Michigan made medicine? -- Lawmakers trying to produce insulin in-state
LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - Right now, with the price of insulin skyrocketing, a group of Michigan lawmakers wants to figure out if the state can make the life-saving drug on its own.
Background: 100 years after first patient uses insulin, out-of-pocket costs continue to climb
Whether it’s drawn into a syringe, dialed up by a pen or dosed by an automatic pump, the chain of proteins known as insulin is required by those diabetes patients using it to stay alive.
For many patients, however, the cost of survival is at an all-time high. This is despite the life-sustaining drug marking 100 years of human use in January.
Republican Senator Curt VanderWall of Ludington is leading the charge. He says he’s approached Pfizer, Michigan State University and the University of Michigan.
VanderWall said another key player, MSU, is particularly well suited because it has the facilities to make the insulin products.
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