Quick response greatly appreciated. I am looking for a "big picture" of where primary ingredients are obtained, by country or geographic area. For example, if the primary ingredient in insulin comes from Denmark or Scandinavia, etc.

Thanks in advance.

-- Sara Nealy (keithn@aloha.net), May 24, 1999

Answers

World's largest insulin manufacturer is headquartered in Denmark, which is a Scandinavian country.

http://www.bioplanet.com/chat/jobs/messages/100.htm

Novo Nordisk A/S is the world's largest producer of industrial enzymes, the world leader in the manufacture of insulin and other diabetes health care products, as well as other pharmaceuticals. Headquartered in Denmark, Novo Nordisk A/S has operating facilities in over 50 countries worldwide.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), May 24, 1999.

Sara,

Found this on the debunk site, don't know if it's true.

Y2K fact checking 05/24/99

Amidst speculations about the impact of Y2K, we find that statements that have been portrayed as "facts" don't stand up to scrutiny. For instance, in an April 5 Computerworld article on Y2K and pharmaceutical companies ["Foreign Supply Failure Worries Drug Makers"], your reporter repeated inaccurate assertions found in a U.S. Senate report about the world's insulin supply.

We have seen several variations of the statement that 70% of the world's insulin is made in Denmark (or the Netherlands).

Another statement -- which also was included in the Senate report -- says 80% of raw materials used in manufacturing pharmaceuticals is sourced from outside the U.S.

These inaccurate statements could unduly cause worry about having enough insulin at the start of the new century. That is unfounded.

Lilly manufactures all of its human insulin in the U.S., near its company headquarters in Indianapolis. Only 15% of the raw materials Lilly uses to make its insulin comes from countries other than the U.S. In total, we rely on 44 suppliers for those raw materials to make insulin, and only nine of them are located in countries outside the U.S. Furthermore, in the U.S., we have all of the raw materials we need to make our 1999 year-end target inventories for major Lilly products.

Lilly is working to explain our Y2K readiness and address the flow of insulin to consumers.

Given the importance of the Y2K issue, it is crucial that statements given as "fact" are indeed true.

Doyia Chadwick

Eli Lilly and Co.

Indianapolis

cpr

-- R. Wright (blaklodg@hotmail.com), May 25, 1999.

Thank you both. It's hard to know who to believe sometimes. Sen. Dodd was the most public figure to bandy around the high percentages of imported pharmaceutical supplies. This Eli Lilly rep. may be right, but is she?

I am not familiar with the "debunk site", would you have a handy link?

Thanks again.

-- Sara Nealy (keithn@aloha.net), May 25, 1999.