In 2023, the three pharmaceutical companies dominating the insulin market (Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, and Sanofi) announced a reduction in its cost in the United States. However, users in Latin American countries will not benefit from this measure and often have to spend an entire minimum wage to obtain a medication that is not always available in public pharmacies and is essential for maintaining their health.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), three out of every four people living with diabetes are in low- and middle-income countries, yet they also have the least access to insulin. Insulin remains largely inaccessible due to various pharmaceutical tactics aimed at extending their patents, discouraging the development of generic drugs.
As more people are diagnosed with diabetes and require the medication, this multimedia project—which will include text, infographics, photos, and audio—will investigate the inequities generated by the insulin oligopoly in the Latin American countries of Peru, Mexico, and Colombia.
Our methodology will be based on a comparative analysis of medication prices (in public purchases and retail prices), interviews with dozens of patients, and visits to health care services to document availability issues. This will enable us to calculate how much patients spend out of pocket when insulin is unavailable in public pharmacies.
