Former Summer Fellow Co-Authors Report on Global Insulin Access

Abhishek_Sharma_2webAbhishek Sharma, a 2014 Graduate Summer Fellow at the Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future, recently co-authored a report published by Health Action International (HAI) on global access to insulin.

The report, titled “Insulin Trade Profile,” analyzes the global insulin trade — an essential medicine for people living with diabetes — from 2004 to 2013 to identify the key suppliers, the most vulnerable countries to potential trade disruptions, and more. Among the report’s findings is that, since the market is dominated by a few companies, without large-scale manufacturing or export from China, India, or another emerging economy, the ability to meet the growing global demand for insulin in the future is unclear.

Sharma received a MPH from the BU School of Public Health in 2015. His work as a Graduate Summer Fellow in 2014 led to a paper published in the online journal BMJ Open on the availability and use of the haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine for children in India’s private sector market.