Open Insulin
Open Insulin Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit developing open-source, small-scale insulin production using engineered yeast and bacteria. It coordinates volunteer-run community labs across the US, France, and Africa to publish free production protocols and hardware designs.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersOakland, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Open Insulin does
Open Insulin Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit established in 2015 and incorporated as a standalone entity in January 2020, headquartered in Oakland, California. It is developing an open-source, small-scale insulin production system intended to enable community-based manufacturing of insulin analogs as an alternative to the global pharmaceutical oligopoly that currently controls approximately 90% of the insulin market. The organization does not sell products; all technology, protocols, and hardware designs are released freely under open-source terms.
The technical core comprises engineered microorganisms — Pichia pastoris yeast strains producing insulin glargine (long-acting) and Escherichia coli strains producing insulin lispro (rapid-acting) via ecotin-proinsulin fusion — alongside open-source hardware equivalents of protein purification (FPLC targeting under $2,000 versus $100K+ commercial systems) and small-scale bioreactors (7-15L) built from off-the-shelf components. Additional outputs include an open glucometer prototype (~$50 build cost, $10 target) and an interactive calculator estimating per-system patient coverage (4,000-45,000 diabetics per small-scale system). Quality verification is performed in collaboration with UMBC's Molecular Characterization and Analysis Complex.
Operationally, the organization is almost entirely volunteer-run (approximately two dozen active contributors) with a federated governance model adopted in 2023 that coordinates work across chapters in Oakland, Baltimore, and Paris, and informal collaborator networks in Cameroon, Senegal, Belgium, Puerto Rico, Brazil, and Australia. Funding is a mix of individual donations (averaging ~$3,000/month) and episodic grants ($16K crowdfunding in 2015, $24K from the Open Foundation in 2020, ~$137K in 2021). The organization explicitly states it is still in research and development and is not yet manufacturing insulin.
Open Insulin firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Open Insulin
- Legal name
- Open Insulin Foundation
- Website
- https://openinsulin.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Open Insulin Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit developing open-source, small-scale insulin production using engineered yeast and bacteria. It coordinates volunteer-run community labs across the US, France, and Africa to publish free production protocols and hardware designs.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Open Insulin industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Nonprofit Pharmaceutical / Biotechnology Research
- NAICS
- Pharmaceutical Preparation Manufacturing (325412)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Type 1 Diabetes Care (HLAKADAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Diabetes (General) (HLAKADAA), Pen Injectors (Insulin/GLP-1/Other Pens) (HLAHAIAC)
Keywords
Where Open Insulin is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Oakland
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices4 records
Markets served
Open Insulin business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- Individual Donations: Average $3,000 per month in individual donations. One-time and recurring donation options available ($10, $20, $40, $80 per month tiers). Peer-to-peer crowdfunding campaigns through CommitChange platform.
- Grants: Received $24,000 grant in April 2020 from Open Foundation to establish French chapter. Received $137K grant (mentioned in technical Baltimore coverage). Foundation submitted two grant proposals in 2020 with one approved.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels6 records
Open Insulin product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Open Insulin is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization developing open-source insulin production technology. The organization develops open-source protocols, bioreactor hardware, and protein purification systems (FPLC) along with biological organisms intended to enable community-based insulin manufacturing. Its work is released as open source rather than sold as a commercial product.
Product overview
Open Insulin Foundation is developing a complete open-source system for small-scale insulin production consisting of engineered microorganisms (Pichia pastoris yeast and E. coli bacteria) that produce insulin analogs (lispro for rapid-acting and glargine for long-acting), open-source hardware including bioreactors and FPLC purification systems, and documented production protocols. The organization also developed a prototype open glucometer for diabetes testing. All technology is designed to be freely available for community-based, cooperative insulin manufacturing.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Open-source insulin production protocols
- Open-source bioreactor hardware designs
- Open-source FPLC protein purification system
- Biological organisms for insulin expression
Quantifiable outcome
- Small-scale production system serves 4,000-45,000 diabetics (avg 13,685)
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Open Insulin
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Open Insulin technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Open Insulin partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and secondary.
- Open Insulin FrancecoreFrench chapter of Open Insulin Foundation established by alumni from Oakland and Baltimore chapters. Registered as official association in France.
- BioCuriousminorBiohacker space in Sunnyvale, CA. Executive Director Maria Chavez participated in round table on insulin access equity.
- ReaGentsecondaryBelgian biohacker space in Ghent that joined Open Insulin collaboration. Supported by Open BioLab Brussels, KASK Laboratorium. Working on replicating and validating Oakland protocols.
