Illinois Patients May Be Impacted By Insulin Shortage

One of the largest insulin manufacturers in the world has announced two widely used products are in short supply.

With only 3 manufacturers mass-producing insulin, when something goes wrong we're all forced to feel the effects. That's exactly what's happening right now in Illinois and nationwide.

Headquartered in Indianapolis, pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly was the first to commercialize insulin back in 1923. Today drug manufacturers Novo Nordisk, Sanofi, and Eli Lilly are the world's top 3 largest producers of insulin.

According to the American Diabetes Association in 2021 there were 38.4 million Americans living with some type of diabetes-- and there many types. I happen to be a Type 1 Diabetic myself and this is the exact brand of insulin that I use! I was wondering why I kept experiencing delays when filling my prescription at my local Walgreens.

When Will It End?

Just weeks ago Eli Lilly announced two of its widely used insulin formulations would become temporarily unavailable in the coming weeks: Humalog and insulin lispro (generic).

A man-made, fast-acting insulin Lilly says 10 mL vials of the two insulins are currently experiencing manufacturing delays, but the company expects production to resume within the coming days.

At least for Canada the Lilly insulin shortage is expected to be resolved in by Sunday, April 14 but so far we haven't seen any updates as far as the U.S.. In their original press release Lilly said,

We are continuing to manufacture 10 mL vials of these products and will ship them as soon as we can...We are in ongoing contact with the FDA...In the meantime, all other Lilly insulin products – including Humalog and Insulin Lispro Injection in prefilled pens (KwikPen^®) – are currently available in the U.S

Thankfully, I have a couple extra vials sitting in the back of my fridge but others may not be so fortunate. Who has time to drive across the state hunting down whatever vials of this life saving drug that may or may not even be available?

Maybe instead of banning TikTok we can focus on something more important, like access to healthcare-- am I right?