Sanqing headquarters, president's office.
Gu Xian was sitting opposite, holding a laboratory report in his hand, reporting on the clinical results of oral insulin.
“Through phase I and II clinical trials, the efficacy of oral insulin has been proven.”
"Compared with injecting insulin, it is more convenient and easier to use, and has been warmly welcomed by patients."
"Especially for some younger children, who have weak self-control and find it difficult to control their sugar. Oral insulin has greatly improved their treatment experience and strengthened the stable control of their disease."
"The trial is progressing very quickly. I believe that if this continues, we will soon be able to expand the scale and conduct Phase III clinical trials."
Wei Kang listened to this series of data and said thoughtfully: "So from another perspective, the difficulty for patients to control the disease mainly depends on the treatment experience. If it is convenient and simple, then compliance will be greatly enhanced. "
Gu Xian nodded: "Yes, especially a chronic disease like diabetes requires decades of precise control of the body and extreme self-discipline to keep the condition from getting worse."
"It's easy to say if it's Type I diabetes. After all, it's genetically related. Type II diabetes patients are mainly caused by dietary indulgence. If they were very self-disciplined, they wouldn't get this disease."
"In addition, weighing meals, calculating insulin doses, measuring blood sugar, and recording every day are all very troublesome and professional tasks for patients. Many people are unable to persist, especially children. Parental supervision is required. If you encounter parents who are irresponsible or do not understand well, then..."
Gu Xian spread his hands and said nothing more, but the meaning he wanted to express was self-evident.
Wei Kang pondered and said: "Then if we can overcome the difficulty in this aspect, can we help them control their sugar?"
Gu Xian agreed: "That's natural. If nothing else, just record the daily carbohydrate intake and then calculate the insulin dose based on the blood sugar results. It's not a trivial matter. Many people have to go through long-term training before they can become accustomed to it and become familiar with it. .”
"The dose of insulin is generally calculated based on blood sugar and carbohydrates. Due to different insulin sensitivities of individuals, approximately 1 unit of insulin is required for every 12-15 grams of carbohydrates. People who are heavier need less insulin because of their low insulin sensitivity. The amount is larger.”
"Calculated based on body weight, if the blood sugar is high and the condition is serious, the dosage should be 0.5-0.8μ/kg; if the condition is mild, the dosage should be 0.4-0.5μ/kg; if the condition is severe and the condition is under stress, the dosage should not exceed 1.0μ/kg."
"Daily insulin dosage (μ) = [fasting blood glucose (mg/dl) - 100] × 10 × body weight (kg) × 0.6÷1000÷2 (100 is the normal blood glucose value); ×10 is converted to higher than normal per liter of body fluid Blood sugar amount; .”
"Of course, this is just a simple formula. Everyone's physical condition is different, their eating habits are different, and the dose of insulin they take is also different. For each individual, a comprehensive calculation must be based on their own situation."
Wei Kang was speechless and said: "This formula is too troublesome. If someone is not good at math, he might get dizzy after reading it."
"So, the problem of incorrect insulin injections is very common among people with diabetes."
Gu Xian spread his hands and said helplessly: "It is really troublesome for diabetics to control their sugar. No wonder many people can't stick to it. Of course, this also raises the threshold in disguise and increases the loyalty of patients."
"Most patients are not willing to change their medications after they have stabilized on their medications. Insulins from different manufacturers have different purity, onset of action, and efficacy. It is difficult for patients to change medications after they get used to them."
"Domestic manufacturers also have good sales, but they still cannot shake the status of the three giants. There is no reason for this."
Wei Kang thought for a moment and said: "Because oral insulin is convenient to take, it may be easier for patients to get the wrong dose."
"As manufacturers, we should pay attention to this aspect and try to provide patients with convenient and easy-to-use guidance to prevent them from making mistakes."
Gu Xian nodded and said, "Yes, I will also arrange for medical representatives to train doctors so that patients can get professional guidance from doctors."
