| Be fair, we've come leaps and bounds since 1921. We didn't even know DNA existed until 1947 and stem cells have really only been looked at in the last 10 years or so because the technology simply hasn't existed. And that's got nothing to do with pharmaceutical companies blocking research or anything like that.
Similarly, insulin treatments have drastically improved since 1921. The principle might remain the same, but that's because the principle works. It's like criticising using antibiotics to treat bacterial infections on the grounds that we discovered them 80 years ago. The actual insulins we use now are totally different - they're much more flexible, you don't need to use a needle you could knit with to inject, and I haven't even begun to touch on the myriad of things that have only appeared in the last 10 years which most of us couldn't even imagine living without.
The cure is coming and it will be available - it's just going to take another 25 years or so at least. As I've said before, we already know the theory of how to cure diabetes, we just haven't managed to put it into practise yet.
And if you're worried about people blocking research, I'd suggest you should be far more concerned with what the US government is lobbying for in the UN, as opposed to any pharmaceutical company.  | 
