Do you know how insulin is produced? Non-pathogenic E. coli or yeast containing the human insulin gene are grown on simple nutrients. The protein is produced by these cells, then purified in bulk. This is has been the primary method since the 80's - the patents are likely expired by now. Before the 1980's, we would use bovine or pig insulin harvested from slaughterhouses, but that process is far less efficient than modern biotech method. The cost of producing insulin is the cost of pouring bags of sugar into a bioreactor ($0.50/kg wholesale from Brazil). $300 for insulin is still highway robbery. $2800 is outright cruelty. When Frederick Banting discovered insulin in 2022, he sold the patent to the University of Toronto for $1, with an explicit intent of making insulin available for everyone.
Do you know how insulin is produced? Non-pathogenic E. coli or yeast containing the human insulin gene are grown on simple nutrients. The protein is produced by these cells, then purified in bulk. This is has been the primary method since the 80's - the patents are likely expired by now. Before the 1980's, we would use bovine or pig insulin harvested from slaughterhouses, but that process is far less efficient than modern biotech method. The cost of producing insulin is the cost of pouring bags of sugar into a bioreactor ($0.50/kg wholesale from Brazil). $300 for insulin is still highway robbery. $2800 is outright cruelty. When Frederick Banting discovered insulin in 2022, he sold the patent to the University of Toronto for $1, with an explicit intent of making insulin available for everyone.