Google Doodle - Honoring Fredrick Banting's Birthday, Discovery of Insulin and Patenting a Method of Extracting Insulin

November 14, 2016 marks Sir Fredrick Branting's 125th Birthday.  Banting was born on November 14, 1891 in Ontario, Canada.  By his early 30's, he had discovered that isolated insulin could be a diabetes treatment.  He published his findings and patented his invention. 

In 1921, Banting hypothesized that an isolate of the pancreas, insulin, could be used to treat diabetes.  Banting approached J.J.R. Macleod, a metabolism and diabetes physician, who offered Banting the opportunity to conduct experiments at the University of Toronto.

At the UnIversity, Charles Best, a senior in the physiology and biochemistry programs, was assigned to Banting and they began their experiments in the summer of 1921.  In December 1921, Banting, Best and Macleod had an extract from whole beef pancreas mixed with alcohol that lowered the blood glucose levels in a dog with  the pancreas removed.  James Bertram Colllip then helped the team purify the insulin extract.

In March 1922, the team published their preliminary finding in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, "Pancreatic extract in the treatment of diabetes mellitus."  

Banting, Best and Collip filed a U.S. patent application for a method of extracting insulin from a pancreas on January 12, 1923.  US Patent 1,469,994 issued on October 9, 1923 and Canadian Patent 234,336 issued on September 19, 1923.

Later in 1923, Banting and Macleod were awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine for the discovery of insulin.  Banting felt as though Best, and not Macleod should have shared the nobel prize with him and Banting split his prize with Best.  Macleod then announced that he would share his nobel award with Collip.

Sir Fredrick Banting is honored for his contribution to improving the lives of those living with diabetes.  He also serves as a reminder to protect your inventions through patents and be aware of disputes that can arise between individuals who would like to be a part of the credit, publications and inventions.