Health & biology · 1978

Recombinant insulin

Genentech and City of Hope made human insulin using engineered bacteria.

In 1978, Genentech and City of Hope produced human insulin in E. coli. Eli Lilly's Humulin received FDA approval in 1982, becoming the first approved medical product made with recombinant DNA technology.

See it in the living tree Wikipedia Source

Arcs above join it to what it stood on, arcs below to what it led to. The bar places this stretch on the tree's whole timeline.

What it built on 2

Recombinant DNA 1973
Insulin 1922

What it led to 1

Semaglutide 2017

Related measurements

The dashed line marks when it first worked.

Life expectancy at birth Latest: 73.2 years (2023) Source: Our World in Data