Summary of Human Practices

As our project was focused on a multi-faceted issue, we were forced to consider the perspectives and advice of a variety of individuals, from a multitude of backgrounds. We spoke to key stakeholders in the issue, including Type I diabetics, the doctors and pharmacists prescribing it, and those studying the market. It was our aim to understand and analyse why exactly it is so inaccessible to many. We used all of these perspectives to inform our project and focus our aims on improving the ease of production and transportation of our insulin and analogues, via the design of a single-chain analogue with increased thermostability and use of more streamlined production and purification techniques. We were also made aware of the numerous sectors involved the issue, including economic and legal, and so participated in discussions with experts in these fields to gain a more educated understanding, and to apply this understanding to developing some potential real-world solutions.