focus -WSS

focus

author：comprehensive 2025-09-27 19:38:20 - browse：76647

A mother protests against the high cost of insulin by bringing her child's ashes to Sanofi's office in Cambridge, Mass. Her daughter died of complications arising from type 1 diabetes after rationing her insulin. Hyacinth Empinado/STAT

Some were faced with the choice of paying their rent or paying for insulin. A few saw their children die after they rationed the lifesaving medication.

They were all part of a group of protesters stationed outside the Cambridge, Mass., office of insulin maker Sanofi on a recent morning, rallying against the rising price of the drug.

“I’m demanding Sanofi to decrease the cost of insulin. It is a medication that all type 1 diabetics need to survive. And without it, they will die like my daughter did,” said Antroinette Worsham, of Cincinnati, founder of the nonprofit T1 Diabetes Journey.

In April 2017, her daughter Antavia Lee-Worsham, who had type 1 diabetes, died at 22 after struggling to pay for insulin. She had aged out of an assistance program at 21 and would sometimes get insulin from her sister Antanique, who also has type 1 diabetes.

Worsham, along with Nicole Smith-Holt and James Holt, brought the ashes of their children, in hopes of giving them to Sanofi executives. However, they were stopped by cops and were not allowed on Sanofi’s grounds.

“Nobody would come down and face me,” said Smith-Holt, a financial aid specialist from Richfield, Minn. “Nobody would take his ashes … so it’s frustrating. It makes me very angry.”

Related: Protesters take anger over insulin prices to drug makers, some bearing children’s ashes

Her son, Alec Smith, died in June 2017 at the age of 26, weeks after aging out of her health insurance plan.

According to a 2016 analysis, the estimated annual cost of insulin per patient nearly tripled over an 11-year stretch, from $231 in 2002 to $736 in 2013.

Sanofi is among the nation’s largest insulin makers — several of which have hiked the prices of the drug in recent years.

“The price gouging has become such a problem that insulin now costs more than my rent, and I have to choose,” said Myranda Pierce, a graduate student at Boston University School of Medicine who has type 1 diabetes.

Newsletters

Sign up for Daily Recap

A roundup of STAT's top stories of the day.

Please enter a valid email address. Privacy Policy

Sanofi spokesman Nicolas Kressmann said in an email statement he shares “similar concerns” with the protesters. He encouraged people with diabetes who cannot afford their medication to call the company’s hotline at 888-847-4877.

But Pierce said programs like those are not enough.

“I shouldn’t have to go beg for my insulin. It should be affordable to me.”

Previous article： Anesthesiologist group: stop taking Ozempic before surgery
Next article： Doctors are clamoring for more clarity on Paxlovid prescribing

leisure time

WSS

New company forms to vet health AI models, root out weaknesses

Severe weather updates: 1 million customers without power in 11 states as storms pummel East Coast

New company forms to vet health AI models, root out weaknesses

Tuberculosis patients need more than just free medication

Sweden knocks USA out of World Cup in penalty kicks

Russia promises retaliation after Ukrainian drones hit a Russian tanker in 2nd sea attack in a day

Wikipedia

focus

Related: Protesters take anger over insulin prices to drug makers, some bearing children’s ashes

Sign up for Daily Recap

leisure time

Hepatitis C has a cure — but many Americans still lack access to it

Eat, drink, but be wary — 4 foods that interact with medications

What does generative AI mean for health care? We asked experts

Slain Parkland victim's father speaks out following reenactment

Anesthesiologist group: stop taking Ozempic before surgery

Failure, not just success, should guide future doctors

Guidelines to prevent youth baseball injuries need more muscle

Doctors push to include dialysis machines in emergency stockpile

Over 800 arrested across France in 3rd night of riots after fatal police shooting of teen

St. Louis police protesters begin picking up checks in $4.9 million settlement

explore

Flash flooding emergencies prompt evacuations in Kentucky, Tennessee

Pope greeted like rockstar, appears revitalized at 'Catholic Woodstock' in Portugal

A fugitive mob suspect in Greece is betrayed by his passion for hometown Naples soccer champions

Google's generative AI to analyze medical images — and talk to docs

Taylor Swift shares sweet moment with Kobe Bryant's daughter Bianka at Eras Tour concert

What to know about 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3' as it hits Disney+

focus

entertainment

leisure time

entertainment