Biohackers Figure Out How To Make Insulin 98% Cheaper | Freethink:
In a healthy human body, insulin is a hormone created by the pancreas that controls glucose levels in the bloodstream. But a diabetic's body doesn't naturally produce insulin, which means the body can't store glucose for later use as energy in fat cells.
Because of this, the fat cells break down and over-produce keto acids — the organic compounds responsible for converting glucose into energy — leading to acid levels that are too high for the liver to withstand. Should a diabetic not have access to insulin, this acid imbalance can trigger diabetic ketoacidosis, a life-threatening condition. This is why monitoring insulin levels and using medicine is critical to survival for diabetics.
[...] In 1996, a vial of Humalog produced by Eli Lilly cost $21. Today, it's priced at $324 despite the cost of production remaining steady.
Every person with type I diabetes relies on insulin to survive, and many are willing to spend whatever it takes to get their necessary dosage. Big pharma is clearly taking advantage of this vulnerable part of the population, gorging themselves by charging astronomical costs and pricing out those who can't afford to keep up.
A group of dedicated biohackers believes that making insulin more accessible requires taking the monopoly away from the big three pharmaceutical companies that produce it. So they've started the Open Insulin Foundation, a non-profit with plans to develop the world's first open-source insulin production model.
The team consists of dozens of volunteers led by founder Anthony DiFranco, a type I diabetic. They're now able to produce the microorganisms needed for insulin with a bioreactor. They're also working to develop equipment that can purify the proteins produced by the bioreactor.
[...] With open-source hardware equivalent to proprietary bioreactors, the foundation hopes to give labs across the world access to the equipment needed to produce the insulin protein on a small scale.
[...] Today, they're beginning to see hopeful signs of a major breakthrough — like getting an FDA-approved protocol for making injectables. The team estimates that costs will be 98% cheaper than big pharma, reaching prices as low as $5-15 per vial. The best part? They're willing to give away their plans for how to make insulin for free.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 29 2021, @03:06PM
1. Blender and centrifuge
2. Uiyghurs
3. Profit!
(Score: 5, Insightful) by WizardFusion on Tuesday June 29 2021, @03:09PM (49 children)
This may be a radical idea, but what about a proper medical health care system like most of the modern world.
(Score: 4, Touché) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Tuesday June 29 2021, @03:17PM (16 children)
You pinko commie sumbitches ain't gonna ruin the good ole US of A's way of living! Who are you to tell me I should contribute to the health and well being of others when the only person's I'm interested in is mine?
Land of the sick, home of the grave.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 29 2021, @03:38PM (11 children)
Your take below is better. Insurance companies should be refusing to pay exorbitant costs the same as private individuals do. If insurers sent the bill to the patients, have them strike out excess items and sign off on the bill then medical costs will come down. Same for medication, if something is available on the open market at a cheaper price* (aren't porous borders and globalization great?) then there's no justification for higher prices.
* eg: 100 500mg acetaminophen (tylenol) tablets for under $5.00 [homehealth-uk.com]
(Score: -1, Troll) by js290 on Tuesday June 29 2021, @03:42PM (10 children)
20/20 Sick in America: Whose Body is it Anyway? (6/6) - Dr. Robert Berry PATMOS EmergiClinic [bit.ly]
(Score: 5, Insightful) by janrinok on Tuesday June 29 2021, @03:51PM (9 children)
Can you just post normal links like everybody else please? We can't see what we are about to download - in this case it is a video.
[nostyle RIP 06 May 2025]
(Score: -1, Troll) by js290 on Tuesday June 29 2021, @04:10PM (7 children)
are you using a non normal browser?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 29 2021, @05:34PM
I'm using an older Firefox (a version from last year). Hovering over your (GP) link text shows me the URL (bottom left of window), but gives no clue that the link is to a video.
(Score: 5, Touché) by janrinok on Tuesday June 29 2021, @05:37PM (2 children)
No, it seems that you can only link to Twitter or bit.ly Please just give the URL of the source material.
[nostyle RIP 06 May 2025]
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 29 2021, @05:41PM (1 child)
I want to mod these links as spam. Will the the admins approve?
