UZBEKISTAN The business of insulin in Uzbekistan

The government relaunches a project with the Russians to open a major factory for the production of the hormone. In the country there are about 250,000 patients with diabetes, of which 2,300 are children and almost 1,000 adolescents. Suspicions of corruption and a possible operation to circumvent sanctions against Russia.

Moscow () – The government of Uzbekistan has announced that it plans to open a major plant for the production of insulin, a project promoted by investments from Russia. Insulin is a vital preparation for those suffering from diabetes, a condition to which Tashkent is devoting enormous efforts. The announcement was made during the “Innoprom – Central Asia” exhibition held in April and organized by the Uzbek company “Zuma-Pharma” and the Russian company “Gerofarm”, from which the current agreement arose.

Uzbek authorities did not provide details on where the new factory will open, nor on the regulations it intends to follow. It will be the second plant in Uzbekistan dedicated to the sector – the first was opened in 2018 in Andižan, and until now it was believed to be “the only insulin company in all of Central Asia”. However, it has not yet started production of the diabetes preparation, raising concerns and suspicions of large-scale corruption.

Patients with type I diabetes depend on a supply of insulin, which is distributed in Uzbekistan in monthly doses, but with frequent interruptions or delays. As a consequence, patients often end up hospitalized and even require resuscitation, with the risk that not even the hormone can stabilize them to enjoy a normal life. When this occurs, some patients tell Ozodlik, “They offer us an even stronger insulin, Lantus, which we have to find and buy ourselves.”

For each injection of insulin that the state cannot provide, patients must pay 80,000 soms (about 7 euros), but the dose is barely enough for three or five days. Also, each syringe costs 200 soms. Insulin is purchased from private pharmacies, but supplies often run out. According to the Ministry of Health, there are about 250,000 diabetes patients in Uzbekistan, including 2,300 children and nearly 1,000 adolescents.

The new insulin factory raises hopes in many people affected by the disease, so widespread in the country. In fact, preliminary agreements with the Russian company Gerofarm took place before the start of the war in Ukraine, and it is expected that they will now reach the operational phase. Some rumors indicate that the Russians would receive one of the semi-dismantled factories in the Almalyk province, but at the moment there are no further details about it.

Questions remain about the shady deals in the Uzbek pharmaceutical sector in recent years, in which members of President Mirziyoyev’s family would be involved, and relatives of the Minister of Health himself, who was later forced to resign. The Andižan factory resorted to an onerous loan from international banks, worth 23.5 billion soms (2.1 million euros), but the destination of the money is unknown, given the poor results of the investment.

According to a Canadian microbiologist of Uzbek origin, Obid Mamadaliev, “in Uzbekistan they are not able to actually produce insulin, they only pack it with boxes and bottles that are also foreign-produced… I know these factories and the tricks of this business: with the On the pretext of production they import everything without paying taxes, and then make huge profits through resale to the state”.

It is suspected that even life-saving drugs could be used by Russia to circumvent sanctions and launder money, with the complacent support of “Uzbek brothers”.