Ethiopia, international airport.
Old Huang, who had gray temples, followed the flow of people into the cabin and looked for his seat.
He was carrying a trolley suitcase in his hand, his face was calm, but there was excitement in his eyes.
After years of hard work in the Philippines, he finally boarded a flight back to China, but this time, he didn't plan to come back.
A few years ago, he caught malaria in the Philippines. Because it was very remote, he could only go to a local clinic for injections. Unfortunately, he contracted AIDS.
Since then, he has been working hard in the Philippines alone, rarely going home, and most of the time he only keeps in touch with his family by phone.
In his simple heart, this disease is shameful. Although he has a clear conscience, if word spreads, it will inevitably attract gossip and risk his reputation being tarnished.
I can only work hard to make money in the Philippines, hoping to save enough money to leave to my family before I get seriously ill.
Although I have been taking medicine, there are always various adverse reactions, and the HIV virus index has been recurring.
He originally thought he would never be able to return to the country and never see his family.
Unexpectedly, I suddenly got good news.
Sanqing has conquered AIDS, and the country will provide free medicine to all patients. As long as they take it for a long time, they can live like normal people without being affected, and they are not contagious.
Suddenly, a glimmer of hope ignited in his heart.
After confirming with his family, he quickly sold his business in the Philippines and returned to China resolutely with the savings gained from years of hard work.
He plans to report to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after he returns and receive free medication.
Anyway, after so many years, I have earned enough money to support myself in old age. From now on, I can stay in my hometown, accompany my wife and children, and spend the rest of my life, which is just a wish.
He quickly found a seat, placed his luggage, and sat down.
There was still some time before takeoff, so he opened the car window and looked at the scenery outside boredly.
It was about to be goodbye forever, and looking at this familiar scenery, he felt inexplicably reluctant to leave.
Suddenly, he saw a fleet of black cars approaching from a distance. They drove neatly into the tarmac and parked under the plane he was on.
Afterwards, seven or eight burly black men of different shapes got out of the car. Each of them was in a straight suit, with a serious look on his face, and he looked very imposing. He was very different from ordinary Filipinos. He walked towards the plane with his feet up.
Then another twenty people got out of the car, all of them black locals, carrying various things in their hands, following closely behind.
Old Huang watched helplessly as this group of people got on the plane and entered the first class cabin, and his heart was suddenly shaken.
He was thinking randomly, these people didn't look like ordinary people. Could it be that they were officials from a Philippine country, attending an international conference together?
But this flight is to China. Is it going to the capital to attend some summit?
After thinking for a long time, I couldn't figure out why.
At this moment, someone sat down in the seat next to him.
When he looked up, he saw a young Filipino. Judging from the suit he was wearing, he must be from that group of people.
The young Filipino also saw him. Perhaps because he was Chinese, he immediately showed his white teeth, smiled and said hello in Chinese.
"Hello! I'm Duya, nice to meet you."
Lao Huang can actually speak English, but since the other person speaks Chinese, he naturally won't correct him.
"Hello, you can call me Huang. Are you officials from Ethiopia? Going on a business trip to China?" he asked curiously.
The young man smiled happily and said, "Yes, I am a staff member of the Ministry of Health of Ethiopia. I followed our minister to China for work."
"Ministry of Health?" Lao Huang became even more curious: "There are quite a few of you, are they all from the Ministry of Health?"
"No, no," the young man shook his head: "In addition to our minister, there are also several health ministers from other countries in the Philippine Union."
"Wow?" Lao Huang was so shocked that he couldn't help but say, "No wonder there are so many people. Why are you all going to China?"
The young man came over enthusiastically and said with joy.
"Huang, this is all because your country has a great pharmaceutical company called Sanqing. It has developed a miracle drug that can cure AIDS. This drug is very important to us in the Philippines. You know, we There are more than 20 million people infected with HIV. If China can lend a helping hand to us, it will not be difficult to completely eradicate HIV."
Lao Huang chuckled, feeling proud in his heart.
At the same time, looking at the flattering face of the other party, he felt a little disdainful in his heart: "Huh, you are going to beg again. I have heard about President Wei's style. I'm afraid you won't be able to get three melons and two dates. "
However, on the surface, he remained calm and smiled: "Sanqing is indeed the light of China, and I am proud of it."
The young man became energetic and talked endlessly about the purpose of his trip, looking envious.
"Huang, you don't know how much I envy you. You were born in such a powerful and wealthy country, and there are so many high-tech companies that can provide countless useful products and magical medicines."
