As a global pharmaceutical giant, every move Sanqing makes affects the hearts of its competitors.
As the clinical data of oral insulin continue to be disclosed on the official website, other insulin manufacturers are trembling with fear and despair.
It’s not that they didn’t work hard on oral insulin, but the results were dismal and they could not overcome the difficulty of absorption in the digestive tract, and they soon died out.
Novo Nordisk made a high-profile entry into the research and development of oral insulin, claiming to have invested US$3.6 billion and planned to launch the product within ten years. However, it stopped this business three years later.
Because the oral insulin they developed is difficult to cross the intestinal barrier and has extremely low bioavailability, this means that one pill requires more insulin than an injection, and most of it is wasted on the road, which in vain increases the pressure on production capacity.
Pfizer once developed and launched the first inhaled insulin, but due to poor dosing flexibility and low acceptance, it was withdrawn from the market the next year, and the US$2.7 billion invested was completely wasted.
Sanofi also invested US$2 billion and spent 7 years developing another inhaled insulin. As a result, due to its low peak biological activity and the risk of affecting lung function with long-term medication, the market did not recognize it at all, and sales were less than a year. 5 million and had to be withdrawn after two years.
Therefore, the oral insulin track is littered with the corpses of major pharmaceutical giants, which is a wake-up call for future generations.
As time went by, many companies did not dare to try again.
I never expected that Sanqing would be able to make a breakthrough, successfully develop oral insulin, and successfully reach the clinical stage.
Insulin injections are now completely unsaleable.
After Weikang read the reports in overseas media, he followed suit and soon published a paper on oral insulin in the latest issue of "Life", which immediately attracted the attention of scientific research institutions around the world.
Since the advent of the journal "Life", it has always been published in Chinese. Overseas scholars were initially quite critical of it, but later they gradually acquiesced and quietly translated it themselves. Some scholars with a spirit of research even taught themselves Chinese to strive for the first place. Time to see the original paper.
This time is no exception. Major overseas scientific research institutions are fully prepared. Chinese students have arrived early. As soon as they get the Chinese version of the electronic journal, they immediately start translating it to enjoy a smooth experience.
After reading the paper, the academic community is completely convinced of oral insulin and is waiting for overseas clinical trials to start.
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Bang bang bang!
Rex closed the office door expressionlessly, then clenched his fists and slammed them on the desk, venting his anger.
As the new CEO of Eli Lilly and Company, he is experiencing the biggest crisis in his career.
The company's stock price plummeted, and tens of billions of dollars were wiped off its market value in just a few days.
The advent of oral insulin has made the company focus on its diabetes business, which accounts for as much as 50% of revenue, and is about to suffer a heavy blow.
Although type II diabetes drugs such as glp-1 receptor agonists will not be significantly affected, the insulin injection business will undoubtedly face Waterloo.
Calculated this way, the loss of insulin alone is as high as 4 billion US dollars per year.
Not to mention, the company has aroused public outrage and is being attacked by public opinion across the country, with its reputation value completely reduced to zero.
Arguably, there is no worse situation than this.
After Ricks finished smashing the desk, most of his anger was gone. He began to calm down and think about how to deal with it.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and the female secretary eagerly pushed the door open and entered.
"Mr. Ricks, something bad has happened. We are being sued by the Attorney General."
"What?" Ricks stood up abruptly, veins on his forehead pulsing: "What the hell is going on!"
The secretary handed over a document and said urgently: "The California Attorney General filed a lawsuit against three insulin manufacturers, Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, and Sanofi, accusing us of using our market influence to charge exorbitant prices to diabetic patients. "
"The most important one is that the price of our insulin in Eagle Country is much higher than overseas, and it is suspected of being a price monopoly."
"Currently, this accusation has gained a lot of public support, and even the government is putting pressure on us to implement the insulin price limit as soon as possible."
"Fake!" Ricks read the document at a glance. His face suddenly turned pale, and he sat down slumped, feeling a sense of powerlessness in his heart.
He never expected that the situation would turn out to be so bad, with everyone shouting and fighting, adding fuel to the fire.
"You go and hold a senior management meeting, and we will discuss this matter together." After thinking for a moment, Ricks waved his hand and sent the secretary away.
Since it involves litigation, it can only be resolved with the executives.
However, he was also prepared. If the situation was irreversible, he would have no choice but to take the blame and resign.
