About a month ago while mowing my lawn I whacked into a wild border consisting mostly of goldenrod, dislodging dozens of wasps. Shortly after realizing my bright orange Husqvarna mower was impenetrable, they turned on me and I received maybe the tenth sting of my life. This one was a little different than the previous nine, though: my entire body immediately itched and was covered with hives, my face turned red as a beet, and I experienced a strange throbbing pain in my head and ears. I returned home from my subsequent ER stay the owner of a shiny new EpiPen.
Coincidentally, my surprise allergic reaction popped up on the heels of public outrage over the price of EpiPens, which has increased about 500% since 2009. It’s clear that drug manufacturer Mylan has effected the steep increase on this life-saving drug solely to increase their bottom line. EpiPens, which contain about $1 worth of epinephrine, now make up about 40% of Mylan’s profit. In light of this corporate greed, a maker group targeting healthcare has developed a DIY workaround: the EpiPencil.
On September 18, Dr. Michael Laufer, founder of Four Thieves Vinegar Collective, posted a YouTube video explaining how to make a DIY EpiPen using epinephrine, a 22-gauge dispensing needle, a slip syringe, and an OTC autoinjector device designed for squeamish diabetics. Laufer, whose doctorate is in math, not medicine, claims the EpiPencil’s materials cost around $30, significantly less than the $300+ wholesale price of a Mylan device. The EpiPencil seems to represent everything the maker movement stands for: in the face of corporate control and greed, do it yourself.
(The image on this page shows a deconstructed EpiPen for comparison with Laufer's EpiPencil. The parts are labeled as follows: 1. Latch mechanism 2. Loaded spring 3. Plunger 4. Epinephrine solution. The black section is the outer body through which the needle exits.)
The DIY pharma approach tends to horrify those in the medical field, though. Scientific debunker Yvette d’Entremont pointed out in a Daily Beast article that even those who rigorously follow Laufer’s video put themselves at risk, as Laufer failed to wear gloves while handling a supposedly sterile needle. So while the EpiPencil may save a life for significantly less than an EpiPen, using the hacked product carries a much greater risk for infection. Epinephrine is also not a substance to mess around with, according to d’Entremont: a small overdose is capable of inducing cardiac arrest. Similarly, in an IEEE Spectrum article, medical ethics professor Jennifer Miller posits that trying to spur the return to a deregulated medical system that caused numerous unnecessary deaths is probably not the brightest idea.
Medicine and pharmaceuticals are two of the more controversial areas for hackers and makers, as most medical professionals believe putting your health in your own hands is risky at best. While some DIY medical devices are pretty benign, like homemade prosthetics, IV alarms and hacked pediatric nebulizers, others seem just plain stupid. Prior to developing the EpiPencil, Laufer and Four Thieves Vinegar released plans for a so-called “Apothecary Microlab” at a hacker conference in July of this year. The microlab consists of a Mason jar used as a pharmaceutical reactor and supposedly allows DIYers to make their own drugs. Laufer claims to have whipped up pyrimethamine, the drug behind the Pharma Bro controversy that broke late last year, and is working on ways to manufacture HIV and hepatitis C drugs. Another popular medical hack is the transcranial direction current stimulation (tDCS) machine, which involves delivering tiny doses of electric current into one’s brain (via a 9V battery, a bunch of wires, and electrodes) to supposedly improve concentration and relieve depression. tDCS has thousands of enthusiasts, but formal research has found little benefit in a clinical setting, and the risk of misplacing electrodes probably outweighs even placebo benefits.
The maker movement is showing no signs of slowing, and has certainly had a number of positive benefits on our culture. But maybe even DIYers should consider favoring a sterile device over their own handiwork, even at ten times the cost.
Image credit: Chemistryroxpharmacysux (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons
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