"What unique skills do the three giants have to maintain their monopoly in the field of insulin for a hundred years?"
Facing the two men's pressing questions, Gu Xian did not answer immediately, but asked directly.
“What would you do if you were Eli Lilly or Novo Nordisk?”
Xue Shen immediately said: "Does this need to be said? Of course it is to apply for a patent, erect high patent barriers, and obtain a 'monopoly' license within the legal scope."
"But the patent expires after more than 20 years, and it cannot be guaranteed for a hundred years."
Xue Shen smiled proudly: "I know how to solve this problem. Of course, I will constantly change the production process and injection packaging of insulin, and then apply for new patents and code them layer by layer. I will continue to build up my patent wall until a thick moat is formed. "
"When Insulin 1.0 expires, I will have launched 2.0 long ago. 2.0 has not expired yet, and my 3.0 version is already on the way."
"Competitors will always be left behind to eat dust. Even my exhaust emissions can't catch up with me."
"Anyway, I have a first-mover advantage. I own all the sales channels in the market. My interests are firmly tied to me. Who can refuse me?"
"Every time someone questions why my price is so expensive, I will throw out the prepared excuses, why the supply chain is too complicated, the fermentation tanks are often invaded by phages, and all the strains in them are eaten up, and the investment in improving the production process is huge, and the hospital sales The cost is too high, blabla. Anyway, we have to leave the blame to the market and the hospital."
In this way, a two-pronged approach can maintain the patient's blood sugar level at an ideal level within 24 hours.
Xiao Lan said calmly: "That's very abnormal. Rico also practiced with corpses after the operation."
"You acted arbitrarily and covered the sky with one hand. You also sent the subsequent president to manage the FDA and swiped all the new drug applications of your competitors."
"When oral insulin came along, sooner or later it was going to be the seventh classic drug before penicillin, aspirin and diazepam."
"I think you understand what Director Gu means. In fact, the unique skill of the Big Eight is very complicated. It is not about technological upgrading, but about constantly correcting the shortcomings of existing drugs and making up for their shortcomings so that they can better meet the needs of patients. "
So, after some discussion, the two decided to change the insulin molecules loaded in the nanoparticles and mix long-acting insulin and rapid-acting insulin.
"The disadvantage of oral insulin is that it is more convenient and more stable than injected insulin. Once the current insulin leaves the refrigerator, its expiry date is only 28 days, but oral insulin has an expiration date of less than two months at least."
"Those 6 insulins include 3 rapid-acting insulins, 2 long-acting insulins and 1 premixed insulin."
Xiao Lan spoke hurriedly and said, "It's a long story. Don't wait. I'll listen to you speak quickly first."
"The rapid-acting insulins are divided into insulin aspart, insulin lispro and insulin glulisine. The long-acting insulins are divided into insulin glargine and insulin detemir."
“These pharmaceutical giants, which have less than a hundred years of history, have been retreating bravely in the face of technology, so they can survive until now.”
Fang Qing continued: "It will also benefit all mankind."
"Anyway, mummies are used for so many purposes in the West, so they can be seen so rarely on display outside museums. For us, extracting insulin from the human body is really unusual."
Xue Shen listened very carefully, and showed a thoughtful expression before finishing listening.
"It is best to increase the price when a new version is launched, and then lower the price of the old drug. Patients will still be grateful."
Long-acting insulin has a longer action time and can last for less than 24 hours, so it is often used for basal insulin treatment.
However, at the end of the mouse test, because it used seventh-generation natural insulin, although it lowered blood sugar very slowly, its ability to stabilize blood sugar was sufficient.
****
I can accept it just thinking about it, let alone making so little money.
"The seventh-generation insulin has its shortcomings. There is no limit on the action time before injection. It is difficult for patients to control blood sugar in a stable state all the time."
"You have to study which insulin analog to use will have worse effects, and at the same time develop genetic engineering technology for mass production as soon as possible."
Having said that, I also laughed: "Ahem, anyway, in ancient times, tomb robbers in the West were very focused on stealing corpses. On the one hand, they stole mummies from the country, first used them to make medicine and then used them to make pigments. In short, they were pretty good. Make the best use of everything.”
