Chicago, IL – In a move with worldwide ramifications in the treatment of diabetes, Coremed, Inc., (www.coremedusa.com) announced the signing of a mutually exclusive joint venture partnership with Shanghai-based Fosun and Xuzhou-based Wanbang, two of China’s largest pharmas.

Frank K. Leung, M.D., F.A.C.E., Coremed’s founder, announced the agreement, saying that Coremed and Fosun-Wanbang would develop AlveairÔ inhalable insulin through all phases of clinical trials and product commercialization. Emphasizing the partnership’s important potential, Leung said it as a sound business model that holds several “distinctive competitive advantages.”

Fosun’s pharma division (www.fosun.com.cn) is widely recognized for its drug manufacturing, diagnostic products, medical devices, research and development and logistics. It is listed as the one of the most profitable major pharmas in China in 2004.

Wanbang is the largest manufacturer of insulin in China, with dominant market share in a country that has an estimated 40-50 million diabetics.

Global demand for insulin is expected to increase significantly over the next several years, Leung said, citing these three factors:

• New delivery technologies.
• Exploding incidence of diabetes
• Earlier diagnosis of diabetes

New delivery technologies will account for meeting most of the insulin demand, he said.

“The significance of this joint venture is that it now links a low-cost producer, with a huge manufacturing capacity,” Leung said. “Combined, this will position Coremed to one day serve global biopharmaceutical markets.”

Founded in 1994, Coremed, Inc., is exclusively dedicated to the development of alternate insulin delivery. It has conducted extensive pre-clinical biological trials of oral and pulmonary-delivered insulin. Over the past five years, it has presented its findings at numerous professional scientific meetings.