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Insulin was discovered not by Americans, but by two Canadians. Dr. Banting and Fred Best were the ones who first discovered insulin and made it possible for it to be mass produced and given to diabetics in the early 1920's. Banting had no interest in being wealthy. He simply wanted the credit for having made this scientific discovery. An agreement was made with pharmaceutical company, Eli Lilly, to mass produce insulin for diabetics at a low cost. This was the case for decades.
I often wonder if the discoverer of insulin had been American if the results would have been much different. We Americans seem to have the idea that everything ought to be built around making not only profits, but the maximum profit possible. America has given the world much. However, our unwillingness to reign in even windfall profits may prove to be our undoing.
Anyway, insulin was cheap for decades. Until the pharmaceutical industry discovered by making a few changes to it, they could patent it and raise the price to astronomical levels. The newer insulin is better. It lasts longer and it easier for diabetics to control their blood sugars than the old insulin allowed. However, the new insulin costs vastly more than the old one did.
Frankly, I am tired of those who want to try to fix a problem like this with band aids. Charity and individual resourcefulness go so far. What is needed is a recognition of the problem and government action to stop it.
Modern insulin IS an American product.
Banting and Best discovered the existence of natural insulin as produced by the body.
It was American companies (Genentech) who pioneered the recombinant DNA engineering from e. Coli (the very first GMO product) in 78 and Eli Lilly to produce the first synthetic insulin commercially back in 82 that took the place of the pork based insulin that was used prior.
The synthetic insulin used by almost everyone today is an American innovation. My FIL was lead scientist on both Genentech and Lilly teams. He was appalled in his last years at the prices being charged for it. I suspect he’d be horrified now.
Last edited by mistyriver; 01-08-2019 at 12:02 PM..
I'd rather live and die with that Jonas Salk attitude. He freely gave his Polio Vaccine to a sick world just because we needed it.
Society has advanced in many ways since then, but we still struggle with our love of money, power and glory.
We can't change what we don't recognize.
Off topic, but. . . While I have a soft spot in my heart for Jonas Salk as I am a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh where he and his team developed the polio vaccine, he was no saint. He tried to patent the vaccine but couldn't under the laws of the day. So he turned it around and made himself into a humanitarian. The Real Reason Why Salk Refused to Patent the Polio Vaccine | BIOtechNow
I know. It's almost like we have no replacement for the Obamacare like the Republicans promised, right boxus? And health insurance through employers has gotten worse, not better. I interviewed for a few jobs in healthcare and even they don't offer medical insurance. Can you believe that? Our healthcare system is pretty bad if even a doctor's office won't offer medical benefits for their employees.
The article didn't mention if the mother looked into cheaper insulin or checked with the company, but it's likely she did. I am on Medicare, and I take a seizure medication that costs $350/month for 30 pills with my insurance. Without insurance, it costs $1000/month. Other seizure meds are available but the side effects are intolerable. I can only stay on it because I get free samples from the rep through my neurologist.
The Republicans weren't successful in repealing Obamacare, remember? The way you are talking you sound like the ACA has not been too great ....
Did you actually read the article or the replies? Health insurance would have cost half his salary, and he couldn't afford it. But it also made too much to qualify for assistance programs.
Well, so much for ACA "Affordable Car Act" or Obamacare. Poor guy. He was promised affordable health care and like all Americans he was lied to. So tragic.
In the 90's, my son got a rare disease that made him uninsurable through individual policies. From that day on, we knew that either myself or my ex needed to work in a large company or government agency with good insurance that couldn't decline individuals. As my son got older, we told him he would have to do the same. And he did.
Things have changed over the decades, but the fact remains, knowing he had large monthly medical expenses and being able to work, that young man's parents should've strongly encouraged him his whole life to work for a company with good insurance. That should have been priority one. This is so heartbreaking.
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