– How does Insulin not have generic versions compared to something like Tylenol?

Question

– How does Insulin not have generic versions compared to something like Tylenol?

In: 531

Answer 1

The men who developed insulin, Fredrick Grant Banting, Charles Herbert Best, J J R MacLeod and James Collip gave it free to the world. Banting Best and Collip sold the patent to the University of Toronto for $1 who then licensed it out for a 5% royalty with the procedes going to medical research so that no one company would hold a monopoly and commercially exploit the drug.

Even so MacLeod tried to get them to reduce the royalty.

Essentially insulin has always only been the generic version.