Sustainability Assessment in Recombinant Human Insulin Production—Evaluating the Environmental Impacts of Microbial Growth Medium Components and Formulations

According to the International Diabetes Federation, approximately 537 million adults suffered from diabetes in 2021, a number that is projected to rise to 783 million by 2045. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas that regulates blood glucose levels; for people suffering from diabetes, insulin activity may be reduced or absent, and therefore, administration of insulin may be necessary to maintain healthy blood glucose levels. Recombinant human insulin is commercially produced using a variety of host microorganisms, such as bacteria and yeast. Nevertheless, few studies have assessed the environmental impacts associated with different upstream medium formulations and their contribution to the overall environmental footprint of recombinant insulin production. Here, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is conducted on various upstream media used in insulin production—including pre-cultivation, growth, feed, and induction media—capturing the impacts associated with both their supply chains and their on-site preparation. Hotspots of environmental impacts are identified, and different alternatives for input materials and process conditions are compared in terms of impacts. The findings reported here can serve to guide process and sustainability optimization of the upstream production process from an operational process perspective. Finally, the identification of hotspots enables the implementation of impact reduction measures in bioprocess design, which have the potential to significantly improve the sustainability of insulin production.