Physicians Frederick Banting and John MacLeod declined to be listed on the patent for insulin in 1923; their co-inventors Charles Best and James Collip sold the patent to the University of Toronto for $1. But despite the discoverers’ efforts to make insulin available and cheap for everyone, it has today become the poster child for soaring pharmaceutical prices.
According to Yale researchers, 14% Americans who need insulin to control their diabetes spend more than 40% of their post-subsistence income (what is available after paying for food and housing) on the drug. Many avoid or ration their treatment because of the high cost. In a 2018 survey, 45% of respondents managing diabetes reported having intentionally foregone insulin treatment for a period because of the financial burden. Each new generation of insulin products has been marked by an increase in price.
Click this link for the original source of this article.
Author: Robin Feldman
This content is courtesy of, and owned and copyrighted by, https://www.statnews.com and its author. This content is made available by use of the public RSS feed offered by the host site and is used for educational purposes only. If you are the author or represent the host site and would like this content removed now and in the future, please contact USSANews.com using the email address in the Contact page found in the website menu.