Half an hour later, all the executives gathered in the conference room.
Looking at this indictment, everyone looked like they were eating shit.
Ricks tapped the table and said: "I believe everyone should be very clear about the current situation the company is facing. If you have any good suggestions, you can speak freely."
The R&D director looked indignant: "These ungrateful patients deserve to die. I don't even think about it. If we hadn't invested all the money we earned in R&D and constantly launched new products, where would they have gotten the third-generation and third-generation products?" Four generations of insulin are available.”
Everyone else nodded with concern.
Ricks said expressionlessly: "There is no need to complain, no one wants to hear it. Patients only see the price of insulin and nothing else."
The sales director hesitated and said: "Currently, the most expensive insulin price in the world is in Eagle Country. Compared with overseas, there is indeed a big gap. Otherwise, if we lower the price a little bit and make a gesture, it will surely appease the patients."
"Anyway, we are increasing the price every year. This year we will lower it a little, and then increase it back in a few years. The loss will not be huge. At least we can cope with the current situation."
Someone agreed at the moment: "Yes, patients are easy to fool. As long as they see that we have really lowered the price, public opinion will naturally subside. Then we will find an excuse to raise the price back, and no one can find fault."
Ricks asked somewhat speechlessly: "The price has been reduced and you want to raise it back? Do you think it's still the same as before? Have you forgotten about oral insulin?"
"Do you know how much insulin costs in China and Europe? The price difference is ten times!"
He said unceremoniously: "Let me tell you the truth, even if oral insulin is on the market, it will only be sold at this price. With such a similar price, why should patients choose us instead of oral insulin, which is more convenient and has a better experience? "
The executives fell silent for a moment.
These words were like a bucket of cold water being poured on everyone. Although it chilled everyone's heart, they also brought people back to reality completely.
The price of insulin in Yingguo is really ridiculously high, almost reaching a ceiling. No matter how high the price of Sanqing's oral insulin is, it cannot exceed that much.
This has created a very embarrassing situation. If the price is not lowered, oral insulin will definitely be beaten and lose this market completely.
If the price is reduced, with the cost advantage, it may be able to form a price difference with oral insulin and retain a certain market.
After all, diabetics have a heavy burden when taking medicine for a long time. Some patients with poor financial conditions are definitely willing to sacrifice their experience and choose low-priced insulin injections.
The executives looked at me and I looked at you. After a while, they all expressed their agreement.
"You're right. It was my lack of consideration. To appease the public, the price had to be lowered. To cope with the competition from oral insulin, the price still had to be lowered."
"Fortunately, in addition to insulin drugs, we also have flagship anti-diabetic drugs such as dulaglutide, and our revenue is still growing every year, which is enough to maintain our competitiveness in the diabetes drug market."
“Yes, the annual revenue of glp-1 receptor agonist drugs exceeds 10 billion U.S. dollars, while the revenue of insulin is only more than 3 billion U.S. dollars. Even if the price is reduced to the mid- to low-end route, it will not have a big impact on the company’s business. "
"There are relatively few patients with type I diabetes. I suggest that the company should invest its energy in hypoglycemic drugs suitable for type II diabetes in the future."
"In addition to the diabetes business, the company is also performing very well in the fields of immunity, nerves and other fields. The growth is obvious to all. There is no need to stick to the crooked neck tree of insulin. We can vigorously develop other disease fields."
Rex coughed lightly and said in a deep voice: "Very good, it seems that we have reached a consensus to seek a chance of survival through price reduction."
"Then the next question is, how much?"
"This..." Everyone fell into silence again.
Yes, we agreed to reduce the price, but by how much?
Ricks glanced around and continued: "My suggestion is to reduce the price by 70%, so that we can express our sincerity."
The sales director was the first to stand up and protest: "This is too much. Those dealers will definitely peel off my skin and eat it alive."
Ricks' expression didn't waver at all, and he said calmly: "My dear Sales Director, please allow me to remind you that even if the price is reduced by 70%, our insulin drugs are still more expensive than overseas prices, but not by much. It’s just so obvious.”
“Also, in addition to Sanqing’s oral insulin, our competitors also include Sanofi, Novo Nordisk, and even Huaxia Ganli, especially the latter. Its injection insulin is sold very cheaply and has already been in the market. China has taken away a lot of our market."
"After the big price cut on insulin, there will still be profits, but they won't be as huge as before."
