DEF CON Safe Mode Biohacking Village - Anthony DiFranco - Hacking the Insulin Supply Chain

A group of mostly volunteer researchers in several biohacking labs around the world are working on novel protocols and open source equipment to produce insulin in hopes of reducing the cost of the drug, improving access to it, and involving more people in its production. and in research on diabetes treatments and medicine in general. Insulin, despite being known and used as a treatment for diabetes for almost 100 years, remains out of reach of roughly 50% of the 100 million worldwide who need it, according to the 100 Campaign. Even in the developed world, particularly the US, high costs prevent many patients from having enough, leading to severe health consequences, including nerve and kidney damage, cardiovascular disease, amputations, coma, and death. Anthony will speak about the history and the personal, philosophical and economic motivations of the Open Insulin project, and the context established by other patient-led R&D efforts in the diabetes community and the open source community. Then he will describe the technical and organizational aims of the project and the progress to date, and how to get involved.