Opinion: How I fought Big Pharma on insulin prices — and won

In 2013, I sat down at my computer and secured the URL t1international.com. I wanted a place where I could collect and share everything I was learning about the global insulin price crisis. I was only 25 years old, and I had already been living with type 1 diabetes for more than two decades. I had struggled with the ups and downs of high and low blood sugars, been hospitalized multiple times, and faced wildly high costs for my insulin and diabetes supplies in the United States. But I was living a relatively healthy life with diabetes when so many are not, particularly those who live in places where the cost of insulin is more than half of the average person’s income.

At the time, there was no organization truly led by people most impacted by diabetes that was free from pharmaceutical industry influence and really fighting for what patients need most. Now, nearly 12 years later, after supporting the growth of a global movement (#insulin4all) and building a multi-country organization from scratch, I am stepping aside. But first, I want to share what I have learned from taking on Big Pharma and, in many cases, winning.

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