"Whether it's malaria, anemia, or even cancer, you can defeat it. Now even AIDS is no match for you. You are simply omnipotent."
"These terminal diseases that are ravaging the Philippines are just obedient little bugs in the hands of you Chinese people. You can rub them away casually. Oh, I really admire you so much."
"Several members of my family are infected with the HIV virus. They take medicine every day to survive. They are suffering a lot and don't know when they will recover."
"I wish I was a Chinese, but it's a pity that I can't do it. It's hard to get Chinese residency, even if you have money. It seems I can only wait for the next life."
“I now pray to God every day, hoping to be born in China in my next life. I even try to do as few bad things as possible at work, because this allows God to see how pious I am and my chances will be greater. "
Lao Huang was a bit dumbfounded, but he didn't expect to see a beautiful woman on a plane.
It’s just that if you pray to God for the opportunity to be born in China in your next life, won’t God beat you out?
He asked casually: "You like Sanqing's medicine so much, can't you just buy it?"
The young man slapped his thigh and said, "You're right, but the price is too expensive. There are many people in my family, and they all take Sanqing medicine. I can't afford it. It costs too much money. I think it's better to become a doctor in my next life." Chinese people, it’s best to receive free medicine.”
The trace of sympathy in Lao Huang's heart disappeared in an instant.
"This bunch of Filipinos can't hold up a wall with mud. They are prostitutes all the time. They are a bunch of trash. There is no way they can be saved."
****
Eagle Country California, Foster City, Gilead Headquarters.
President Oscar stared at the sales report on the table, his brows furrowed, and his face was so gloomy that it could drip.
After a while, he rubbed his brow and fell into deep thought.
Suddenly, the phone on the table rang, and the sweet voice of the secretary came from it.
"Mr. Oscar, Ms. Emma, CEO of GSK, requested to have a video call with you."
"Got it." Oscar hung up the phone and clicked on a video conference page.
Soon, a middle-aged lady with short blond hair appeared on the screen. She wore a pair of tortoiseshell glasses, had a gentle smile, and was extremely approachable. She looked more like a female university teacher than a female CEO.
As the only female CEO among the world's top ten pharmaceutical giants, Emma's image is always so intellectual and elegant, in line with people's consistent impression of highly intellectual women.
"Hello Oscar, long time no see. You look very calm. I didn't expect you to be so calm."
Emma looked at Oscar with interest, her voice was sweet and sweet.
Oscar snorted coldly, showing no mercy to her: "Emma, you are still as uneasy and kind-hearted as ever. Do you want to see me frowning because of the decline in performance? Then save yourself the trouble."
"Oh, I forgot that you are a native of Eagle Country who is famous for being direct and rude. I should learn to adapt to your style and be more direct." Emma's expression did not change at all and she still said with a smile.
"In the anti-AIDS drug market, I admit that GSK can't beat your flagship drug Bitovil, but now that Sanqing's Duanailin has been launched, I guess you will also have a hard time."
"Bituvit is no longer the best anti-HIV drug in the world, and based on the data I have, it may be difficult for you to catch up. Even if your generic drug company wants to crack this drug, It’s not easy either.”
"Compared with the efficacy of the medicine, it can't be compared with Trivia. Compared with the adverse reaction rate, it can't be compared with Trivia. Compared with the price, it seems that it is difficult for you to cut the flesh. I really can't calculate the chance of you turning over."
"So?" Oscar sneered and said, "Don't worry, even if the sales of Bituvit plummet, it will still beat GSK."
"You misunderstood me. I came with good intentions." Emma looked solemn and said seriously: "Let's join forces and fight back against the Sanqing."
"What?" Oscar said as if he heard a joke: "There are not many of your GSK drugs that you can use, and you can't even beat me. Are you going to fight Sanqing with your head?"
The corners of Emma's mouth raised slightly: "You have forgotten that we have a long-acting injectable drug, cabotegravir, which has been approved by the FDA. This is the first and currently only long-acting HIV treatment program, and it only takes two months. One injection can keep the HIV virus in the patient's body at an extremely low level."
"The safety of this drug is acceptable, and the main method of administration is more popular. From now on, patients will no longer have to take multiple pills every day, and pay attention to the time before and after meals at regular intervals."
"Clinical trials have proven that nine out of 10 patients prefer a long-acting regimen of two-monthly injections to daily oral pills."
"This is enough to show that long-acting treatment options are the future that AIDS patients look forward to."
Oscar's eyes suddenly lit up and he couldn't help but nodded: "It is true that you still have such a trump card drug in your hands. In fact, we also have the same long-acting treatment drug under development, but the progress is not so fast and it has not officially entered clinical practice."
