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Growing Insulin

Posted by samzenpus on Wed Jul 19, 2006 11:02 PM
from the hormones-growing dept.
McLuhanesque writes "The Globe and Mail reports that a Calgary biotech firm has developed a process to turn genetically modified safflower oil into human insulin in commercial quantities. The process reduces capital costs by 70% and product cost by 40%. 'SemBioSys says it can make more than one kilogram of human insulin per acre of safflower production. That amount could treat 2,500 diabetic patients for one year and, in turn, meet the world's total projected insulin demand in 2010 with less than 16,000 acres of safflower production.'"
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  • by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 19 2006, @11:06PM (#15747669)
    As a type 1, insulin dependent, diabetic, I really don't care. I want a cure. I don't want more externally produced insulin, I want to make it myself again.
    • by Atmchicago (555403) on Wednesday July 19 2006, @11:25PM (#15747728) Homepage

      I understand that a cure is viewed as better than a treatment, but you can't just pick to find a cure, or pick to find a treatment. Reducing the costs of producing human insulin, and at the same time gaining additional scientific knowledge should be of great use. Who knows, perhaps a cure to type I diabetes is now one step closer?

      • by CarpetShark (865376) on Thursday July 20 2006, @07:31AM (#15748756)
        There are multiple cures already available, but they haven't been widely performed for numerous reasons. Pancreas transplants are considered too risky to do unless there is already a major operation (such as kidney transplant) required. Islet cell replacement required cells from aborted foetuses, last I heard.

        I understand that each group of researchers will have their own specialisations, and that not everyone COULD work on a cure, even if there was no need for improved/cheaper insulin (which there is). I heartily agree with the grandparent poster though; insulin is a poor substitute for a normal life, and a cure would be MUCH better, so it would be nice to see the main focus going on that. The medical fees that entire nations pay for insulin, needles, swabs, glucometers, diagnostics strips, tablets, etc. -- often four or more of most of these things per day, per patient, at £0.50 per diagnostic strip alone, must make up a pretty large profit for medical companies. I really don't mean to accuse people of being motivated by money, but I do often wonder if this doesn't sometimes subtly cloud their sense of what's really best for the sufferers.
        • by jcr (53032) <jcr@@@mac...com> on Thursday July 20 2006, @12:10AM (#15747858) Journal
          With a dramatic cut in the cost of insulin a cure that cost the same amount to produce is less interesting to pursue.

          What utter nonsense. Even if insulin was cheaper than air, who in the world would lose interest in not having to monitor his blood sugar and take injections, risk blindness, amputation, and all other hazards of diabetes?

          -jcr
            • by jcr (53032) <jcr@@@mac...com> on Thursday July 20 2006, @03:28AM (#15748305) Journal
              The insurance companies, of course...

              They're the ones who would benefit financially from not having to pay for complications of diabetes. It seems that you don't have much understanding of the economics of insurance. Curing diabetes will save tens of billions of dollars, no matter how cheap insulin gets.

              -jcr
              • by smatthew (41563) on Thursday July 20 2006, @08:21AM (#15748899) Homepage
                amen - I spend (well, the insurance company spends) much more on test strips than on insulin.

                Retail: a bottle of insulin is $20. That lasts me approximately 14 days
                In those 14 days I will use between 70 and 140 test strips, which cost about $.50 a piece. So lets say $50.
                Also - in those 14 days I will use 5 sets of supplies for my insulin pump. At $17 a pop, that's $85

                Out of that total $155, the insulin is only 13% of the cost. Granted the insurance company doesnt pay retail for anything, and I absorb a small fraction of the cost through deductibles, but it will still end up only being 13% of the cost of the daily supplies.

                And let's not talk about the $5,000 insulin pump that only works for 4 years, or all the doctors visits, blood work, ER visits if I become sick......

