Insulin's century-old legacy still stands tall amid new diabetes drugs

Despite the rise of GLP-1s and oral therapies, insulin remains vital for millions, particularly those with type 1 diabetes and other insulin-dependent conditions

In January 1922, a 14-year-old boy named Leonard Thompson, who was dying from diabetes in a Toronto hospital, became the first person to receive an insulin injection. Within 24 hours, his dangerously high blood glucose levels dropped to near-normal — a moment that changed the course of medical history.

 

Before insulin was discovered in 1921, a diabetes diagnosis was nearly always a death sentence. Patients were placed on starvation diets, and many died of malnutrition. Over the last century, insulin has saved countless lives. In India alone, around 5 million people rely on it. Globally, that number stands at 150–200