Faced with Williams' question, Tang Que was unusually silent.
As smart as he is, he can't answer it for a moment.
After a while, he patted Williams on the shoulder and said with a complicated expression.
"Dawei, your question really stumps me. I'm afraid only Mr. Wei is qualified to answer you."
"However, this is indeed a very good question, and it is also a soul torture that every pharmaceutical company will face."
"After all, it often happens that pharmaceutical companies try to kill themselves. Some pharmaceutical companies' new drugs completely cure a certain disease because of their excellent efficacy. Then within a few years, the drug is still there, the patients are gone, the income is reduced, and the stock price If it falls, the company will eventually be gone.”
"I can only tell you from my own perspective that I very much hope that humans can completely eliminate these diseases."
"But from the perspective of the company and the entire industry, the answer may be completely different."
His tone suddenly became serious and he said: "As scientific researchers, we should not waste our limited brain cells on such a complex problem."
"There is an old saying in China, but do good deeds without worrying about the future."
"Today I send this message to you. Work hard to develop the drug first, and we will talk about the rest later."
Williams pondered for a moment, nodded and said: "I understand, develop the drug first. At least we will have papers and bonuses. As for whether the company is still there, that is something the boss should consider, and it has nothing to do with us."
"That's...that's true." Tang Que paused and looked at him, somewhat dumbfounded: "You are such a clever little kid."
That's what he said, but after watching Williams go away, this question took root in his mind.
For several days in a row, as soon as he finished his work, he would silently ask himself.
“If a drug to eradicate AIDS is really developed, will the company bring it to market?”
"Quailing is already perfect. It has completely turned AIDS into a controllable chronic disease, and it can make a steady stream of money. It can be said to be the ideal drug in the eyes of pharmaceutical companies."
"Sold for several years, it can bring billions of dollars in revenue to the company every year. Will the company be willing to give up such a trump card drug?"
"Perhaps, if you develop your own HIV genetic drug, the final outcome will be just to be hidden in the snow, collecting dust in a cupboard. After waiting for several years, there may not be a chance to show up."
All kinds of questions were lingering in his mind, and he seemed to have seen the future of the project at hand.
This kind of thing is not uncommon. After a drug is developed, whether it can enter clinical trials until it is launched depends on the company's decision.
Although many drugs are effective, their commercial value is insufficient and they will still be abandoned by pharmaceutical companies.
Large companies have many research and development projects on hand, so they will naturally consider carefully when choosing drugs.
Generally, there are only small pharmaceutical companies with few choices. When you only have one drug with excellent curative effect, even if it is a good thing, you can't care about so much. You must launch it immediately to seize all the markets. Even if the patients disappear, at least they will make enough money.
Just like the rise of anti-drug giant Gilead, hepatitis C will lead to success and failure to hepatitis C.
This pharmaceutical company is not involved in multiple disease fields like the old pharmaceutical companies such as Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer. It is very specialized. From its establishment to the present, it has always focused on drugs to treat two types of viruses.
One is AIDS and the other is liver disease.
Why these two areas? The reason is also very simple, because nearly one-third of people infected with HIV are also infected with hepatitis virus.
So Gilead is actually a wonder in the pharmaceutical industry that focuses on the field of anti-virus.
Just two diseases, hepatitis and AIDS, have made it one of the top ten pharmaceutical giants in the world, with annual revenue exceeding 20 billion US dollars.
Gilead was also in trouble at the beginning. After the company was established, it has not developed a drug that can be marketed.
Nine years later, the first drug was launched, and it took a full 14 years to turn a profit, with the first net profit finally appearing on the books.
Since then, the company has been on a rocket ride, and its performance has been blinding.
Although the successful development of a series of AIDS drugs gave Gilead the aura of an antiviral expert, it was the drug to cure hepatitis C that really made the company famous and firmly established itself as a global antiviral giant. .
After the "Ji Yi Dai" miracle drug against hepatitis C virus was launched on the market, the cure rate directly increased from 50% to an unprecedented level, approaching 100%.
Therefore, in the first year of its launch, it immediately swept the market and killed all its rivals in hepatitis C drugs.
Revenues reached US$6 billion in two quarters, and sales reached US$10.3 billion that year, ranking second on the world's best-selling drug list and creating a myth in the history of new drug sales.
At that time, the market demand in Eagle Country was extremely hot, with a full 140,000 patients taking the medicine.
There's a reason why you can make so much money. Gilead's drugs are very expensive.
A course of treatment for 'Ji Dai Dai' costs US$84,000. Calculated, the average price of one pill exceeds US$1,000.
As for other new drugs that follow, they are even more expensive, costing one hundred thousand dollars for a course of treatment.
