New anti-diabetic product to boost INS

Business Times:HEALTH supplements manufacturer INS Bioscience Bhd is confident of recording a double-digit growth in sales this year, helped by its new anti-diabetic product extracted from bitter gourd.
The company, which made a RM8 million net profit last year, will market the new product, Insupro Forte, to South-East Asian markets and countries like Chna, India, Japan, South Korea and South Africa soon.
"We have built up an extensive marketing team to penetrate these potential markets," said INS executive chairman Datuk Abdul Majid Ahmad Khan.
It is confident the product will be well-accepted based on the overwhelming response received during the trial period conducted in Malaysia and clinical tests done in 20 hospitals throughout China.
"Insupro is capable of contributing substantially to our annual revenue beginning this current financial year," he told reporters after the handover ceremony of the research findings on Momordica Charantia or bitter gourd, done by Universiti Malaya, to the company in Puchong, Selangor, yesterday.
The event was witnessed by Science, Technology and Innovation Deputy Minister Datuk Kong Cho Ha.
Also present was INS chief executive Datuk David Yeat and Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya Associate Professor Dr Mustafa Ali Mohd.
Insupro Forte is a herbal oral anti-diabetic product containing bitter gourd's active ingredients namely Momordicoside and Charantin.
Research showed that bitter gourd has the effect of lowering the blood glucose level, Abdul Majid said.
Studies have also concluded that the effect of Insupro Forte on the blood glucose lowering activities was significant and was comparable to the standard drug, glibenclamide which is commonly used for diabetes treatment.
"Statistics show that about 3.6 million people around the world suffer from diabetes. The figures is expected to rise drastically to 336 million by 2030," he said.