Insulin: From Death Sentence to Manageable Disease

Before insulin, type 1 diabetes was a death sentence. Patients survived months, not years. In 1921, Frederick Banting and Charles Best isolated insulin from dog pancreases.

The first patient treated was Leonard Thompson, a 14 year old boy near death from diabetes. Insulin restored his blood sugar to normal within days. Banting and Macleod received the Nobel Prize in 1923.

The patent was sold for one dollar to ensure broad access. A century later, insulin remains essential for type 1 diabetes. The high cost of insulin in the United States has sparked outrage and Congressional hearings, as the drug that was practically given away now costs hundreds of dollars per month..