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Updated: Jul 18, 2026
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Published on: April 23, 2018
100 Years of Insulin: A Historical Perspective
Gabrielle Barbosa Pinto1, Ivaldo Itabaiana Junior1, Jorge Lima Magalhães2
1School of Chemistry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry
|January 15, 2025
Summary
Insulin discovery transformed diabetes from fatal to chronic. Over 100 years, advancements in insulin production and analogs have improved patient care and treatment options.
Area of Science:
- Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Endocrinology
- Medical History
Background:
- Diabetes mellitus is a growing metabolic disease characterized by hyperglycemia.
- There is an increasing need for affordable diabetes diagnostics and treatments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the historical and theoretical development of insulin.
- To analyze the evolution of insulin as an active pharmaceutical ingredient and its related medicines.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of scientific and technological data.
- Data retrieval and analysis from the PubMed database via the CAPES portal.
Main Results:
- Insulin's discovery in 1921 marked its 100th anniversary in 2021, changing diabetes management.
- Large-scale insulin production evolved from animal pancreases to human insulin and analogs.
- Insulin analogs, introduced in 1996, expanded therapeutic options.
Conclusions:
- Insulin development over the past century has led to improved versions and diverse types of insulin.
- Innovations include new formulations, methods, and routes of administration.
- Technological advancements focus on pharmacodynamic, pharmacokinetic, and pharmacotechnical modulations of insulin.
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