"This is far from enough." Wei Kang frowned and said thoughtfully: "Now is the information society, we can provide detailed guidance on the mobile app."
"The software Longtu is quite popular now. We want to add more functions to diabetics, especially those using oral insulin, and provide an integrated diabetes treatment plan in the form of an app."
Gu Xian's face showed joy and he praised: "This plan is indeed good, better than I imagined."
"Let me think about it, this integrated treatment plan should have at least two major functions, personalized real-time counseling for patients, and clinical decision support."
“The former allows patients to conveniently collect and store information such as diet, blood sugar levels and drug treatment plans, such as connecting the device to a blood glucose monitor through manual or voice input to obtain relevant data. Patients can also obtain personalized information through the app. Feedback and reminders.”
"In the latter case, the app can analyze the existing drug dosage, blood sugar fluctuations, carbohydrate intake at each meal and other data, and provide preliminary diagnostic suggestions. The doctor can also adjust the patient's medication plan based on these data. "
Wei Kang added: "If this part of the function can be provided to diabetic patients for free, I believe it will promote the popularity of oral insulin and make it more convenient for patients to switch from injecting insulin to us."
“It is best to upgrade the app during phase III clinical trials, so that patients can experience the power of these functions while trying drugs. By the time they can make their own choices, they can no longer do without the functions on the app. .”
Wei Kang decided the matter in a few words.
"Write a report as soon as possible, describing the functions to be provided in detail, and I will ask Xiang Gaofei to contact you to complete the app upgrade together."
After Gu Xian left, he called Xiang Gao Fei, who was in charge of the Longtu App business, over.
The software business that Xiang Gaofei is responsible for has been somewhat tepid in recent years, and all he does is support work on medical devices.
As time passed, he himself came up with some new ideas.
So after listening to Wei Kang's description, Xiang Gao Fei got straight to the point.
"Mr. Wei, adding the diabetes management function to the Longtu app is indeed a good business. I will give my full support and complete this upgrade as soon as possible."
"But besides that, I have a new business idea that I want to report to you."
Wei Kang laughed: "Okay, Lao Xiang, I didn't expect you to come prepared. Tell me, I'm all ears."
Xiang Gaofei considered his words and said: "AI has been very popular in the past two years, not only AI painting, AI writing, but also AI consulting, AI search, etc. So I have been thinking, can we also take advantage of it? With this trend, how can we develop AI diagnostic business?"
Wei Kang's eyes suddenly lit up and he agreed: "What a great idea, Lao Xiang. Since you said that, you must have given some thought to it. Let's discuss it together."
Xiang Gaofei smiled shyly and continued: "In the past, in the area of AI diagnosis, the business was not very mature, and it would be difficult for people to accept AI medical treatment for a while."
"But now AI is increasingly entering people's lives, and social acceptance has been greatly improved."
"To be honest, my son is now using AI to do his homework, and neither I nor the teacher noticed it. It wasn't until his grades dropped during the exam that it was exposed."
“Think about it, now primary school students can accept AI, and adults are even more accepting of it.”
"Two, in terms of big data and analysis algorithms, our technology was not yet mature and settled in the past, but now that the medical device business has started, there is no longer a lack of various medical data in the background. Combined with Longtu's database, it is AI training will no longer be difficult.”
"Our monitoring module has benefited from the popularity of electronic watches. Now it is basically available to everyone. People are accustomed to using the Longtu app to provide health diagnosis."
"So I think this is also a great opportunity. We can first launch the diabetes management function, create a professional disease steward role, and then launch AI diagnosis on this basis."
"As long as there are patient cases and body detection data, AI can actually provide preliminary diagnosis of some basic diseases based on big data training."
Wei Kang's eyes showed admiration and said, "Your idea is very good, and it coincides with mine."
"I have always been optimistic about AI diagnosis. Indeed, as you said, it was difficult for people to accept AI to treat themselves in the past. You must know that some patients can't even trust doctors. How can they trust AI."