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Tuesday June 29 2021, @05:46PM
We will have to discuss whether they constitute Spam or not - but they are certainly off-topic. There is nothing on the bit.ly or Twitter pages that is directly related to the topic under discussion, merely links to elsewhere.
[nostyle RIP 06 May 2025]
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 29 2021, @05:38PM (2 children)
Your links look like goatse spam. Cut it out. Put up the real links. Don't be an ass
Every time you do this shit you will be mocked
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 29 2021, @09:12PM (1 child)
Fuck off, Jew faggot. How's that for spam?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 29 2021, @11:30PM
Pretty low effort, TBH.
(Score: 2) by canopic jug on Wednesday June 30 2021, @03:23AM
We can't see what we are about to download - in this case it is a video.
Or so you think.
Money is not free speech. Elections should not be auctions.
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Tuesday June 29 2021, @03:49PM (2 children)
That is every so quotable - thank you, I'll probably steal that at some point.
[nostyle RIP 06 May 2025]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 29 2021, @08:29PM (1 child)
I don't know, it doesn't really work. "grave" and "brave" rhyme, but a better word is needed for "sick" to have it rhyme with "free."
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 29 2021, @09:58PM
(Score: 2) by Opportunist on Wednesday June 30 2021, @11:19AM
Damn straight! I want to have my freedom of choice whether I want to be able to eat or whether I want to have medication!
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by js290 on Tuesday June 29 2021, @03:37PM (1 child)
We can have universal health by shutting down the USDA & FDA... Dr Rosedale "measured [boy's] insulin level, after [boy] ate piece of toast & his insulin levels went into the 100s" [bit.ly]
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Tuesday June 29 2021, @09:20PM
Different people react differently. If your doctor thinks I react that way, he's deluded.
This *is* a real concern, and *ought* to be one of the things the FDA was interested in. But they seem more interested in approving garbage treatments that are expensive, of no known value, and known to be dangerous. https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-grants-accelerated-approval-alzheimers-drug [fda.gov]
Unfortunately, drugs are sensitive to things like formulation, so I'm dubious about the insulin produced by those "bio-hackers". There are reason approval tests are needed. But the current FDA has been approving drugs that have essentially failed the phase 3 tests. The do demand follow-up studies, but they don't seem to enforce those demands.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by DannyB on Tuesday June 29 2021, @04:02PM (21 children)
About half the population in America doesn't want that.
Trump promised to get rid of the evil Obamacare. The fake news then reports that Trump is getting rid of the ACA. Many people including Republicans protest that they WANT TO KEEP THE ACA, they just want to get rid of Obamacare. But keep the ACA!
The poor idiots (because they have been lied to) don't realize the ACA and Obamacare are the same thing. Obamacare is simply the slur word that Fox News invented years ago to describe the ACA. The slur went viral among Republicans, so we never hear of the ACA and thus many don't know what the ACA is. I've been surprised in years before during November when it is time for open enrollment into next year's health and other benefits, when some people suddenly learn that the ACA is Obamacare.
The server will be down for replacement of vacuum tubes, belts, worn parts and lubrication of gears and bearings.
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Tuesday June 29 2021, @05:08PM (2 children)
Yes: unfortunately, the uninformed/ignorant are allowed to vote as well.
Sigh.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. I have always been here. ---Gaaark 2.0 --
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 29 2021, @05:40PM
> ... the uninformed/ignorant are allowed to vote as well.
A very bright college friend with PhD in physics went to work in Washington DC, producing background reports to be used by congress critters. One of his internal white papers wound up having a very large influence on one of the big arms-reduction treaties.
Once I asked him how he could put up with all the ignorant and otherwise loopy people there. His comment was, "The average IQ is 100, by definition."
(Score: 4, Insightful) by DannyB on Tuesday June 29 2021, @06:03PM
Yes, they are.
It would be good for everyone if they could become more informed.
Who could argue with that?
Oh, wait. Nevermind, I know who.
The server will be down for replacement of vacuum tubes, belts, worn parts and lubrication of gears and bearings.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 29 2021, @05:11PM (10 children)
Trump passed an executive order allowing us to purchase drugs from Canada. Biden undid it. Biden talked about reducing pharmaceutical prices but what has he done besides talk. Also, making the taxpayer or premium payers pay for inflated pricing is not reducing prices.