                A cure for Type 1 diabetes would save the insurance companies a fair amount of money in the mid-term, and extremely large amounts of money in the long term.
  • by rubycodez (864176) on Wednesday July 19 2006, @11:09PM (#15747676)
    on how many diabetics are *produced* from an acre of sugar cane or corn used to make corn syrup. Just so we can see if it all balances out.....
    • For the case of Type I insulin-dependent diabetics which are the primary group this technology advance would benefit: None

      There are two main types of diabetes (with a couple of oddball variants that are rare, diabetes mellitus describes the final symptom of elevated bloodsugar, there are a few possible root causes of that symptom, which determine the type). Type I is known as insulin-dependent or juvenile diabetes (because it is rarely diagnosed past the age of 20). It is caused by the immune system attacking the beta cells of the pancreas. Eventually all beta cells die and the body can no longer produce any insulin, so it must be provided from an external source. Type I is generally considered to be the "severe" form of diabetes because of this fact. Prior to the discovery of insulin, average life expectancy after diagnosis was 1-2 years, and the disease killed younger children faster than teenagers. Oh, it was a rather slow, painful, and unpleasant death too. Essentially no matter how much you ate and drank, your body would slowly dehydrate and starve.

      Type II is usually referred to simply as adult-onset diabetes, because until recently, it has been unheard of for young people to develop it. (A high prevalence of childhood obesity is changing this). In Type II diabetes, the body does produce insulin, but for various reasons it is not enough, whether it is due to reduced capacity or increased demands beyond normal capacity, or a combination of both. Most of the time, once diagnosed, Type II diabetes can be managed solely with oral medication which increases the body's sensitivity to the insulin it does produce, and in many cases controlled solely with diet and exercise. (Losing weight can often cause Type II diabetes to disappear.) It is extremely rare for Type II to require external insulin rejections. Interestingly enough, while Type II is less "severe", this very fact makes it far more dangerous because it frequently goes undiagnosed for long periods of time, and the elevated bloodsugars do damage to various parts of the body.

      This is definately an interesting development, but how will this company deal with patented "designer" insulins such as Lantus (from Aventis Pharmaceutical, a special "peakless" insulin used to provide a long-acting baseline insulin dose), and Novolog/Humalog, two "extremely rapid acting" insulins that actually take effect FASTER than injecting normal human insulin. FYI, "human insulin" is insulin produced by genetically engineered bacteria that is identical to human insulin, it is NOT extracted from humans, unlike pork and beef insulins which were extracted from the pancreases of pigs and cows respectively. While I'm sure their technology will work with Lantus and Humalog/Novolog, I don't know how the companies that produce the above three will react to this. Most likely they'll license the technology from this new company (if it works) or vice versa... I hope so.
  • by Spinn12 (989688) on Wednesday July 19 2006, @11:10PM (#15747679)
    As a nurse, with a specialization in diabetic care, I am always chomping at the bit for new technology with diabetes. It is sad that so many cases go untreated, ending in loss of limbs, eyesight and so much more. In the end, taxpayers get hit with the brunt of the bill, because the majority of those who do not treat their diabetes neglect to do so out of financial inability.

    For there to be a light at the end of this proverbial tunnel is amazing news. Let's hope that this continues to be researched, tried and brought to the general population with as little convolusion from outside sources as possible.

    Sadly, medicine is still business first and foremost. Some drug company will make a mint from this. Let's hope that someone somewhere has a conscience that won't allow them to make this treatment as financially restrictive as most everything else is.
    • by Anonymous Coward
      Even by the usual standards of economic illiteracy here, this is pretty dimwitted. It can only drive *down* the cost of insulin; a new route to making insulin can't possibly make it cost *more*.
    • This isn't treatment technology, it's production technology. All it will do is bring down prices. The real "light at the end of the tunnel" is the artificial pancreas, an insulin pump + CGMS. All the pieces are there; we just need a few more generations of CGMS tech and some good algorithms.
  • by kahanamoku (470295) on Wednesday July 19 2006, @11:11PM (#15747680)
    what they NEED to work on is the way the body builds a tollerance to the insulin. After 20 years of using it, my dosages are up sixfold. if they crack the nut that stops the body from building up a tollerance to the insulin over time, they wont need to worry about diminished stock levels!
  • by Brickwall (985910) on Wednesday July 19 2006, @11:12PM (#15747687)
    As a type II, non-insulin dependent (yet) diabetic, I for one welcome our new safflower overlords.
  • In other news... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by woolio (927141) on Wednesday July 19 2006, @11:21PM (#15747713) Journal
    Meet the world's insulin consumption in 2010?

