Insulin is just like water: both are liquids essential to sustain human life.
The difference? A vial of insulin can cost more than $300 in the United States.
First things first, let's go over the fundamental science behind this problem. Insulin is a naturally produced hormone that helps control the glucose (sugar) level in your blood. The shared characteristic across the various types of diabet
es is the rise in blood sugar levels and having diabetes alters how your body responds to or makes insulin. The most common types of diabetes include type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
Patients with type 1 diabetes only produce little, if any, insulin because their immune system attacks the pancreas cells responsible for its production. Therefore, people with type 1 diabetes must take medication every day to stay alive. Type 2 diabetes occurs because of resistance to insulin, where the body cannot produce enough of the chemical to counteract it. Treatment for patients with this type includes lifestyle changes, as well as taking insulin when necessary. It is important to stress that insulin is only a treatment, not a cure. Patients with type 1 diabetes must afford the cost of this medication for as long as they live.
The insulin market has been dominated by the three companies, Eli Lilly, Sanofi, and Novo Nordisk, which holds around 96% of the global market share. This oligopoly has increased the price of insulin exponentially in the last decades, from $9 in 1972 to a shocking $275 in 2017. Without proper mechanisms to control the price, it will only continue to soar from the competition.
With half of U.S adults living with diabetes or pre-diabetes and the numbers on the rise, the demand for insulin continues to grow. Underuse of Insulin could result in severe consequences such as blindness, kidney failure, stroke, loss of limb, and even death. Yet, the outrageous cost of Insulin has discouraged or disabled many diabetics from purchasing their required dose. 1 in 4 patients has reported rationing insulin due to its price, risking their health in return.
An organization working to tackle this problem is Open Insulin. This team of "biohackers" is working to create the first "practical, small-scale, community-centered model" for the production of insulin. Consisting of teams concerned with various aspects, ranging from microbe engineering to policy research, OpenInsulin is working towards a world where people can access "safe, affordable, high-quality insulin." They plan to tackle the oligopoly in the Insulin market by designing a better system where the drug would be manufactured locally in small quantities and where diabetics can get their vitals for a much cheaper price.
"We are taking over the stewardship of the medicine our lives depend on." - Anthony D, Open Insulin founder
Want to support these people to make Insulin accessible? Check out their social media accounts and their website at https://openinsulin.org/.
Bibliography
“Home - Right Care Alliance.” Right Care Alliance, 6 Aug. 2021, rightcarealliance.org/. Accessed 12 Sept. 2021.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. “What Is Diabetes? | NIDDK.” National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, 12 Sept. 2021, www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/diabetes/overview/what-is-diabetes. Accessed 12 Sept. 2021.
“Open Insulin Project.” Open Insulin Project, Open Insulin Project, 2016, openinsulin.org/. Accessed 12 Sept. 2021.
Watson, Stephanie. “Everything You Need to Know about Diabetes.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 4 Oct. 2018, www.healthline.com/health/diabetes. Accessed 12 Sept. 2021.
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