THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 1923
And Price Has Dropped From Five Cents to Two Cents Per Unit
Tucked away in an obscure corner of the University of Toronto grounds, overshadowed by the new Electrical Engineering Building and flanked by a row of venerable elms, stands a two-storey, red brick building former- ly occupied by the University Y. M. C. A. A year or two ago it was planned to remove the building as it was not suitable for any University purpose. To-day, housing, as it does, the only "Insulin Laboratory" in Canada, the building, together with the recently installed equipment, is worth upwards of $35,000.
The Insulin Laboratory is one of the latest chapters in the romance of insulin. It stands as a confirmation of the success of the research of Dr. F. G. Banting and his fellow-investigator, Charles H. Best, M.A. Its management and operation are in the hands of Mr. Best, who has from the beginning been in charge of the large- scale production of Insulin. The lab- oratory is. operated as a division of the Connaught Anti-Toxin Laboratories, of which Dr. J. G. Fitzgerald is director and Dr. R. D. Defries associate director. The business ad- ministration is in charge of Dr. Fitzgerald and Dr. Defries. Mr. Best is assisted in the new laboratories by D. A. Scott, M.A.. as assistant director, and a staff of 26 persons working day and night shifts.
Big Production Now
The erection of such a completely equipped plant was made possible through the Ontario government's grant of $25,000, the remaining $10,000 to $15,000 being secured from funds of the laboratory and from private do- nations. The plant is now producing in the neighborhood of 250,000 units a week for distribution throughout Canada, Ireland, South Africa, Central America, New Zealand, Australia, and other countries where plants have not been established. The average dosage for the diabetic patients for whom such a large quantity of insulin is being prepared varies from 15 to 20 units a day.
The price for which insulin is distributed is, as with other products of the Connaught Laboratories, governed entirely by costs of material and of production. The Connaught Laboratories are not engaged in commercial business but constitute a department of the University of Toronto. Mr. Best has called attention to the gradual fall in the price of insulin. In May, 1923, the material was sold at 5 cents per unit, in June at 3 cents, and now at 2 cents per unit.
How It is Prepared
The distribution of insulin is effect- ed through two channels. The first is hospitals which have organized departments for the administration of insulin. The second is through physicians trained in the use of insulin. For these latter a special short course of instruction was provided at the University of Toronto last July under the, direction of Professor Duncan Graham.
The preliminary stages in the preparation of the health-giving extract are conducted in a large laboratory in the north-east corner of the insulin building where beef and pork pancreas (sweet-breads) fresh from the abattoirs, are first minced in a large meat grinder, dissolved in vats of alcohol, and then placed in a large basket centrifuge. The liquid is drawn off from the centrifuge and further clarified by filtration through paper in glass funnels. This liquid, containing the soluble constituents of the pancreas, is reduced to a small volume by evaporation of the alcohol and water content in a large vacuum still. The residue contains the insulin. The solution is purified in two chemical laboratories, one on the main. floor and one on the second floor, by chemical processes known as "fractional precipitations." The purified product is then sterilized, standardized, and filled into vials for distribution by the Connaught Laboratories.