    In other news, pharmacutical companies are beginning to persuade food companies to put MORE SUGAR into foods....
  • by mbstone (457308) <michael,b,stone&att,net> on Wednesday July 19 2006, @11:22PM (#15747719) Homepage
    ...implant the insulin-producing gene into Cannabis sativa L., there would be a product. Can I have some ice cream?
  • by jhylkema (545853) on Thursday July 20 2006, @12:10AM (#15747859) Homepage
    The process reduces capital costs by 70% and product cost by 40%.

    And the consumer price will be increased by 20%.
    • by MourningBlade (182180) on Thursday July 20 2006, @12:50AM (#15747942) Homepage
      And the consumer price will be increased by 20%.

      The insulin market is highly competitive. There's also many varities of insulin. If this one can't make a splash on price or on some other quality, it'll go nowhere.

      As much as I dislike the AMA-FDA/Congress-Insurance-Pharma cartel, in this instance it's not all that accurate.

  • by ShaunC1000 (928875) on Thursday July 20 2006, @01:33AM (#15748059)
    as a type 1 diabetic it amazes me that there isn't a generic insulin yet. Synthetic insulin has been around for how long now? Luckily I have insurance that covers pretty much anything I need minus a small co-pay, but I know the supplies I need costs my insurance company hundreds a month. You would think insulin and test strips could be made on the cheap by now. I guess its way too profitable for that.

    Check out joinleenow.org - they need $11 million (they have $9 million so far) to test a possible treatment and cure using BCG, which I think costs $11 a vial. It amazes me how little support they're getting (maby because it could cure/treat diabetes on the cheap?). So far they have reversed 90% of type 1 diabetic mice.
    • The real problem with this stuff is people that have been given it track the sun all day.
        • And why is it right? It may be obvious to you, but please spell it out to me. It's like saying that "homosexualtiy is obviously not right" - it means nothing except "I don't like it, and I feel self-righteous about that".

          It's in Leviticus: "A restriction enzyme that touches a plant chromosome shall not touch an animal chromosome, lest there be an abomination." You can't argue with a commandment like that. Why do you hate G-d?

    • by mbessey (304651) on Wednesday July 19 2006, @11:50PM (#15747799) Homepage Journal
      Not much technical detail at all in the article, but from previous articles on splicing human genes into animals and plants, I gather that the real advantage of this technique is that, if it's done right, the plant or animal concentrates the product in one place for you (the seeds, in this case).

      Compared to a big churning vat of E. Coli, their food, and their waste products, it's easier to use something like an impeller or centrifuge to separate out bulk quantities of insulin-laced oil from a plant, and then purify it from there.

      Also, those same fermenters that are growing insulin currently are also a great breeding ground for other bacteria, molds, and yeasts in the environment. I'm given to understand that keeping unwanted organisms out of the vats is part of what makes the process difficult and expensive. A single bacterium or wild yeast spore that gets into a fermenter can ruin the whole batch.

      The macroscopic plants are a much more robust system - they can still get sick of course, but it's fairly easy to keep plants healthy. And even given that you can't spray these plants willy-nilly with pesticides, organic farmers get pretty good yields on most products with just natural controls.
    • Re:HFCS (Score:5, Insightful)

      by lbrandy (923907) on Thursday July 20 2006, @12:00AM (#15747826)
      I realize that asking everyone to understand the nuances of every disease is a bit much, so I don't want to yell and scream too much. However, type I diabetics are the ones that need insulin injections. They are the ones that benefit from this. They did not get their diabetes from being overweight or from eating lots of sugar. It is an autoimmune reaction, and more than likely genetic.