Insulin shortage could affect 40 million people with type 2 diabetes

Millions worldwide may be unable to access the drug by 2030, scientists predict

About 40 million people who will need insulin to manage their type 2 diabetes in 12 years' time will not get it unless access to the drug is significantly improved, according to new research.

Diagnoses of type 2 diabetes are soaring worldwide, linked to the obesity epidemic. Not all of those diagnosed will need insulin, which is essential to keep people with type 1 diabetes alive, including UK prime minister Theresa May. But a study in the Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology journal shows that 79 million people with type 2 will need it by 2030 and that half of them will not be able to get it. About 33 million people who need insulin currently do not have access to the drug.