"But now AI painting and AI writing have allowed everyone to see the power of AI."
"I believe that AI medical treatment is not far away. We must seize this opportunity firmly."
"Just go ahead and do it. Whether you need money or people, I will give you all my support."
Xiang Gaofei said happily: "Thank you, Mr. Wei, I will write you a detailed project report as soon as I get back."
****
As the second phase of clinical trials proceeds, news of the launch of oral insulin has spread like a virus among people with type I diabetes.
Almost everyone who heard it couldn't believe it at first, but when they confirmed it was true, they were immediately overjoyed.
All of them got diabetes when they were young and require life-long insulin injections. Some have been doing this for more than ten years, and some have just been diagnosed.
But everyone is ravaged by the disease and has the same urgency to get treatment.
They need to check their blood sugar at least 5 to 6 times a day and inject 2 to 3 shots of insulin.
Every time I get an injection, I have to be sneaky and avoid other people, either hiding in the toilet or looking for a place where no one is around.
If you are seen, you will receive strange looks, and some people may even lose their jobs.
They always have candy or biscuits in their pockets.
The meat, eggs and carbohydrates in each meal are accurate to grams. If the food is difficult to digest, the carbohydrates are not calculated correctly, forgetting to add meals, exercising too much, the blood sugar curve will always jump up and down.
The needles used to measure blood sugar will leave fine needle holes on their fingers, and the skin at the site where insulin is injected for a long time will become dry. Many people have red spots and bruises on their stomachs.
Some of them wear sensors the size of mosquito repellent patches on their arms. The probe of the sensor penetrates 5 mm into the skin to monitor blood sugar in real time.
From the moment they were diagnosed, their lives have been tightly controlled by that thin blood sugar curve.
They must work hard to control blood sugar in a safe zone.
Only then will their lives go on. Otherwise, they suffer from hypoglycemia and face the threat of complications.
To them, their body is like an automatic car that suddenly switches to a manual transmission, and the fuel tank often leaks oil.
Now, there is a new opportunity to at least get rid of insulin injections and become able to take medicine like a normal patient. No one is willing to let it go.
They all want to participate in clinical trials immediately to try this new oral insulin to see if it can replace daily insulin injections, and at the same time provide more data for the launch of new drugs.
Many people came directly from other places to Kunming First People's Hospital and visited the endocrinology department to ask if they could sign up for a drug trial.
Under this circumstance, the number of applicants for the second phase of the trial skyrocketed instantly, and it was quickly filled up.
Since the number of patients with type I diabetes is relatively small, accounting for only 5% of all diabetics, there were not enough volunteers to test the drug before, so we had to find some more severe type II diabetics to supplement.
Now that the number of people is enough, the progress of the experiment has suddenly become rapid.
For all the patients who participated in the trial, the treatment results were no different from insulin injections, and the results were even better.
Just take the appropriate dose of pills before meals as usual, no more injections.
As long as you take it on time before meals every day, you can maintain blood sugar stability throughout the day.
Cases of hundreds of people are enough to prove that this oral medication can completely replace insulin injections and save patients from the pain and inconvenience of daily injections.
In this way, the second phase of clinical trials soon came to an end.
****
At the same time, Xiang Gaofei gathered all the efforts of all departments and within half a month, he developed a functional liver for diabetes management.
Although it is the first phase of the closed beta version, it only has some basic functions and not too many bells and whistles.
However, it was still launched together with the Phase III clinical trial and was pushed in a targeted manner in the background.
On this day, all diabetics who have registered with Longtu and uploaded their medical records will receive a push message on their mobile phones.
"Longtu app has officially launched the diabetes management function. This function is in internal beta and is currently only open to people with diabetes. Please update according to the instructions."
"At the same time, the new oral insulin drug developed by Sanqing Group has now entered Phase III clinical trials. Interested patients are asked to sign up and apply in the background. The number of places is limited and is on a first-come, first-served basis."
All diabetics were shocked when they saw this news.
