Manufactured insulin, 'Iletin', United States, 1923
- Made:
- 1923 in Indianapolis
- maker:
- Eli Lilly and Company
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LicenseAmpoule of 5cc of Iletin (insulin) in carton
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Left 1993-1388 Ampoule of early standardised insulin prepared
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Ampoule of 5cc of Iletin (insulin) in carton, with instruction leaflet, manufactured by Eli Lilly & Company, Indianapolis, USA, 1923.
Sold under the trade name ‘Iletin’, this was the first commercially available insulin product for people with diabetes, available from 1923 onwards. Eli Lilly, who made this product, worked with Frederick Banting (1891-1941) and Charles Best (1899-1971), the Canadian researchers who first isolated insulin in 1921. Banting and Best found that pig insulin was similar to human insulin. Pig pancreases were ground up in large numbers to extract insulin.
Details
- Category:
- Therapeutics
- Object Number:
- 1993-919
- Materials:
- glass, paper (fibre product), rubber (unidentified), cardboard and materia medica
- Measurements:
-
overall: 20 mm x 60 mm x 25 mm, .01kg
box: 23 mm x 59 mm x 20 mm,
bottle: 56 mm 16 mm,
- type:
- insulin
- credit:
- On loan from Eli Lilly & Co. Ltd.
