The Insulin Patent Sold for One Dollar in 1922. Here's Why That Still Matters
Insulin's Canadian patent changed hands for one dollar.
That's not a viral quote. It's in the university's archives. And the reason they did it says a lot about what's gone sideways with drug prices since.
Before Insulin
Before 1922, there was no insulin to give. The University of Toronto's archives tell the story of Leonard Thompson, a 14-year-old admitted to Toronto General Hospital on December 2, 1921, with acute diabetes. By early January he was close to death.
On January 11, 1922, he got the first injection of pancreatic extract. It lowered his blood sugar a little, but it had contaminants and caused an abscess. On January 23 he got a purified version made by James Collip. His blood sugar dropped to normal in a day.
The Dollar Deal
Frederick Banting, Charles Best and James Collip then assigned their rights to the University of Toronto's Board of Governors. The assignment was signed December 19, 1922, and recorded in January 1923.
Fact | Detail |
Who signed | Banting, Best and Collip |
To whom | University of Toronto Board of Governors |
Price | $1 |
Signed | December 19, 1922 |
Recorded | January 1923 |
Sources: University of Toronto archives; Snopes fact check on the $1 sale.
Why Patent It at All
This is the part people skip. They didn't patent insulin to get rich. They patented it so nobody else could.
In an April 1922 letter to the university's president, the research team wrote that the patent "would not be used for any other purpose than to prevent the taking out of a patent by other persons." They wrote that once the method was published, "anyone would be free to prepare the extract, but no one could secure a profitable monopoly."
That's the whole point in one sentence. No one could own it to squeeze people who needed it to live.
Who Made It, Once It Was Shared
Making insulin at scale turned out to be hard. The archives describe an "insulin famine" in Toronto in the spring of 1922, when the lab couldn't produce it in large batches and had to work the process out again. The university then licensed manufacturers, including a US drug company for the United States and Central and South America.
So the inventors gave it away, the university held the patent, and companies were licensed to make it. The deal was built for access.
What It Meant in a Body
A photo going around X this month, seen nearly 4 million times, shows a child with type 1 diabetes in 1922 before insulin and again months after treatment started. People share it because they remember what the medicine was for.
What We Won't Do
You'll see a quote online that the inventors said insulin "belongs to the world." It doesn't show up in the historical record, so I'm not repeating it. The real quote above is better anyway. I'm also not putting a modern list price here that I can't stand behind.
What We Will Say
A life-saving refill shouldn't be a mystery number you find out after you already need it. Here's what you can do:
Look up the cash price of every medicine you take before your next refill.
Ask your pharmacy what you'd pay in cash and what you'd pay through your plan, and compare.
If you're rationing anything because of price, tell your prescriber. There may be another option.
When our cost drops, our price drops.
Questions People Ask
Did the inventors really sell it for $1? Yes. The assignment is in the University of Toronto archives, and Snopes backs the $1 sale too.
Why a patent at all? In the team's own words, to stop anyone else from patenting it, so no one could hold a profitable monopoly.
Can I see your price before I fill it? Yes. It's on our price checker.
Why We Can Beat Their Price
We post our prices because we compete on a number you can look up.
Head to forestparkpharmacy.com to look at our price checker and transfer today to save. See ya.
From Our Shelf
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