In the following years, Gilead launched "Gilead's second generation", "Gilead's third generation", and "Gilead's fourth generation" hepatitis C drugs, covering all six genotypes of hepatitis C virus. They can quickly block the target virus, thereby eradicating hepatitis C. .
In just three or four years, hepatitis C was almost completely eradicated by Gilead.
Competitors are miserable, and all giant hepatitis C drugs such as Johnson & Johnson and Merck have announced their withdrawal from the market.
However, within a few years, Gilead found that its hepatitis C drug performance began to decline rapidly.
Annual revenue plummeted from 30 billion to more than 20 billion, and revenue from hepatitis C drugs was cut in half.
That year, the entire global anti-HCV drug market shrank, shrinking by half.
The reason is simple: after all the patients are cured, the medicine can no longer be sold.
Hepatitis C is an infectious disease. When patients are cured on a large scale, there will be signs of rapid market decline.
It is said that when the birds are gone, the good bow is hidden.
Even if Gilead tried its best, it could not save the company's decline.
The stock price has fallen all the way from US$125 and entered a long decline. It has fallen to the current US$60, and is even falling slowly.
Take other people's path, leaving others with no way to go, and eventually you will have no way to go.
It can be said that Gilead has performed this perfectly in curing hepatitis C.
However, when Gilead was developing hepatitis C drugs, it was still unknown. Faced with a drug-level product worth tens of billions of dollars, it undoubtedly did not consider that much.
After "Ji Daidai" sent it to the top ten pharmaceutical companies in the world and brought huge money, they obviously learned their lessons in anti-AIDS drugs and slowed down their pace.
Although they have continued to conquer cities and territories in other fields and developed new drugs to treat hepatitis B, they have basically no longer completely eradicated the disease. Instead, they have taken the route of allowing patients to take drugs for a long time.
When other pharmaceutical companies see Gilead's miserable situation in the field of hepatitis C drugs, they will naturally weigh it and make their own choices in the research and development of new drugs.
I believe it is difficult for any pharmaceutical company to kill its flagship drug like Gilead.
Sanqing is now also a mature pharmaceutical giant. It has finally established a foothold in the anti-AIDS drug market. How could it dig its own grave so quickly?
This is what Tang Que is worried about. He is very worried that after the drug is developed, it will be stopped directly in the clinical stage.
As the person in charge of the project, he originally didn't think much about this aspect because the research and development of genetic drugs was not going well. He estimated that it would take at least two years to produce results. As for the launch, it would have to be three years later.
Unexpectedly, a talented virus expert came now. He was so capable that he quickly broke through the bottleneck of the project and made the research and development progress a huge step forward.
Based on this estimate, it will not take long for new drugs to be successfully developed.
So he had to take precautions and figure this out first.
After thinking about it, Tang Que finally came to Wei Kang's office and knocked on the door.
As soon as he entered the door, he saw Wei Kang smiling and saying, "I was just about to call you over. I have something to announce to you."
Only then did Tang Que notice that Chen Yiqing and Wen Renlong were still sitting in the office.
Chen Yiqing smiled lightly and nodded to him.
Wen Renlong winked at him and greeted him in a familiar way.
Tang Que put his thoughts aside for the time being and sat down, intending to listen to what his boss had to say.
Wei Kang took out a document and handed it to Chen Yiqing opposite: "Old Chen, see if you are satisfied with this document."
Chen Yiqing took it over doubtfully and started looking through it.
As he looked at it, he showed a shocked expression, and soon he couldn't help but grinned, with a strong joy in his smile.
After a while, he reluctantly put down the document and asked in disbelief: "Mr. Wei, is this true? The conditions are too good to be true."
Seeing him, Wen Renlong was overjoyed and looked like he had been hit by a pie falling from the sky. He couldn't help shouting: "Old Chen, what a happy event, please share it with your brothers."
Wei Kang spoke slowly and explained: "This is a company profit sharing agreement. As you all know, Lao Chen paid a lot for the new drug cranial nerve regeneration factor. Although this drug was very successful and sold well, He also lost some of the credit he deserved.”
Chen Yiqing interrupted: "Actually, I don't mind this."
Wei Kang laughed: "I said that the honors and rewards that should be given to you will not be less. Now is the time to cash in. Honors are hard to say. I am still working hard. I may not see them in the short term, but The reward is right in front of you.”
He tapped his fingers on the table and continued: "Everyone knows that most of the shares of Sanqing Group are in my hands. This is different from the equity structure of many technology companies."
"As time went by, there must have been various rumors saying that I took all the shares alone, and the employees worked hard, but they were always part-time workers. They were unable to grow with the company, and they had no sense of belonging."
"I can tell you clearly that this is indeed the case. Sanqing Group will belong to me alone in the future and will not be listed on the market. There will be no chance of cashing out."