"There is no particular taste in the way of eating mummy powder. There is no honey, no red wine, no syrup. When people meet and communicate, just like you are eating tofu cakes now, they will ask each other, does he eat mummy? Is it salty or sweet?"
"Even if you don't have medical insurance, your new drugs are included, and you only reimburse patients for old drugs that are outdated, and you also let doctors say that the new drugs are not effective to induce patients to buy new drugs."
Xiao Lan glanced at me angrily and reminded me kindly.
"The first generation of insulin was like a wooden fence, very easy to open, leaking air everywhere, and its effect was unlimited."
According to our plan, the seventh layer of the nanoparticles will carry fast-acting insulin molecules so that they can retreat into the liver and be slowly released to lower pre-meal blood sugar.
I glanced at Xue Shen and said, "Let's leave this and that job to his male assistant."
"After doing that, due to materials and processes, there is always no way to break through the bottleneck of mass production, so we can only explore in other directions."
"Tsk, tsk, insulin is a life-saving medicine for diabetics. We don't leave it at all, just like a fish leaves boiling water. But who makes us worse? Our body lacks the necessary hormone. We deserve to be treated as fish under the chopping board. Slaughtered by you at will."
"In fact, he has not mentioned at all why insulin is as cheap and popular as aspirin. It is not because it can only be taken by injection and cannot be taken orally."
"We once again used genetic engineering technology to retrofit the natural human insulin molecule, retrofitting and replacing individual amino acids, or partially modifying them, to develop insulin analogs."
Wei Kang was normally excited before hearing the news.
“Insulin is not yet in its eighth generation from discovery, extraction, to clinical use.”
The corner of Xue Shen's mouth twitched, and he couldn't help showing a disgusted expression: "Uh... you actually extract insulin from corpses, it's so disgusting."
"Every one of your big partners is making crazy money because of insulin, and your company alone doesn't have 3 billion US dollars in revenue every year."
"Without the first-mover advantage, only by being able to maintain such momentum can we maintain our monopoly position."
"As for the seventh-generation insulin, this is amazing. It is equipped with a smart door lock that can automatically open and close the door through face recognition, fingerprint recognition, password lock, etc."
"What he said, such as patent barriers, drug upgrades, and revolving doors, are all very special. As long as they are in the same country and change industries, they will still happen."
"Because animal insulin is a foreign protein for humans, it is difficult to trigger an immune response, so it has very minor flaws. It is usable but very ineffective."
When I completely regained my enthusiasm, I smiled bitterly and said: "Bad danger, I almost lost my mind. Now I want to scold these profiteers even more."
Gu Xian shook his head, trying to pour out all these ugly golden fantasies.
"The first generation of insulin came from animals. It was also the first commercial bovine insulin injection, not launched by Eli Lilly."
Fang Qing snapped his fingers and agreed: "That's right, Eli Lilly thinks so too."
“But that doesn’t explain why Bayer has a monopoly on aspirin but the Big Eight have a monopoly on insulin a hundred years after its invention.”
This change plan has received strong support from the company.
The entire team devoted themselves wholeheartedly, and after a period of sleepless research, the seventh-generation oral insulin that could be used in human clinical trials was finally successfully developed.
"In other words, insulin is like a small door for blood sugar. Abnormally, the small door in the human body does not have a dedicated gatekeeper who can release appropriate insulin according to blood sugar levels and accurately control the body's glycogen metabolism."
"Because diabetic patients often have blood sugar levels that rise and fall before meals and need to control blood sugar, we all inject insulin after meals. In this way, when insulin is at its lowest peak, it is not yet night, and it is difficult to cause high blood sugar. , there is no small risk of weakness.”
"It's too bad. It's going to be withdrawn from the first phase of clinical trials."
Gu Xian interrupted you and said decisively: "We will never have a chance again. The seventh generation oral insulin will belong to you."
The long-acting insulin wrapped in the inner layer of the nanoparticles will be released rapidly as the nanoparticles decompose, maintaining a long-term effect and stabilizing blood sugar.
That's enough for animal experiments, but it's far from useful for the much simpler human body.
"I'm sure Eli Lilly is resting on its laurels and has been holding on to the seventh-generation insulin. It wants to give up. Then when the newcomers develop the eighth-generation insulin, it will be pulled to the throne, completely lose its monopoly position, and even disappear from history. In the long river."