The problem with insulin prices has nothing to do with a lack of cheap production methods. It has to do with politics. Insulin has increased substantially over the years because of politics not because our ability to affordably produce it has gotten any worse.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 29 2021, @05:13PM (3 children)
Insulin prices have increased substantially over the years because of politics *
(Score: 4, Insightful) by DannyB on Tuesday June 29 2021, @06:33PM (2 children)
You misspelled corruption.
The server will be down for replacement of vacuum tubes, belts, worn parts and lubrication of gears and bearings.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 30 2021, @04:35AM (1 child)
Tomato, Potato.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday June 30 2021, @02:17PM
You forgot the e on the end of Potato. [washingtonpost.com]
The server will be down for replacement of vacuum tubes, belts, worn parts and lubrication of gears and bearings.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 29 2021, @09:10PM (4 children)
Absolutely wrong. If you believe that, you are an uneducated moron. Either go educate yourself with facts, or remove yourself from the voting rolls. You are basically the reason we can't have nice things, like a functioning democracy.
And get your executive orders straight because you are also mixing them up if you want to talk about insulin.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 30 2021, @02:01AM (3 children)
It's exactly right.
Biden Administration Signals It’s in No Rush to Allow Canadian Drug Imports
"The Biden administration said Friday it has no timeline on whether it will allow states to import drugs from Canada, an effort that was approved under President Donald Trump as a key strategy to control costs. "
https://khn.org/news/article/biden-administration-signals-its-in-no-rush-to-allow-canadian-drug-imports/ [khn.org]
So, yes, it is absolutely right. Trump passed a bill to lower drug prices (not to pass them onto the taxpayer or the premium holders). Biden undid it, talked about fixing drug prices, and so far has done absolutely nothing.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 30 2021, @02:05AM
err ... not a bill, an executive order * (sorry, I typed that in too much haste).
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 30 2021, @02:16AM
err... the premium payers *
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 30 2021, @03:07PM
No, it is not. Trump's EO did basically nothing, like almost all of his EOs. They sound great, and sound like they are doing something, but like everything Trump promises, it turns out to be all smoke and mirrors [axios.com].
This, from back when the EOs were signed [washingtonpost.com]:
Fast forward to now, it turns out that pharma has sued and the Biden adminstration even joined in with an opinion to dismiss the lawsuit on the grounds that they don't have standing because nothing has been implemented yet.
It's like all the Repubs who are now using the same talking points (which they ALWAYS do) blaming "the Squad" and Biden wanting to DEFUND THE POLICE!!! all the while those hypocrites are the ones who have voted against police funding FOR YEARS while "the Squad" and others actually fund the police [washingtonpost.com].
Again, people like you are the reason we can't have nice democracies because you wholeheartedly and unquestionably buy into their bullshit and lies. It takes almost zero effort to fact check all of this stuff, but who wants to run the risk of finding out they've been sold a stinking pile of crap? I guess it is more comforting to believe the story than to believe reality.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 30 2021, @02:02PM
I'd love a source for your claim, what I found when searching was: https://khn.org/news/article/biden-administration-signals-its-in-no-rush-to-allow-canadian-drug-imports/ [khn.org]
It seems that Trump "started the process" and it is still on-going, but Biden might not be going as fast as some would want. This seems to me like one of those things like the levees in Texas that need replacement because the border wall broke them:
https://www.borderreport.com/hot-topics/the-border-wall/repairs-underway-on-earthen-levee-damaged-by-border-wall-construction-in-south-texas/ [borderreport.com]
Essentially, Trump did a thing, then lost, and now it is Biden's problem.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by PinkyGigglebrain on Tuesday June 29 2021, @06:53PM
History repeating itself. Similar thing happened in the 1930's with the Marijuana Tax Act. The general public thought it was just going to ban the "Devil Weed" the migrant workers had brought with them from Mexico that they had read about in the Hearst news papers. Most people were really surprised when they found out that Hemp and Marijuana were the same plant (at the time they were, now the names are used to differentiate the high THC varieties of Cannabis from the low TCH "industrial hemp")
One of the first things any tyrant/dictator does when they get or start to consolidate their power is remove or completely undermine the education system. The last thing they want is an educated population that can think logically and rationally. The USA has just been going about it a little slower than Mao Zedong and Stalin did.
"Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Tuesday June 29 2021, @08:04PM (5 children)
I guess it's a slur, but it always felt double-edged to me. How do you put someone's name and the word "Care" together and come up with something pejorative? That's just sloppy marketing. At least Orwell had the presence of mind to call it "Two Minutes Hate" [youtu.be] when describing something, you know, undesirable.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by DannyB on Tuesday June 29 2021, @08:13PM (4 children)
Republicans watching Fox News would take Obama something to be a slur.
Just as Democrats watching CNN would take Trump something to be a slur.
(I don't watch CNN, but did once long ago.)
The server will be down for replacement of vacuum tubes, belts, worn parts and lubrication of gears and bearings.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 29 2021, @08:19PM
> (I don't watch CNN, but did once long ago.)
Wishing you a speedy recovery.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Wednesday June 30 2021, @04:36PM (2 children)
Trump-$THING is a slur because of what kind of person Trump is. This is not a difficult concept; people are known by their actions, words, and company. I had, and have, some serious problems with Obama, but he was ten thousand times the better human being and better policymaker compared to Trump.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday June 30 2021, @07:23PM (1 child)
Obama-$THING is perceived by Fox News viewers as a slur because . . . uh, because Obama is a demon possessed child trafficking pedophile who drinks the blood of babies for its rejuvenating powers.
The server will be down for replacement of vacuum tubes, belts, worn parts and lubrication of gears and bearings.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Wednesday June 30 2021, @08:17PM
Bingo. Notice the difference there? :) One is rooted in observable reality and one isn't.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Tork on Tuesday June 29 2021, @04:17PM (1 child)
Because it's an inexplicably partisan issue.
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: 3, Insightful) by DannyB on Tuesday June 29 2021, @06:04PM
Just like COVID. It's a political issue rather than a medical issue.
Which color states have low vaccination rates? The answer shows that it IS a political issue an NOT a medical issue.
The server will be down for replacement of vacuum tubes, belts, worn parts and lubrication of gears and bearings.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by epitaxial on Tuesday June 29 2021, @05:00PM (5 children)
One political party has succeeded in making the word socialism into a dirty word and insult. Never mind that all politicians have top notch healthcare not costing them a dime.
(Score: 2, Disagree) by ChrisMaple on Wednesday June 30 2021, @03:57AM (4 children)
Socialism is theft. It is properly considered an insult.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 30 2021, @02:22PM (1 child)
If the purpose of government is not to promote for the public welfare, what is it, why have one?
I mean it is right there in the first sentence of the constitution.
Are roads theft? Fire departments, schools, police? At what point does it stop being theft and become the proper job of government?
Do we really want to be the place where a pandemic hits, and people are suddenly out of a job, and thus off healthcare in a healthcare emergency? Is that "American"? because if it is, then I guess being called unamerican doesn't sound much like an insult to me.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday June 30 2021, @07:26PM
Let's not forget public education. Taxes pay for it. Even paid by people without kids, or who have kids in private school.
Complain?
If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.
Oh, wait. I think we're in the middle of that experiment right now.
The server will be down for replacement of vacuum tubes, belts, worn parts and lubrication of gears and bearings.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Wednesday June 30 2021, @04:39PM
Define "socialism." You and your kind throw around a lot of scary-sounding words with nebulous definitions.
For a better definition, define it in such a way that does not also categorize essentially any human activity from the dawn of hunter-gatherer cooperation to your dreaded "socialism" as theft.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 30 2021, @05:02PM
As suspected from your posting history you are a brainwashed moron. Did you know that Republicans are all racist Nazis? See what I did there? Applied your same type of generalization that just feelz right to me!
(Score: 2) by Snotnose on Tuesday June 29 2021, @03:11PM (7 children)
It was eye opening. I didn't need a prescription for the insulin, but I did for the needles. The needles cost more than the insulin (no insurance, of course). I think a 1 month supply was something like $20.
Sadly, the cat did not take well to shots, so we just let her be and took her to the vet for her final visit maybe 3 weeks later.
Oh yeah, I couldn't do anything with the leftover insulin/needles. The pharmacy didn't want them back (understandable), and Craigslist didn't exist yet (or at least I hadn't heard of it). I didn't know any heroin addicts, so both insulin and the needles went into the trash.
