Here we will provide the latest news and updates from the 100 Campaign and our partners

Media Release from ACCISS Study: Insulin Discounts Lower Price Burden for Americans, but Insulin Still Not Affordable Worldwide

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US Insulin Prices in the Spotlight

As a result of the latest ongoing price scandal related to EpiPens, more attention is being brought onto the high prices of insulin in the US. Here’s a sample of some of latest news (some featuring 100 Campaign contributors!) and actions. We are the 100 Campaign very much welcome this attention to the critical issue of skyrocketing insulin prices  in the US. We also encourage those who support access to insulin to remember that issues of affordability and availability of insulin is still a global issue and encourage you to learn about all of the related issues.

Insulin Prices Skyrocketing, Too  (Time/Money)

Insulin price scandal hurts many more than EpiPen issues (Missoulian)

Soaring insulin prices have diabetes feeling the pain (Cbsnews)

Spike in Insulin prices strains millions of diabetes patients (NBC – Sand Diego video)

Sign the Petition to Reduce Insulin Costs in the US : Join the over 25,000 who have already signed! 

What will finally be enough to spark change?

Just Released:ACCISS Study in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology‏

On February 9, Health Action InternationaI (HAI) published a report entitled ‘Access to insulin: current challenges and constraints’ and The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology published a companion review ‘Constraints and challenges in access to insulin: a global perspective

The underlining message in the report and review is that insulin remains out of reach for approximately half of those who need it.

While, as David Beran (lead author) is the first to admit, ‘Insulin access is a complex challenge’, there are clear issues that affect access to insulin. These include the global insulin market being dominated by three multinational manufacturers, import duties affecting the price of insulin entering different countries, and mark- ups, taxes and other costs in the pharmaceutical supply chain impacting patient prices in the public and private sectors.

To learn more:

• Download the report: Access to Insulin: Current Challenges and Constraints
• Download the review in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology: Constraints and challenges in access to insulin: a global perspective
• Listen to the podcast from David Beran
• If you would like to receive reports, fact sheets and other outputs of the ACCISS Study, please join our network here

Read the press release below – or learn more on the HAI website.

Innovative global study launched to improve access to insulin

AMSTERDAM—Health Action International (HAI) has launched an innovative global study, called Addressing the Challenges and Constraints of Insulin Sources and Supply (ACCISS), to identify the causes of poor availability and high insulin prices and develop policies and interventions to improve access to this life-saving medicine, particularly in the world’s most underserved regions.

The initiative is being funded by a $1.25 million grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley
Charitable Trust.

ACCISS is a three-year study aimed at providing a comprehensive, first-of-its-kind evidence base on the global insulin market, including the type, extent and impact of barriers to global insulin access, as well as lessons from existing models to improve supplies of insulin for the estimated 100 million people world-wide that need insulin.

“Research into the inequities and inefficiencies in the global insulin market is long-overdue,” said HAI’s Margaret Ewen, who is co-leading the study. “This project brings together a remarkable group of individuals and, together with HAI’s experience, is truly an opportunity for action to improve access to insulin.”

David Beran from Geneva University Hospitals and University of Geneva and Richard Laing from Boston University are also co-leading the ACCISS Study with Margaret Ewen. They are backed by a unique group of leading international experts as members of the study’s Advisory and Technical Groups.

ACCISS builds on previous work by David Beran and the International Insulin Foundation on barriers to insulin access in Kyrgyzstan, Mali, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Vietnam and Zambia, as well as a global survey of insulin prices undertaken by HAI in 2010, which showed great variations. Various health system factors, such as poor purchasing practices, distribution channel problems and irrational use, resulted in substantial barriers. These impacted affordability with the price of insulin being substantially higher in comparison to other medicines, with individuals in Mali having to spend 25 per cent of their average income for insulin. In addition, availability was poor in Mali and Mozambique, where only 20 per cent of required facilities had insulin in stock.

“Through previous work by the International Insulin Foundation we have a good understanding of the barriers to insulin access at a country level,” said David Beran. “We now need to understand the global picture to develop responses in order to make access to insulin a reality globally.”

Ultimately, this project aims to use the data collected to develop the means for addressing global barriers to insulin access and propose concrete recommendations to countries to ensure access to insulin for those in need.

“Lessons from HIV/AIDS show us that improving access to medicines for a chronic disease in low- income settings is possible,” said Richard Laing. “The ACCISS Study has the potential to do the same for insulin.”

ACCISS will do this through a rigorous scientific approach, involving a variety of stakeholders and using the vast experience of those involved in this work.

“For those with type 1 diabetes, lack of a consistent supply of affordable insulin can be a death sentence,” said Eliot Brenner, Program Director of the Helmsley Charitable Trust’s Type 1 Diabetes Program. “The Trust is delighted to support the ACCISS Study, a project that has the potential to illuminate what barriers stand in the way of global insulin access and set us on a course to improving the situation globally.”

Facts on Diabetes and Insulin:
 Approximately 347 million people around the world have diabetes mellitus, a non-communicable disease for which there is no cure.
 All people with type 1 diabetes (approximately 17.4 million people, including 490,000 children)
need insulin on a daily basis for survival.
 Approximately 20 percent of people with type 2 diabetes need insulin for better management of their diabetes.
 Insulin was first used in 1922, but today, more than half of the 100 million people with diabetes who need insulin cannot afford and/or access it.
 Life-expectancy for children with type 1 diabetes is one year in Sub-Saharan Africa in comparison to near normal life expectancy in the Western world.

For further information or comment, please contact:
Margaret Ewen
Health Action International Email: [email protected] Telephone: +31 20 412 4523