Pakistan faces a shortage of an insulin product after its German manufacturer halted supplies during product upgrades, parliament heard Friday. Parliamentary Secretary for Health Nelson Azeem said the disruption affected patients using the treatment for Type 1 diabetes.
Responding to MNA Syeda Amna Batool, Azeem said no shortage existed until June, while available stocks lasted until September. Supplies from Germany stopped in October, triggering the current shortage.
Supplies fall as manufacturer upgrades products
“The impact of the shortage is being felt not just here, but across Asia, as well as in Australia and Europe,” Azeem said. “The product will be available as soon as international supplies are restored.”
He said supplies had dropped from 3,500 kits to 1,000 and could fall further during the year-long upgrade process.
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The health ministry had asked importing distributors to arrange supplies. However, Azeem acknowledged difficulties because the manufacturer had halted production.
“The product is manufactured in Germany. It is an issue that we are trying to resolve,” he said.
Azeem maintained that alternative insulin products offered the same dosage and mode of action. Patients could switch on their doctors’ recommendation, he added.
Lawmaker questions affordability and access
Batool challenged those assurances, saying alternatives cost at least 20 per cent more and many patients lacked access to doctors.
“Currently, around 34.5 million people in Pakistan have Type 1 diabetes, including children,” she said. “Alternatives are not readily available. Has the health ministry or the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) ensured their easy availability?”
However, International Diabetes Federation data puts Pakistan’s adult diabetes population at approximately 34.5 million in 2024, covering diabetes overall. That figure does not represent Type 1 diabetes alone or include children.
The exchange highlighted competing accounts of availability, alongside concerns about the cost and practical difficulties of changing treatment.
Ministry identifies Apidra supply constraints
On Tuesday, October 20, health authorities rejected reports of a widespread insulin shortage, saying only one brand was unavailable.
“Insulin glulisine (Apidra, Sanofi) is currently unavailable due to international supply constraints. Alternate rapid-acting analogues within the same pharmacological class, specifically insulin aspart (NovoRapid, Novo Nordisk) and insulin lispro (Humalog, Eli Lilly), are readily available nationwide,” health ministry spokesperson Sajid Shah had said.
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Shah added that all other primary insulin classes remained fully accessible across Pakistan.
The current disruption follows broader concerns about medicine availability. In August 2025, the Pakistan Medical Association warned of “an unprecedented” and severe shortage of essential medicines, threatening millions of patients.
The association said at least 80 important medicines were unavailable, including 25 without substitutes. These included treatments for diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, heart disease and psychiatric disorders.
Azeem linked the product’s return to restored international supplies but gave parliament no firm date for availability in Pakistan.