Of course I'm against DEI. Donald, Eric, and Ivanka.
(Score: 2) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Tuesday June 29 2021, @03:22PM
Dude, you're not very imaginative. Every city has a neighborhood where you can make good money selling second-hand clean needles still in their packaging...
(Score: 1, Offtopic) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday June 29 2021, @03:27PM (3 children)
“I have become friends with many school shooters” - Tampon Tim Walz
(Score: 2) by PinkyGigglebrain on Tuesday June 29 2021, @07:09PM (2 children)
lol, you really don't know much about cats do you.
They have the same fleshy spot just above their shoulders that dogs do.
Cats are just smart enough to figure out whats going on and avoid it.
Sadly most of the time neither cats nor dogs are smart enough to realize that getting jabbed with a needle once or twice a day is actually helping them.
"Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Snotnose on Tuesday June 29 2021, @07:23PM
My vet showed me that spot. In fact, after a few days of trying to give the cat her shot I got the vet to make a house call. She couldn't inject the cat either. Cat flat out did not want her shot.
Of course I'm against DEI. Donald, Eric, and Ivanka.
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Tuesday June 29 2021, @09:28PM
It's not a matter of "smart enough". My dog clearly knew when I picked up a needle what was coming. She was just obedient/submissive enough to the "pack leader" (me) not to make a problem about it. She also knows when I'm taking her to the vet. I can tell by her body language. But she accepts it.
House cats aren't pack animals. They've got a different set of instincts.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 3, Informative) by DannyB on Tuesday June 29 2021, @04:19PM
I once had a diabetic minor child who is now an adult that we see every month or so.
Prior to having an insulin pump there were several years we were doing injections.
Once we ran out of syringes just because we somehow had screwed up. We didn't discover this until late at night. No problem. The pharmacy we use is open 24 hours.
I rush there. Arrive in jogging pants and t-shirt asking for syringes. I am very specific about exactly which syringes I want. (Many to choose from.) And I only want one bag of (about a dozen?). They look at me funny. Start asking various questions. I can answer everything. I have ID. I can identify who the patient is, and exactly which insulin it is for, etc. And they have records. I only want a few tonight. Tomorrow I'll come back and buy a whole box deal with insurance, etc.
I was able to buy just one baggie of syringes over the counter inexpensively.
The server will be down for replacement of vacuum tubes, belts, worn parts and lubrication of gears and bearings.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 30 2021, @01:15AM
> The pharmacy didn't want them back
Many veterinary offices / hospitals will take the left over medications/supplies as a donation-- especially, if they were for a patient of theirs. And, double-espescially, if the veterinary practice volunteers free care for shelters and rescue organizations.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Tuesday June 29 2021, @03:11PM (5 children)
Big pharma doesn't gorge on individuals with diabetes, they gorge on national or private health insurance money. It's not like individuals can't afford insuline (normally, if you don't live in the US, or if you live in the US and you have a decent job with decent coverage): they'll get their insulin no matter what, but someone's gonna pay what pharmaceutical companies charge - be it the taxpayer or someone else - and the damn companies know it, and they're milking whoever writes the check for all it's worth.
(Score: 5, Informative) by sjames on Tuesday June 29 2021, @04:13PM (1 child)
They absolutely do gorge themselves on individuals. The insurance companies don't just eat the exorbitant costs, they pass it on. You or your employer pay bloated premiums as a result. If it's your employer, that affects what they're willing to pay as salary in addition to the health insurance and it aaffects what theyu charge customers for goods and services.
So yes, the whole country suffers because of the bloated hogs in the pharmaceutical industry charging rapacious prices for insulin and other drugs.
Meanwhile, people in the U.S. die every year from skimping on insulin because they can't afford it. Even the co-pay for insulin exceeds the reasonable retail price.
(Score: 4, Funny) by DannyB on Tuesday June 29 2021, @04:21PM
Wait, uh, wut? You are saying that the health insurance isn't just a big magical pile of money in the sky for big pharma?
The server will be down for replacement of vacuum tubes, belts, worn parts and lubrication of gears and bearings.