"I have my own reasons for doing this. Pharmaceutical companies are different from other companies. They not only have to develop new drugs, earn high profits, and survive in fierce competition, but they also have to shoulder the social responsibility of treating diseases and saving lives."
"Therefore, Sanqing must not be coerced by any capital and do things that are only for profit and go against conscience."
"That's why I refuse to split my shares."
"In fact, on the premise that I have no shares, I am very generous in terms of money. This is obvious to everyone."
"Of course, this money may be enough for ordinary employees, but it is definitely not enough for executives."
"So, I have drawn up such a profit sharing agreement. How much money you can get in the future depends entirely on your own ability."
Wei Kang paused for a moment, and seeing that the three of them were listening attentively, he continued.
"Among all the senior executives, you laboratory directors are the company's most valuable asset and most important asset."
"The blockbuster new drugs independently developed by the three of you, that is, drugs with annual revenue of more than 1 billion US dollars, will receive one thousandth of the dividend from the company's annual net profit in proportion to revenue."
"Take the brain nerve regeneration factor developed by Lao Chen as an example. Last year's revenue was US$3 billion, accounting for about 5% of the company's total revenue. If the company's profit margin is 50%, then the profit distributed by this drug at 5% is 13.5 One thousandth of a billion US dollars is US$1.35 million, and this is the dividend Lao Chen deserves."
"If the annual revenue of this drug reaches 10 billion US dollars in the future, and the company's profit margin is high enough, Lao Chen's dividends will definitely become higher and higher, and may even reach tens of millions of US dollars."
"Of course, dividends will not be paid until three years after joining the company, and you will lose your qualifications after you leave the company. It can be considered a benefit from growing with the company."
"Although this money cannot make you rich like stocks, it is still a considerable amount of income."
"As time goes by, I believe your worth will not be worse than that of the new Internet rich."
As soon as he finished speaking, Wen Renlong exclaimed: "Damn it, Lao Chen has become a multi-millionaire without knowing it. It's really unreasonable to not invite us to Dabaojian."
The smile on Chen Yiqing's face suddenly froze, he waved his hand and said: "As long as Mr. Wei is willing to go, I will risk being scolded by my wife, but I have to go out and ask you for the sword."
"This..." Wen Renlong said angrily: "Considering that you have escaped, I ask for a lower level. Please go to the Island Yacht Climbing Head Office."
Chen Yiqing smiled slightly and said: "In that case, why not, take care of it for me. By the way, your Broken Love Spirit is also selling very well, and it will definitely become a billion-dollar drug. Your dividends will not be higher than mine. few."
Wen Renlong said proudly: "Of course, I am not a fuel-efficient lamp either."
There was a smile on his face, and he was already thinking about how he would spend this huge sum of money. He could buy a Lamborghini or a Ferrari, a very sexy sports car.
Although Aaron's annual salary is one million, his daily expenses are also high. It is still difficult to spend a lot of money to buy a super car.
Now there is suddenly a huge amount of dividend income every year, and the income has skyrocketed in an instant. Some things that are usually a bit coveted can now be afforded.
"Sure enough, the ancients did not deceive me. A horse will not be fat without night grass, and a man will not be rich without windfall!" Wen Renlong thought about the happy life of buying and selling in his mind, and couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
He reached out and patted Tang Que, and winked proudly: "Brother Que, you have so many genetic medicines, and the dividends must be very generous. This time, none of the three of us were left behind, and we all made a windfall."
"Fortunately, there is a love-breaking spirit, otherwise I would be outclassed this time. Hahaha."
Tang Que couldn't help but twitch the corners of his eyes when he saw Wen Renlong's excited expression.
He knew that several of his genetic drugs were selling well and would definitely break the $1 billion mark, especially the thalassemia genetic drug, which was simply a cash cow.
But this is not the focus of his attention, "Aaron is so happy, and yes, Broken Ai Ling is his biggest gain in the company, and it must be very important to him, both in terms of performance and money. .”
"Aaron will definitely be unhappy if he hears that AIDS can be completely eradicated and that Duan Ai Ling can only be sold for a few years."
"He can't be in high spirits, but I come out to pour cold water on him and tell him that you can receive dividends this year, but not next year."
Tang Que thought in his mind: "Forget it, I won't be disappointed on this happy day."
"When HIV gene drugs are almost fully developed, we can ask President Wei this question."
"Anyway, whether it is listed on the market or not, there should be a result by then."
With this in mind, he looked at Wen Renlong and forced out an encouraging smile.
"Aaron, come on, you are the best. I believe you will develop the next billion-dollar molecule soon."
Wen Renlong suddenly felt a chill: "Old Tang, don't be so disgusting, I'm getting goosebumps."
(End of chapter)
