Everyone may have their own understanding of the meaning of a drug existing in this world.
Pharmaceutical companies feel that the existence of drugs is their own achievement, a cash cow, and they want to squeeze out the maximum profit possible.
Scientists believe that this is a treasure given to mankind by nature and belongs to all mankind. Of course, not everyone has the means to obtain it. Just like farming to gain harvest, obtaining medicine also requires paying a price, but it is by no means out of reach. and existence.
Patients feel that the right to life is above all things. For their own lives, they have the right to use any means to obtain treatment drugs. Some patients even feel that one of the natural human rights is the right to health. Regardless of whether they are rich or poor, if they are Can't afford it, sorry, it's not his problem, it's this society's problem.
A drug, like its molecular model, has a complex three-dimensional structure, with each side different.
Everyone can only see one side of it and therefore have their own interpretation.
After all, many medicines have indeed existed since ancient times. Most of them come from the embrace of nature, but their uses were accidentally discovered by humans hundreds of thousands of years ago. Who can monopolize such medicines?
With the development of science and technology, technology is developing more and more rapidly, but medicine has its own uniqueness.
Its basic principles and discoveries all come from the exploration of the human body.
Its important research needs to be conducted in clinical trials and used on people to be verified and useful.
Its final results are only meaningful if they are used on people.
It comes from people, takes it from people, and uses it for people.
It belongs to all mankind.
In any case, at this moment, in the biological laboratory of Sanqing, Tang Que spoke his mind.
He said that shocking sentence: If no one can afford a drug, it loses its meaning of existence.
The applause was louder than ever.
Thunderous applause sounded one after another, and the strong and uninterrupted sound waves surged everywhere, as if they were about to lift the high ceiling away.
Every scientific researcher will also think deeply about the significance of his or her work.
Maybe they want to swim in the ocean of truth, maybe they want to be famous for generations, maybe they want to be recognized by their peers and the public, maybe they want to be crowned with the crown of fame and fortune.
However, in any case, the meaning will not be purely monetary.
When a scientist's achievements cannot be used by others, they lose the meaning of existence. They can only be blown away by the wind like a fallen leaf and disappear into the dust of history.
Just like that gene therapy drug that was on the market for four years and only sold one copy, it ended up being unable to make ends meet and was sadly withdrawn from the market.
This is of course a result that no scientific researcher wants to see.
Although, this result is very capital.
If researchers could make the decision, they might want to lower the price of the drug to a level that patients can afford.
I don’t want to see my achievements completely abandoned because of the price.
The pearl is covered with dust and the treasure sinks to the bottom.
This is a human loss and a waste of scientific research power.
In China, since ancient times, there has been a tradition that the people are at the mercy of heaven. Everyone who grows up on this soil always has feelings of compassion for heaven and humanity in their hearts.
It is the ideal of every Chinese to be like a dragon.
It is also the ideal of Huaxia Medicine people to never let go of a patient.
Now, in Sanqing, they have found the same beliefs and gathered together for the same ideal.
How can one not feel his soul tremble and his mind tremble?
Everyone's face was flushed with excitement, and there were loud cheers and applause, mixed with some whistles.
It's like treating a serious workplace as a entertainment room for star-chasing.
Tang Que clapped his hands suddenly, and the scene suddenly became silent.
"Okay, I'm not asking you to do charity, so don't be so excited. The drug I developed cannot be sold for money. The boss will definitely kill me."
"Hehehe." Everyone burst out with good-natured laughter.
"Of the three drugs on the market, Bogen's drugs have been included in medical insurance and the prices have come down. We don't need to snipe."
"And this drug also has its limitations. First of all, it cannot cure the root cause. It mainly upregulates the expression level of neuronal survival protein (smn protein) through messenger RNA (mRNA). Patients need to take the drug for life, and the method of administration is very inhumane."
"Because the antisense oligonucleotide used in this drug cannot easily penetrate the blood-brain barrier, it can only be administered intrathecally. Patients need to undergo lumbar puncture injection every time, and each injection can last for three months. I think We should be more pursuing in the way of drug administration and be more considerate of patients."
"So let's look at the treatment methods and molecular mechanisms of action of the other two high-priced drugs."
"After all, it can be sold at such an expensive price and refuse to lower the price. There must be something special about it."
"And I like to conquer opponents like this and challenge the highest level of difficulty."
“Next, let’s analyze Novartis’s sky-high price of RMB 14 million and Roche’s oral drugs.”
"As we all know, spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a rare genetic neuromuscular disease and the leading genetic cause of infant death. Its pathogenesis is caused by the loss or deletion of a protein called survival motor neuron (SMN). Abnormal.”
"There are two genes that can produce smn proteins in the human body, namely the smn1 gene and the smn2 gene, but the smn1 gene plays a dominant role, and the smn2 gene only produces a small amount of about 10% of the smn protein."
"Once the Smn1 gene is dysfunctional, it can cause the patient to be unable to produce enough Smn, which will affect the patient's movement, breathing, swallowing, spleen, heart, pancreas and other organs, and even threaten the patient's life."
"Based on the degree of loss of SMN protein levels, SMA can be divided into several types. Among them, the most severe type I SMA patients usually die due to rapid neuronal death and muscle damage, and most of them die or require treatment at 24 months. Permanent respiratory support.”
"Based on the pathogenesis, there are two different treatment options for SMA. One is to target the smn1 gene and directly introduce the gene encoding normal smn1 through a vector, which is the gene therapy used by Novartis' Z drug."
"The second one is to target the smn2 gene and achieve the production of smn protein by promoting the normal expression of smn2 in patients. This is Roche's oral liquid e-medicine."
"Theoretically, smn1 gene replacement therapy is one of the most reasonable and effective ways to treat spinal muscular atrophy, with the advantage of achieving clinical efficacy with only a single intravenous injection."
"Novartis' z is one such drug that delivers a copy of the smn1 gene to muscle cells, enabling the production of Smn protein. The defective gene of smn1 has not been removed and may continue to be transcribed, producing unknown downstream effects."
"This treatment method is like a vaccine. It introduces the correct smn1 gene into the host through a relatively safe viral vector, thereby infecting motor neuron cells so that new cells can produce Smn protein. Only one injection is needed. The patient's body will continuously produce SMN protein, which can cure the disease in a sense."
"Of course, the second method is also very good. It uses small molecule binding agents to regulate the shearing of the Smn2 gene mRNA, which can express the normal Smn protein mRNA level, thereby alleviating the symptoms of SMA patients."
"It has to give a dose according to the patient's weight and needs to be taken continuously. This is an ideal drug for pharmaceutical companies. The patient is like a cash cow, providing a steady stream of money. Logically speaking, The price of drugs should be affordable, otherwise what's the point."
"After all, it's not like Novartis's Z drug, which is a one-and-done solution and never causes future troubles. At least it cures the disease with just one injection. It's more expensive for its own reasons."
"It is such a life-long medication. Who gives it the courage to sell it at such a high price? Don't you understand the principle of long-lasting water, so you want to catch all the money?"
"I can't stand this kind of arrogance. Next, we will use a two-pronged approach, starting from these two solutions, to come up with our own unique medicine."
Tang Que explained these contents in a clear and easy-to-understand manner.
Everyone understands their goals and efforts.