(Score: 3, Informative) by DrkShadow on Tuesday June 29 2021, @08:52PM (2 children)
They offer coupons and rebates and everything under the sun. Humalog insulin, from Lilly, is literally free for anyone making under $60 000 per year. For those over, your insurance will negotiate a much lower price -- and then you'll get a coupon for the co-pay (so no more than $25 for 2-3 months supply). Typically this coupon will cover the whole price: you have a PPO plan where _all_ your costs are out-of-pocket until you hit your deductible? Your coupon gets it for you for $25/mo.
The difference is state-sponsored insurance. Legislative types, public employees, military, medicaid, medicare -- they get billed a hefty price, I think. Coupons can't be used (it's in the fine-print, they also ask specifically), and I don't know about how much those services negotiate down the price.
And then - if you don't ask, you pay the maximum price. You've gotta ask. (Not the pharmacist - they can't do anything - the manufacturer, for a discount card.)
(Score: 2) by ChrisMaple on Wednesday June 30 2021, @04:10AM (1 child)
I've had a pharmacist at Rite-Aid successfully find lower prices. In my case it was for generic Lipitor and the price went approximately from $100/month to $10/month.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Wednesday June 30 2021, @04:41PM
Socialism! You should be paying the full price for your drugs! Think of all the starving pharma executives who worked so hard to create that sacred valuable medicine and alllll those jobs out of literally nothing but their own blood, sweat, and tears!!!111one
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 4, Insightful) by jimbrooking on Tuesday June 29 2021, @03:33PM (1 child)
Watch Big Pharma squash them like a bug.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Beryllium Sphere (r) on Tuesday June 29 2021, @10:53PM
I imagine IP litigation from hell, special purpose corrupt legislation, and a FUD campaign that will make the one against the COVID vaccines look casual.
(Score: -1, Troll) by js290 on Tuesday June 29 2021, @03:39PM
Dr. Bernstein has had [type 1] diabetes for 72 years ... [diabetes-book.com]
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 29 2021, @03:40PM (2 children)
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 29 2021, @03:50PM
(Score: 1, Offtopic) by janrinok on Tuesday June 29 2021, @03:55PM
It is already in the submissions queue and has nothing to do with this topic.
[nostyle RIP 06 May 2025]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 29 2021, @04:08PM (4 children)
errr... who would actually have to pay 328 $ for insulin?
i mean, you are at the door step of a hospital and thru some miracle people figure out that you are 328 dollars away from death?
also hurray for cheap insulin and cheap way to (maybe) assinate someone...
(Score: 5, Insightful) by sjames on Tuesday June 29 2021, @04:20PM (1 child)
If you are a type 1 diabetic, you will be sooner or later $328 away from death. Perhaps not today, but soon.
It's not like your need for insulin will go away and currently it's not like you're just going to whip some up in your kitchen.
Meanwhile, the pharmaceutical lobby does it's best to keep Americans from buying their insulin from other countries that don't tolerate these sorts of shenanigans.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday June 29 2021, @04:28PM
An adolescent or adult can need more than a single $328 vial of insulin for one month.
I remember when a vial was like $68, ish, and then the outrage when it was about $125 ish.
But thank goodness we had good insurance through big corporation I work for.
The server will be down for replacement of vacuum tubes, belts, worn parts and lubrication of gears and bearings.
(Score: 2) by epitaxial on Tuesday June 29 2021, @05:03PM (1 child)
Anyone without health insurance or Obamacare with a high deductible. It's literally cheaper to fly from the USA to Germany and buy insulin there.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 29 2021, @05:17PM
Supposing you could obtain a prescription in Germany, big business has a solution for that hole: Ban travel because of some mysterious cold that is supposedly causing bodies to pile up.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 29 2021, @04:30PM (2 children)
Other countries have regional governments (state/province/territory) bulk negotiate prices for medications. Given that they're buying for their entire population (public health care) the prices haven't gone up much. Insulin in Canada has not quite doubled over the last 40 years, but also buys you 50%?more, so the real increase is minimal. $25 for 10 ml vial in 1980 vs $44 for 5x3 ml cartridges. So basically less than 15% per ml.
Other countries with larger populations get even better deals.
