Frederick Banting

It was the fall of 1920, when a struggling young doctor from London, Ontario wrote a late-night note into his journal saying: “Diabetes… ligate pancreatic ducts of dog.” Frederick Banting, recently returned from The Great War and barely making ends meet in a small, struggling practice in London, Ontario, stumbled on an idea that was overlooked previously. It was unrefined, but it became one of the greatest medical breakthroughs of the 20th century. 

At that time, having Type 1 diabetes was effectively a death sentence. Children suffered and died despite having strict diets and this made their families and doctors totally helpless.

However, Banting believed that he had found the cure by unlocking the secret of the pancreas and isolating the substance that kept blood sugar under control. Banting’s efforts caught the attention of physiologist John J.R. Macleod at the University of Toronto, who despite being skeptical offered Banting a small lab, experimental dogs, and a young medical student as an assistant, Charles Best. The work was improvised and demanding. Banting and Best performed many surgeries, tying off pancreatic ducts and preparing crude extracts. Early tests in diabetic dogs showed promise, but the extracts were impure.

In late 1921, biochemist James Collip joined the effort and developed a purification method. In January of 1922, a 14-year-old boy named Leonard Thompson became the first person to be injected with insulin. The initial extract triggered an allergic reaction, but less than two weeks later, Thompson received a refined preparation, and this time it worked. Thompson’s blood sugar dropped and his condition stabilized, and for the first time diabetes was no longer a certain death sentence.

Insulin was not just discovered in Canada, we also built the system to deliver it. The University of Toronto moved quickly to secure the rights, with Banting, Best, and Collip selling their shares of the patent for a symbolic $1 each. The university then partnered with Connaught Laboratories, a small public-health lab in Toronto, to scale production. Connaught ensured insulin was manufactured at cost in Canada and helped expand access globally. The impact of this discovery was immediate and worldwide. Within a few years, insulin was saving many lives across North America and Europe, and eventually around the world. Families who faced the inevitable decline in the health of their children now had a chance to spend many more years together.

In 1923, Banting and Macleod were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine. Banting was only 32 years old when he became the youngest laureate in the field. He split his prize with Best, and Macleod shared his with Collip. 

Banting’s legacy is not only scientific, but organizational. He and his colleagues proved that Canada could match discovery with delivery, building institutions that turned delicate lab work into a long-lasting and life-saving system. More than a century later, insulin remains a lifeline for millions, and its discovery stands as one of Canada’s greatest contributions to humanity. What began as a rough notebook entry in 1920 became a global breakthrough, born of urgency and determination, that changed the world.

References: 

• Healthcare Legacies: The Banting Institute
• Defining Moments Canada - Insulin Timeline
• Nobel Prize - Banting Lecture
• UMass Chan Diabetes Center
• Diabetes UK

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