– How does Insulin not have generic versions compared to something like Tylenol?
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Well Tylenol is a brand name and insulin isn’t so any “generic versions” of insulin would also just be called insulin. What I think you’re asking though is why there isn’t a cheaper version of insulin. There are a couple of reasons for that, let me break it down for you.
The first issue is that here in the United States there’s a strong corporate monopoly on insulin.The corporations don’t have patents on insulin itself, but they have patents on processes to create it, patents on many objects for patients to administer it and patents to deliver and store it. They also have a stranglehold on the market and excessive money to buy/sue any “generic brand” competitors.
The other issue is that insulin is pretty hard to make and a little risky. It requires a ton of startup capital, scientists, infrastructure, lab equipment and other crazy futuristic things, all of which are insanely expensive. Also, if you mess up even a little bit, a person administered a bad dose of insulin could die.
That said, if you think you’d be able to produce a “generic brand” of insulin at a cheaper rate, please try. You’d be doing the whole country a service.
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