Blame your politicians.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by fustakrakich on Tuesday June 29 2021, @05:55PM
You mean, blame the people we reelect time after time for forty years? That's illogical
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 30 2021, @01:18AM
> Other countries have regional governments (state/province/territory) bulk negotiate prices for medications.
President Baby Bush signed into law, a law that prohibits Medicare negotiating lower prices for drugs.
It is corruption all the way up.
(Score: 3, Informative) by DannyB on Tuesday June 29 2021, @04:39PM (1 child)
Walmart unveils low-price insulin as more patients with diabetes struggle to pay for drug [cnbc.com]
Analog insulin is great. How about digital insulin?
The server will be down for replacement of vacuum tubes, belts, worn parts and lubrication of gears and bearings.
(Score: 3, Funny) by kazzie on Wednesday June 30 2021, @04:56AM
People tend to have a yes/no reaction to it.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 29 2021, @04:59PM (4 children)
The best way to make insulin is to stop drinking soda and stop adding sugar to everything. The 2nd best way is to stop gouging people.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 29 2021, @10:11PM (3 children)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 30 2021, @07:49AM (2 children)
Not at all - as a T1, you need 2 types of insulin:
- Basal, which is a static daily dose and amount needed is based (mostly) on body weight and metabolism
- Bolus, which is a per-meal dose and is almost entirely based on amount of carbohydrate in the meal
If you reduce the sugar + carbs you eat, you need less insulin. It is possible (though extreme) to only have basal insulin.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 30 2021, @04:34PM (1 child)
The initial argument here was - the best way to make insulin...
No amount of eating sugar/carbs has any effect on the amount of insulin a type 1 diabetic makes. Including eating zero. You are shifting the claim here to the amount of insulin needed. Don't move goalposts like that without making it clear you are conceding on the initial claim.
It is a death sentence to eliminate the Bolus dose, even if there are no carbs in the meals.
You can do some reduction as claimed by changing the diet. But you can't do that much, type 1 diabetics have a higher minimum level of carbs they have to eat than non-diabetics. A non-diabetic can go on a keto-style diet. But since insulin is also needed to regulate ketone levels, and high ketones kill faster than high blood sugar levels, some type 1 diabetics die each year by trying just what you suggested. It is a very bad idea. Type 1 diabetics have to maintain enough carbs in the diet to stay out of the ketone range, and managing that is not easy, so the only safe way to live is have a significant amount of carbs in the diet. That level of carbs still requires a bolus dose. It absolutely cannot be eliminated, and it is dangerous to even try to reduce it much by changing the diet.
You are recommending dangerous shit in order defend companies, prices and practices that shouldn't be tolerated, let alone defended. Stop it.
Significant reductions in sugar/carbs probably would do a lot of good in the general population in reducing obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart disease. I recommend it. Don't treat it a a moral 'sugar/carbs bad!' It isn't.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 30 2021, @09:56PM
I think you've mistaken the 2nd response as being by the same person as the initial claim.
But this line "type 1 diabetics have a higher minimum level of carbs they have to eat than non-diabetics" is crap. No-one has a minimum level of carbs needed. At all. If the Basal dose is correct, then it's all good. Hang out in some T1 zero carb groups sometime, it is a very successful way to have good glucose control, if you can eat like that.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 29 2021, @05:41PM (1 child)
If one reads the article, the "biohackers" estimate that in the future they will learn how and develop the technologies and techniques needed to make insulin 98% cheaper than that available now. Nowhere have they yet succeeded in doing so. They appear to be making progress toward this goal, but it's just that--a goal, not a completed achievement.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Immerman on Tuesday June 29 2021, @07:29PM
It's also solving the wrong problem, unless they can come up with a method to let diabetics homebrew their own insulin without fear of errors or contamination that could poison them instead.
Well, I mean I'm sure it would be useful for developing countries where the few dollars a vial it costs to produce is prohibitively expensive for many people. But for the rest of the world, we already have a patent-free way to produce cheap insulin. The problem in the US is not technology, it's market and regulatory capture that allow a few major players to collude to demand outrageous profit margins.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 29 2021, @06:19PM (2 children)
Perhaps the Market doesn't want the poor with diabetes to survive?
That sounds like Undemocratic Marxism. The Alt-Wrong will be triggered. Socialism, Marxism, EUSSR, Venezuela, toilet paper.
