A group of protesters stood outside the Massachusetts office of drugmaker Sanofi, demanding more to be done to address the skyrocketing prices of insulin, according to a WBUR news report.
The protesters stood with makeshift tombstones painted with the names of people who have died because they couldn't afford insulin
One of the names on the tombstones was Meaghan Carter, who died from not being able to access insulin, according to the report.
"Meaghan had just gotten a new insurance. And she was in between jobs, got her new job, got her new insurance, and was days away from the insurance kicking in when she died," Stephanie Aines, with medical activist group Right Care Alliance, told WBUR.
While Sanofi says it has programs to help reduce out-of-pocket costs, one of the protesters said that those programs are not enough because people are still unable to access the lifesaving medication due to cost.
Another protester, 70-year-old Martin Drilling, told WBUR, "In the richest country in the world, we should not be discarding our humans and citizens so companies can make more money. It is incomprehensible to me that they have not come up with a plan to address this pressing need."
The protesters attempted to speak with Sanofi executives but were asked to leave by security.
The average price of insulin has nearly tripled in the last decade, and some patients with insurance pay as much as $300 for a single vial of the lifesaving drug, which lasts about a week or two.
Read the full report here.