Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) and Egypt-headquartered EVA Pharma have developed a plan to collaborate to supply at least one million people in low- and middle-income countries. Many of the recipients of the vaccines will be in Africa. 

Roughly a month ago, Lilly’s share price fell about 4% after a fake Twitter account stated the company would make insulin available at no cost. 

Following that event, Public Citizen and more than 50 other organizations contacted congressional leaders asking for legislation that guarantees more-affordable insulin pricing in the U.S.

Lilly and other insulin providers have faced criticism over pricing. 

As part of its environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) focus, the company has a program known as the Lilly 30×30 initiative, which intends to improve access to quality healthcare for 30 million people in limited-resource settings each year by 2030.

Lilly noted in a press release that the deal with EVA Pharma is the first time it has agreed to provide its active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) for insulin at “a significantly reduced price.” 

The company will also offer a pro-bono technology transfer to the company to help it formulate, fill and finish insulin vials and cartridges. 

EVA Pharma anticipates that it will begin distributing insulin in the next 19 months. It plans to provide insulin to one million people annually by 2030. 

The state of California also has announced a plan to reduce the cost of insulin by enlisting a contract manufacturer. In November, reports suggested that the state was planning to work with the nonprofit generic drug company Civica Rx to produce the hormone.

EVA Pharma has also emerged as a leading African supplier of medicines for HIV/AIDS in recent years, reducing the continent’s reliance on imports to fight infections from the virus. A recent article in AhramOnline noted that Egypt can now provide treatment for 97% of Africans living with HIV/AIDS. 

The company also produces the COVID-19 antivirals molnupiravir and remdesivir. In 2021, EVA Pharma announced that it had signed a deal with India to supply 300,000 doses of the latter antiviral. 

EVA Pharma was founded in 1997.