(Score: 0, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 29 2021, @08:16PM (1 child)
The problem is too much regulation favoring the big pharma companies. LESS government intervention is what is needed, or should I say, eliminating some of the current regs. Insulin is a widely needed med, and it is cheap to produce. Only REGS are stopping a free market solution to meet demand.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Azuma Hazuki on Wednesday June 30 2021, @04:44PM
I'm going to stop you right there. The problem isn't "too much" regulation, it's *inappropriate* regulation. There is a subtle difference here. The problem is failing to regulate smart, rather than regulating "too hard."
You're running a common and very, very low-level scam I see from your kind on a regular basis. You are saying the equivalent of "I know someone who drowned in a swimming pool once, so water is bad." Cut it out. You're not fooling anyone and we all know the scam you're trying to pull.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 5, Informative) by Beryllium Sphere (r) on Tuesday June 29 2021, @07:55PM
Two of them didn't want to patent insulin at all on the grounds that monopolizing a lifesaving treatment would be unethical. Others were in favor of taking out a patent to prevent a drug company from doing it first.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insulin#Patent [wikipedia.org]
Human-equivalent insulin from genetically engineered bacteria was an actual invention, but that was in 1982. Big Pharma has long since made their investment back.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by darkfeline on Tuesday June 29 2021, @09:24PM
This is just the free market working as intended. Existing providers cannot offer goods at an optimal price point, so entrepreneurs challenge them by offering the goods at a much lower price point.
Of course, the real test is when the incumbents try to shut down the newcomers, will the courts properly apply anti competitive measures? I mean, the current president did shut down Trump's order to require health centers to pass on insulin discounts to consumers (of course, the health centers claimed that Trump's order was bad, but these health centers are also the ones receiving the difference between their discounts and what consumers pay, so who knows).
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 29 2021, @09:30PM (3 children)
I was talking with a guy from one of the local "artificial heart" research programs, many countries have these programs and usually universities cooperate there with companies. Here's what he told me: The better allocation of funds will be to build parks and walking tracks, and this would make better for people's hearts than this program. Since 2002 they were trying to implement a single, quite simple process. Biocompatibility aside, they cannot only because formal reasons. Because in some world's arsehole darker than my one some amateur science fiction writer patented it and as he had friends in the office got patent without any details or proof that it works. Or some company registered a shape for the valve's membrane as everything, including trademark.
So there will be certainly an open-source process, but nobody would use it as it will be illegal and all forces will be sent to force this.
(Score: 2) by ChrisMaple on Wednesday June 30 2021, @04:19AM (2 children)
Some citations would be nice.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 30 2021, @06:27AM
As would an English translation.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 30 2021, @09:59PM
Unfortunately, there are too big incentives for the science, so scientists may not publish about it. But generally, the problem here is the implementation of "intellectual property" concept.
Scientists can still publish their findings, but they cannot be implemented in the industry, that's the problem.
The theme is similar: They come with some idea. They design and optimize it, model and refine, experiment even publish some findings. Everything falls apart when it is in blueprints, verified and it comes to filing for the patent - no way, too similar to some other patent which certainly does not work, but was granted three decades ago.
Another example was the geometry of the part. It was found by optimization and even tested. However, when it was adapted for production it was found that there is a company who protected similar shape. Not "protected" like in a patent, where something is reserved for some objective, here the "protection" was just enormous - even publishing the shape in some circumstances violated the law like publishing a company trade mark!
(Score: 2, Disagree) by eravnrekaree on Wednesday June 30 2021, @01:01PM (1 child)
Its actually kind of a non-issue, people who need insulin can get it if they know what to do., You sign up for a patient assistance program from Pharmaceutical Companies and that would give you a much lower price for it. The $324 is just a list price for insurance. Pharmaceutical companies will sell for far less through PAPs. You can also buy from Canada. Given these two options, the problem really doesn't exist.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Azuma Hazuki on Wednesday June 30 2021, @04:46PM
Why then have people died for lack of insulin?
Since you know the problem doesn't exist, and how to circumvent it, you ought to be telling everyone you can about the solution. Right now. Reach every diabetic you know, buy a domain and put the information on the Web, spread it around like wildfire.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...