i mean i don't think about it as a separate budget line because if you don't have that you get police raids and investigation instead of normal business, but yea. insulin is purified using HPLC, so at all times you get some of analytical data about fractions you just made, so some of QC, not all, but already something, already happens at this point

my point is that actual manufacturing costs will be low because biotech scalability logic is that you need to make yeast or something that makes peptide you like and then all you need to do is keep bioreactor alive and happy. lots of what is left is in purification

also it's an injectable so it's gonna be kept to some standards that non-injected drugs aren't. whoever comes up with insulin pill will be printing money