Americans crossed the Canadian-US border on Saturday to buy affordable insulin and raise awareness of the "insulin price crisis" in the United States.
The group, which called itself a "convoy to Canada", began its journey from Minneapolis, Minnesota, Friday, and stopped at a pharmacy in the Canadian city of Ontario on Saturday to buy a drug that treats type 1 diabetes.
Nicole Smith-Holt, a member of the group, said the number of participants was up to 20. She said her son died in June 2017 at the age of 26 because he had to split the insulin dose because of its high price.
This is the second time that Smith-Holt has participated in such a trip.
The group entered Canada in May for the same purpose. Smith-Holt said Americans have previously gone to countries such as Mexico and Canada to get cheaper drugs and continue to do so.
A study in January reported that the average cost of insulin per patient per year in the United States had almost doubled in 2016 to $ 5705, from $ 2,864 in 2012.
"The price of an insulin bottle in the United States is $ 320, while the same package is sold in Canada under a different name for only $ 30," said Kevin Nystrum, a Minnesota official at T1 International.