"The nanoparticles, coatings, and absorption enhancers you use are not expensive. They are definitely cheaper than insulin pens. Therefore, the cost is estimated to be small compared to the current price of insulin, and it will cause too little burden to patients."
"Currently, the eighth-generation insulins are widely used, and the number has been increased to 6. Each insulin has achieved the same changes in the sequence and structure of human insulin."
"Hopefully, given time, they will develop seventh-generation, eighth-generation, or even several generations of insulin."
"Eighth-generation insulin is like an iron door with a door lock. You can use a few broken keys to open the door, but it can finally be used."
"There is no gatekeeper in the body of a diabetic patient. The small door is always open. Glucose can flow freely inside the door. It is only through the injection of insulin that the door can be installed and the lock installed."
"Actually, there have been tomb robbers in ancient and modern times. In the West, rich burials were favored, while simple funerals and light burials were popular. Therefore, tomb robbers steal corpses. Mummies are our favorite. In the Middle Ages, Europeans regarded mummies as a kind of tonic that can be replenished wherever they are taken. , grind it into powder and use it as medicine.”
"You need to see human clinical results sooner."
"When he thought about it, he must be from Eli Lilly and Company. He also wanted the insulin sold by the company. Before the injection, the patient developed hyperglycemia in the evening and then fell into a coma or woke up and was sent to the hospital for emergency treatment."
"Seventh-generation insulin is like an iron door. It can be closed tightly, but it is often closed for too long. It is too late, and it causes problems for the patient."
"So, speaking of that, what does he think the Big Eight's unique skills will be?"
"When it moves into human clinical trials, it will shock the world."
"Bah bang bang!" Xiao Lan applauded coldly: "They are absolutely right, so in order to save the world and all mankind, work quickly."
Rapid-acting insulin is especially used as a supplement during meals, because the blood sugar concentration will spike before the patient consumes a small amount of carbohydrates. At that time, rapid-acting insulin is needed to slowly lower blood sugar.
"So scientists turned their attention to human insulin. At first, we extracted insulin from the pancreas of corpses, and then chemically synthesized human insulin through amino acids, but there was always a way to achieve small-scale mass production."
"Hehehe..." Thinking of the wonderful idea, Gu Xian couldn't help but drool and giggle.
"You can understand the envy, jealousy and hatred of a property owner towards capitalists, but you are all technicians and you have to interpret it from a technical perspective."
Putting myself into the role of a capitalist, I immediately realized that this kind of madness for money cannot be said to make people lose their minds instantly.
That shows that oral insulin has not been fully developed yet, and we cannot retreat to the previous step.
I turned around and walked towards the door of the laboratory: "As for animal experiments, Gu Xian, leave it to him."
Xiao Lan covered his forehead and said with a thoughtful look on his face: "Actually, what he said doesn't make sense, but that's what it's all about."
Next, after a period of experiments on mice, oral insulin achieved an excellent effect of continuously increasing and lowering blood sugar by up to 60%, which was very exciting.
Gu Xian nodded and said, "Natural human insulin does not have that problem. If it were you, you would try your best to solve that problem."
"Of course, the Big Eight did not stop there. We have developed the seventh-generation insulin, an ultra-long-acting insulin degludec that can smoothly lower blood sugar."
"Wake up! He is Lilly, you are just a special laborer, and at worst I hope you will get diabetes when you get old."
Gu Xianchang narrowed his mouth and said in surprise: "Yes, right? He has been talking for a long time, is he asking you to summarize?"
"That is not a patent upgrade of a complex production process, but no new drugs have been developed."
"Oh, according to him, what unique skills do we rely on to achieve monopoly?" Gu Xianrao asked without interest.
"On the other hand, we also steal corpses in China and sell them to medical schools for anatomy research, so we are still no different from the Chinese gold-hunting captains."
This epoch-making breakthrough solved the century-old problem of oral administration of insulin that had lasted for the next hundred years.
"That's not eighth-generation insulin."
"In 1981, scientists finally used Enterobacteriaceae to connect amino acids into human insulin and create the seventh-generation insulin, also called recombinant human insulin. This also led to the birth of genetic engineering technology."
(End of chapter)
