Aspen South Africa will soon deliver millions of vials of human insulin to patients in Africa at a low cost after reaching an agreement with Novo Nordisk.

The facility that was previously used to make Covid-19 vaccines at Aspen's plant in Gqeberha will be converted for the production of insulin. This was announced on Tuesday by Aspen Holdings Limited and its wholly owned South African subsidiary, Aspen SA Operations.

The company has concluded an agreement with the leading global manufacturer of human insulin, Novo Nordisk, for the technical transfer and commercial manufacture of the life-saving drug.

Aspen invested R6-billion in building the Gqeberha facilities and related technologies. The production of insulin will use sterile infrastructure including some used for Covid vaccine production.

The new contract will ensure the jobs of 250 people. It will start in 2024 and reduce the transport-related carbon footprint by 68%.

"Aspen has a clear objective and focus to capacitate Africa and give quality, affordable access to critical medicines from sites based in Africa that are also capable of exporting to global markets.

"We are proud to be associated and working with Novo Nordisk, a global leader in many areas including diabetic insulins," said Aspen Group chief executive Stephen Saad.

"We hope to build off this initial foundation with Novo Nordisk to further expand access. In addition, this development is important for retaining...