He seemed to think of something quickly, and frowned again: "However, your medicine is expensive enough. It costs 6,000 US dollars in the first month, and 4,000 US dollars per month after that. In one year, it costs 50,000 US dollars. Sanqing The annual cost of the Love-Breaking Spirit is only half, so it doesn’t seem to have any advantages.”
Emma spread her hands and said: "The eldest brother, not to mention the second brother, the price of Bitovi is about the same as yours."
Oscar pondered for a moment and said resolutely: "So before you call, I have already decided to take a big move to reduce the price."
"At least it should be reduced to the same price as Sanqing, no, even a little lower than it. In this way, the price of your long-acting treatment needle will have no advantage at all."
Oscar looked at her with cold eyes, as if to say, then why are you cooperating with me?
Emma smiled softly: "Since you are ready to reduce the price, how could I not?"
“The price of cabotegravir will also be reduced, down to US$30,000 a year, which is one year higher than Ailin, but not too high, giving patients a better choice. I think it will be more convenient for patients. For the method of drug administration, you are still willing to pay a small price."
Oscar was immediately shocked: "Your drug has just been launched and the price has been reduced so much. Can the board of directors agree?"
He immediately shook his head and said: "It's not appropriate, it's not appropriate. After all, Bituvail has been on the market for five or six years, and the money you should make is almost the same. It makes sense to lower the price at this time. If you lower your value like this, it can easily cause controversy." , and it will make the public question the pricing of new drugs by pharmaceutical companies, which is not good for us."
Emma was also hesitant: "Then increase the ratio of free medicines and carry out some profit-sharing activities. The main thing is to strive to win the mid-to-high-end market."
Oscar nodded approvingly and said: "It's almost the same. I plan to give it half a discount to about 20,000. In this way, we can attack from both ends and form a strong counterattack against Sanqing."
"After all, anti-AIDS drugs need to be taken for a long time. For any patient, price is an issue that must be considered."
"I don't believe it. After the price drops, it will still be unable to beat Sanqing."
"Even if the Sanqing also counterattacks with price cuts, I have also prepared a series of back-ups that will definitely stabilize the situation."
He said calmly, his tone full of confidence.
Not long after the meeting ended, Gilead issued a price reduction announcement globally.
In addition to the significant drop in official prices, the company also increased the proportion of donated drugs, and even donated a batch of drugs to the Eagle Country government for free to meet the needs of patients without medical insurance.
Eagle Country's drugs are mainly paid for by the government and medical insurance, and the main focus of payment by these two major funders is, in addition to the efficacy of the drugs, the most important thing is the price.
On the basis of not much difference in efficacy, the most important thing is that the price is cheap.
Especially for chronic disease drugs, anti-AIDS drugs that must be taken for life, the long-term expenses are absolutely astronomical, and each bill is enough to make insurance companies feel like they are mourning.
As long as it can significantly reduce insurance company expenditures and reduce government medical expenses, they will definitely choose cheaper drugs.
Soon, Yingguo's medical insurance increased the self-pay ratio of Sanqing's Duanailing, and at the same time reduced the self-pay amount of Bituvit. This will implicitly guide patients and make price-sensitive patients I prefer Gilead's drugs.
As a result, patients find themselves facing a situation. If they want to take the latest version of Ailin, they have to pay more. If they want to save money, they can only take Gilead's older drugs.
As a result, Bitovi's sales decline was immediately stopped.
At the same time, GSK's new long-acting HIV treatment drug has also begun to make crazy activities.
In Eagle Country, prescription drugs can be advertised openly.
Some doctors and the media, who have been supported by pharmaceutical companies for a long time, have launched advertisements for it and tried their best to promote this drug to every patient who comes to prescribe it.
"The Romance of Fairy Wood"
Under such a strong offensive, they continued to select patients with broken love spirits.
Either he is not short of money, or he wants the latest, best and smallest drugs with minimal side effects.
Or they just live a regular life and don’t care about people who take medicine every day.
Or they are loyal fans who have been taking it for a while and are deeply impressed by its effects.
Other patients, in this situation, have to weigh their wallets or choose drugs that are more suitable for their lifestyle.
After all, they both eliminate the HIV virus in the body. There is a difference between 0 and a small amount, but it is not too big.
After all, as long as you don't get sick and stay healthy, you can't think too much about whether the infection is contagious or not under the pressure of money.
The sales of Duan Ailing gradually became weak after the period when it was first launched.
Although it is still very popular, it has undoubtedly become one of the choices of patients.
Rather than that being the only option.
