent complications related to the disease,” said Anil Kukreja, Vice President – Medical Affairs & Regulatory, AstraZeneca India.

While RSSDI is the largest organisation of diabetes health care professionals and researchers in Asia, AstraZeneca India has the marketing licence to sell blockbuster anti-diabetic drug Dapagliflozin for the treatment of heart failure. Sold under the brand name Forxiga, it had a $1.54 billion market in 2019. The British pharmaceutical parent of AstraZeneca India is currently fighting a court case to prevent about 12 Indian pharma companies from manufacturing and selling low cost versions of this  medicine.