Part 4/7:
Amidst this grim reality, groundbreaking efforts are underway to revolutionize insulin production. The Open Insulin Project is a volunteer-driven initiative aiming to democratize access to insulin by developing protocols to produce it cheaply and share them openly. Over the past six years, a dedicated team of biohackers and scientists has made significant progress in developing methods to synthesize insulin in local, community-based laboratories.
Their approach involves expressing insulin in bacteria and yeast, extracting and purifying it, and ensuring it meets safety standards. The goal is to make their process scalable and accessible worldwide, especially in countries where insulin is unavailable or unaffordable—not just expensive.