- MboalabsecondaryResearch Center on Open Science in Yaoundé, Cameroon hosting Open Insulin Cameroon activities. Conducting social and experimental research on insulin access in African context.
- Counter Culture LabscoreCommunity biology lab in Oakland, California hosting the founding chapter of Open Insulin since 2015. Primary research hub where initial insulin production work began.
- Baltimore Underground Science Space (BUGSS)coreCommunity lab in Baltimore, Maryland hosting an Open Insulin chapter. Active laboratory research on insulin production ongoing at this location.
- Molecular Characterization and Analysis Complex (MCAC) at UMBCcoreCollaboration for molecular characterization of insulin analogs (lispro and glargine). MCAC conducts mass spectrometry and structural analysis to verify protein shape, sequence, and purity.
- Right Care AllianceminorHealthcare advocacy organization. Participated in panel discussion on insulin affordability tactics. Deidre Waxman and Mindi Patterson are insulin working group leaders.
- T1InternationalminorDiabetes advocacy nonprofit. Founder Kylene Redmond and advocate Nicole Smith-Holt participated in panel on insulin access. Both are diabetics personally affected by insulin pricing.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Open Insulin competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- ReaGent: Belgian biohacker space in Ghent that has joined Open Insulin's collaboration to replicate and validate the Oakland insulin production protocols. Comparable as a peer community lab in the same open-source insulin network.
- BioCurious: Community biotech lab in Sunnyvale that has participated in Open Insulin's insulin-access roundtable. Comparable as a peer community lab in the same biohacker network that supports citizen-led biotech.
- Open Bioeconomy Lab: Open-source biology initiative focused on making biotech tools and healthcare inputs (including recombinant medicines) accessible to researchers in the Global South. Comparable as a peer open-source biotech effort with similar mission and methodology.
- Genspace: Community biology lab in New York democratizing access to biotech tools. Comparable as a peer community lab ecosystem where open-source biological protocols are developed and disseminated beyond traditional institutions.
Direct peers
- Medicines360: Nonprofit pharmaceutical company developing and distributing affordable medicines with a mission-driven, access-oriented model. Comparable as another nonprofit pharma using alternative governance to deliver essential medicines.
- Civica Rx: Nonprofit drug manufacturer created by hospitals and foundations to produce affordable generic medicines, including insulins, outside the traditional pharma model. Most directly comparable to Open Insulin in mission, structure, and target market.
Broad incumbents
- Sanofi: Third member of the global insulin oligopoly (Lantus, Apidra). Comparable as an incumbent insulin manufacturer whose pricing and supply decisions Open Insulin's model is designed to counter.
- Eli Lilly: Major insulin manufacturer (Humalog, Basaglar) and part of the oligopoly criticized by Open Insulin. Comparable as the price-setting incumbent whose analog formulations Open Insulin is reverse-engineering.
- Novo Nordisk: Dominant global insulin manufacturer and one of the three firms controlling ~90% of the insulin market. Comparable as the incumbent whose pricing power Open Insulin is explicitly trying to disrupt.
- Biocon: One of the world's largest producers of affordable generic insulin analogs. Comparable as a major insulin producer addressing the same affordability crisis, though operating as a commercial company rather than a nonprofit.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Open Insulin social profiles
Digital presenceOpen Insulin financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Open Insulin leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Open Insulin funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
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Open Insulin M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Open Insulin
What does Open Insulin do?
Open Insulin is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization developing open-source insulin production technology. The organization develops open-source protocols, bioreactor hardware, and protein purification systems (FPLC) along with biological organisms intended to enable community-based insulin manufacturing. Its work is released as open source rather than sold as a commercial product.
Is Open Insulin a public or private company?
Open Insulin is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Open Insulin founded?
Open Insulin was founded in 2015. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Open Insulin based?
Open Insulin is headquartered in Oakland, United States, in the North America region.
How does Open Insulin make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Individual Donations are the primary driver. The others are grants.
Who are Open Insulin's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are ReaGent, BioCurious, Open Bioeconomy Lab and Genspace. Direct peers are Medicines360 and Civica Rx. Broad incumbents are Sanofi, Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Biocon.
Does Open Insulin have an API?
No public API is recorded for Open Insulin.
What industry is Open Insulin in?
Open Insulin's product category is Nonprofit Pharmaceutical / Biotechnology Research. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAKADAB, Type 1 Diabetes Care, with a secondary code of HLAKADAA, Diabetes (General). Its NAICS code is 325412.