Kunming City, Sanqing Headquarters.
Wei Kang was deaf to what was happening outside the window at this time and was in the genetic laboratory, paying attention to the latest work progress.
"These are ancient bacteria discovered in the ancient ice of the Antarctic continent dating back 420,000 years. We got them from the scientific expedition team. Many of them are still active and can grow in the laboratory as usual after being extracted. "
"The ice environment gives these bacteria a state of near immortality. The ice is like a giant genetic cold storage, helping them preserve their genetic blueprints and allowing them to see the light of day again when conditions permit."
Tang Que stood aside, his eyes shining, and he kept talking: "We have tested all the collected ancient bacteria and rare bacteria, and there are more than a thousand kinds. You must know that there are more than 3 million existing bacteria in the world. species, and we humans can only identify more than 8,000 species."
"After hard work, we finally found a brand-new gene-clipping protease in an ancient bacterium. Because this bacterium existed hundreds of thousands of years ago and was shaped like a long bamboo pole, we called it Protobacterium longum."
"There is also a system similar to CRISPR in this bacterium, but it is more simplified, more primitive, and not so complicated."
"A single effector protein-cleaving enzyme was found in it. It has a small molecular weight but a very powerful function. It is also very tolerant to the external environment and has wide adaptability."
"This allows it to be flexibly delivered into cells to reach the editing target without the need to create overly complicated plasmids."
"It has both DNA and RNA endonuclease activities. It can complete the processing by itself without a long list of traa, thus achieving clean gene shearing function."
"It has a simple structure but powerful functions. Compared with cas9, the delivery difficulty is greatly reduced, and the target sites for genome editing are also greatly expanded. It not only improves the efficiency of gene editing, but also allows multiple rounds of gene editing at the same site. .”
"It is not as easy to miss the target as cas9, and its positioning and insertion are more precise. It is easier to operate and is a more powerful tool for editing multiple gene sites."
"This new gene-editing tool is simply made for thalassemia, and we can also modify it to make it more suitable for other different conditions."
"With it, we don't need to painstakingly analyze the genetic makeup of different patients, we just need to locate the variant genome, then hook the correct gene fragment to the original cutting protease, put it into a simple plasmid, and it can enter cells, accurately locate the mutated genome, automatically complete the cutting, and then complete the insertion of normal gene fragments through homologous recombination.”
The more Tang Que talked, the more excited he became, and his voice became louder and louder: "It is the most powerful gene editing tool that we humans can master at this stage. With it, we will become the greatest biologists in the world, and we will be able to do anything." cannot."
Wei Kang nodded lightly and looked excited. He couldn't help but be infected by Tang Que's passion, and almost lost his composure.
However, as the boss, he still maintained the necessary calmness.
"How are the subsequent clinical trials going?"
"Great, we have created a new thalassemia gene drug based on this, and cell experiments have shown that the effect is no different from the previous drugs."
"Because this drug also has a powerful editing function for RNA, unlike Cas9 which can only edit DNA, the new drug can achieve the function of gene editing in the body, so that it can be directly administered to the patient through intrathecal injection and the drug can be injected into the bone marrow. That is, it eliminates the patient’s autologous bone marrow transplant process and greatly reduces the transplant process and subsequent complications.”
"This is the real gene editing drug. What is Cas9 that cannot be edited in the body? We are the most powerful on the surface. We can just inject the drug directly into the body. Hahaha~"
As Tang Que spoke, he couldn't help laughing.
As soon as he mentioned his new discovery, he suddenly became energetic and beaming, and his whole person seemed to be glowing from the inside out.
Wei Kang's worried heart was completely relieved, and he also laughed.
"Great. The Broad Institute has been dancing happily recently. I was worried about not being able to deal with them. Now that you have made this discovery, I can rest assured."
Tang Que curled his lips and said with disdain: "I don't understand what's there to argue about. I just do these fancy things all day long. Is this thing so difficult? Whether it works or not, it still depends on the efficacy. They take it. What’s the point of holding a useless patent and not being able to come up with anything?”
"It is a good thing to have breakthroughs in basic science, but this is something that benefits all mankind. If we can't come up with a clinical drug by ourselves, but someone else has come up with it, isn't it a win-win cooperation? Why do we still do it three times and four times, and in the end we have to hold on to it? It is simply a shame for scientists to use patents to interfere with other people's research."
After he cursed and finished the call, he suddenly looked at Wei Kang nervously.
“Mr.
"We won't also have to charge high genetic taxes, right?"
Wei Kang laughed and said: "Who do you think I am? Sanqing's corporate philosophy will never allow a narrow patent like the Broad Institute to be self-respecting, let alone use such a powerful patent as a weapon to attack technologically advanced people. A company that breaks through and benefits people.”
"Don't worry about this. You must have confidence in Sanqing and China."
Tang Que then nodded as if he was relieved.
Wei Kang pondered: "Actually, this matter is very complicated. It is not only related to the thalassemia gene drug, but also related to the national dispute such as the food issue. But as a technician, you just need to focus on the research. Just leave it to me to deal with these ghosts and monsters."
He then showed a confident smile: "I was a little worried that I might have to give up overseas patients, but now that there is a new killer weapon, it is obvious that no matter how hard they jump, it is Qiu The grasshoppers behind us will have a few good days.”
Wei Kang left the genetic laboratory and came to his office. Looking at the mountains of documents on the table, he couldn't help but feel cold.
At the top was a fresh court summons.
Since the University of California team tore up the patent license, their domestic branch immediately filed a patent infringement lawsuit with the Kunming City Court, requesting Sanqing Group to stop selling thalassemia gene drugs in China.
What the other party does is obviously expressing an attitude and sending out a signal.
Whether they can win is secondary. The main purpose is to act as a deterrent to distract Sanqing, and at the same time try to delay the launch of Sanqing's genetic medicine.
They also know in their hearts that the possibility of achieving this demand is very small. After all, China is the home court of the Sanqing Dynasty.
Sanqing can definitely litigate slowly, and the two sides will most likely fall into a tussle, which will take several years to reach a conclusion.
Even if a lawsuit is filed, it will not delay Sanqing from continuing to sell thalassemia gene drugs.
And with the Food and Drug Administration as its backer, the possibility of Pfizer’s thalassemia gene drug being imported is infinitely close to zero.
Wei Kang picked up this summons, and Zheng Feng's familiar round smiling face appeared in front of his eyes.
He smiled faintly, put it aside casually, and whispered to himself.
"If you want to fight, then fight."
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