Walmart Created an Insulin Brand to Undercut the Market

As one of the largest companies in the country, Walmart is making its way toward pharmaceutics. What do you know about Walmart’s insulin?

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) released in 2018 estimated the total con sts of diagnosed diabetes rose to $327 billion in 2017 from $245 billion back in 2012. It represents a 26% increase over five years [1].

So, Walmart’s insulin brand just launched a more affordable analog insulin called ReliOn. The brand is designed to overcome common impediments, like affordability and access to diabetes care, especially for those without health insurance.

There are three different kinds of ReliOn Novolin insulins available. There is regular, or short-acting, intermediate (N), and a mixed 70/30 available in the ReliOn line of insulins.

ReliOn/NovoLIN N is an intermediate-acting insulin that starts to work within 2 to 4 hours after injection, peaks in 4 to 12 hours, and keeps working for 12 to 18 hours.

The analog insulin vials will save customers between 58% to 75% off the cash price of branded insulin products, or up to $101 per vial or $251 per package of “FlexPens,” the retailer said. In July, the medication will be available in Walmart pharmacies and Sam’s Club pharmacies. 

More than 34 million people in the country (11%) have diabetes, with an additional 1.5 million diagnosed in the United States every year, according to the American Diabetes Association. 

According to data from the Health Care Cost Institute, people with Type 1 diabetes in the U.S. had to dish out $5,700 per year in 2016, up from $2,600 in 2012.

“The price point, we hope, will improve and hopefully revolutionize the accessibility and affordability of insulin,” said Walmart’s Executive Vice President Cheryl Pegus of the company’s health and wellness department, according to the report.

It seems purely philanthropic, but this is the largest grocer and employer in the U.S, and now, just like Amazon, will take a cut in the healthcare brand market. 

Walmart’s insulin is not the first of many medical brands or clinics they’ve launched.  So far, the company has opened 20 clinics adjacent to its stores with budget-level medical care, including $25 dental cleanings and $30 annual checkups.

In May, they bought a telehealth company called MeMD to offer virtual care and has exerted pressure on the entire pharmaceuticals industry before sending its prescription program to market, which provides monthly supplies of ubiquitous generic drugs for wildly low prices of $4 [2].

Psychedelic Mushrooms Can Regrow Brain Tissue Lost in Depression

According to a new study in the journal of Neuron, psilocybin, which shows up naturally in some mushrooms, has shown signs of increasing durable connections between neurons in mouse brains. 

This study used two-photon microscopy to image the apical dendritic spines of layer five pyramidal neurons in the mouse medial frontal cortex longitudinally [3].

What are pyramidal neurons?

Pyramidal neurons are the most populous members of the excitatory family in the brain areas they inhabit. They comprise about two-thirds of all neurons in the mammalian cerebral cortex, which places them center-stage for many critical cognitive processes.

What do pyramidal neurons do? 

Like many other neurons, their main job is to transform synaptic inputs into a patterned output of action potentials. What makes them unique is their numerical dominance, as well as the fact that they are ‘projection neurons’ — they often send their axons for long distances, sometimes out of the brain altogether.

For example, pyramidal neurons in layer 5 of the motor cortex send their axons down the spinal cord to drive muscles. They are also thought of as the ‘movers and shakers of the brain.

Study highlights

• Psilocybin improves stress-related behavioral deficits in mice
• It increases spine density and spine size in frontal cortical pyramidal cells
• Psilocybin-evoked structural remodeling is persistent for at least one month
• The dendritic rewiring is accompanied by elevated excitatory neurotransmission

The researchers observed rising numbers and girth of dendritic spines on the first day following exposure to psilocybin [4].

The girth increase creates small protrusions on nerve cells capable of enhancing the way information transmits from one Neuron to the next. 

These changes persisted for at least a month, and the mice previously placed in stressful situations exhibited improved behavior, with increased neurotransmitter activity, following the administration of psilocybin.

How Depression Affects the Brain

No one knows for sure what causes depression. Researchers have determined that it is a disorder with biological underpinnings and that the brain’s chemistry plays a significant role [5]. 

• Cortisol and memory
  • The hippocampus releases the hormone cortisol when you’re stressed, including during episodes of depression.
  • When your brain gets flooded with cortisol for long periods, it can slow or stop the growth of new neurons in the hippocampus. A shrunken hippocampus can lead to memory problems.
• Cortisol and the amygdala 
  • The influx of cortisol triggered by depression also causes an enlarged amygdala. It is a part of the brain associated with emotional responses.
  • When it becomes more prominent and more active, it induces sleep disturbances, changes in activity levels, and other hormones.
• Brain inflammation 
  • Inflammation shuts down energy production in the neurons, so brain endurance drops, making it hard to concentrate for any length of time. It also leads to depression.
  • In the long run, chronic neuroinflammation results in neuron death and degenerative brain disorders.

Learn more about Walmart’s magic mushrooms by clicking here 👇

TIME STAMPS:

0:00 Intro
1:00 Topic Intro
1:30 – A Quick Statistics on Diabetes
3:15 – Big businesses entering the healthcare sector
5:00 – Walmart launched ReliOn
6:30 – The good thing about Walmart’s insulin
7:30 – Walmart steps in to help with health
8:45 – Walmart and Amazon
10:10 – Healthcare is moving in a different direction
12:10 – Bridging Primary and Secondary Care
12:35 – You MUST take care of yourself
13:05 – Doctors and Patients
15:53 – The Psychedelic Mushrooms
17:12 – The Different Neurons of the Brain
18:58 – How Psilocybin Works
20:15 – Depression and Cortisol Production
22:40 – Modern medicine doesn’t always help everyone
25:00 – Change your thoughts
27:48 –  The problem with Capitalism
29:55 – Brain inflammation
31:40 – Food for Your Thoughts: How the food you eat and your thoughts affect you
33:25 – Wrapping the episode