"I believe you won't be willing to give up this market to generic drug manufacturers."
The sales director was speechless and sat back angrily.
"Okay, it's settled." Seeing that no one raised any objections, Ricks immediately made the final decision.
"I will issue an announcement and announce a 70% price reduction. This should appease the public, cope with the lawsuit, and at the same time boost the stock price."
"Of course, such a large price reduction will definitely not be implemented immediately, but will be delayed until the end of the year, that is, before Sanqing's oral liquid insulin is launched. The period in between should be enough to reverse all the adverse effects and consolidate the established market ”
"Everyone, let us face the reality. Since oral insulin has been developed by Sanqing, insulin will basically be out of our hands in the future. We should focus on hypoglycemic drugs."
"Or go one step further and invest in research and development of pancreatic stem cell therapy to seize new tracks."
Ricks quickly reported the results of the meeting to the board of directors, and it was approved.
Eli Lilly and Company have reached a consensus. Since sales of glp-1 receptor agonist drugs have soared every year and have become a flagship drug with revenue exceeding tens of billions, they must fully develop this field and gradually abandon insulin products with greatly reduced profit margins. Wire.
Glp-1 receptor agonist is a new type of hypoglycemic drug that mainly acts on pancreatic beta cells. It can inhibit pancreatic beta cell apoptosis, promote beta cell proliferation and regeneration, thereby promoting the synthesis and secretion of insulin to achieve the purpose of controlling blood sugar. .
This drug is mainly suitable for patients with type II diabetes, because they only have damage to the pancreatic beta cells in their bodies and insufficient insulin secretion. They are not unable to secrete insulin like patients with type I diabetes.
95% of the world's diabetics are type II, so glp-1 receptor agonists have a broader market space. It's no wonder Eli Lilly made such a choice.
The next day, Eli Lilly and Company officially announced the big news.
"After a series of recent events, Eli Lilly has realized that the price of insulin should not be so expensive, but should be affordable to all people who need it."
"Starting from the fourth quarter of this year, the prices of our two best-selling insulin products will be reduced by 70%. The listing prices of other generic insulin products will also be reduced to US$25 per bottle. This will be the cheapest insulin to be taken during meal times. .”
"At the same time, we will also launch a new type of insulin, which is a generic version of Sanofi's insulin. The price is set at US$90, which is 80% cheaper than the original version."
“Finally, we also plan to become the first pharmaceutical company to implement an insulin price limit, limiting the out-of-pocket cost of commercially insured patients to $35 per month. As for those without insurance, they can log on to our official website and download Eli Lilly insulin. The Value Plan Savings Card also gets Eli Lilly insulin for $35 per month."
“The significant price reductions announced today should be a real help to people with diabetes in Eagle Country and have a positive impact on society.”
"Insulin price reductions should become the new standard in Eagle Country, and we believe other companies and stakeholders should be on the same page on this point."
After the news came out, it was no less than a major earthquake, and the whole world was stunned.
The financial community was the first to react. After the stock market opened, Eli Lilly's stock price fluctuated and rose instantly, rising by 2%.
Although it has not rebounded back to its original price, it has begun to rise slowly, and it is estimated that it will soon regain its strength in the near future.
Netizens couldn't believe it at first, because there have been so many reversals recently, and they thought the hackers were back again.
It wasn't until they saw Ricks' interview on the news, and his words were exactly the same as the announcement online, that everyone finally believed him.
The Eagle Country Diabetes Association immediately issued a statement praising Eli Lilly's price reduction and saying it was looking forward to price reduction announcements from other insulin manufacturers.
As for the praise from all walks of life, Eli Lilly and Company's reputation has completely changed. It has transformed from a greedy vampire to a price-cutting pioneer who is considerate to the public.
Netizens no longer scolded Lilai, but happily liked and retweeted it, while urging other manufacturers to follow suit quickly.
"I was wrong. It turns out that vampires really repent."
"Lilly has actually lowered its price. Grandma, come out and see God!"
“God bless me, I can finally afford insulin and don’t have to travel thousands of miles to buy contraband.”
"From now on, I will only buy Eli Lilly for insulin. As for other manufacturers, just go to hell."
"I have decided that even if I buy generic insulin in the future, I will only choose Eli Lilly."
Amid the worldwide jubilation, the only losers were other insulin manufacturers.
Sanofi and Novo Nordisk, in particular, were so angry that they were gnashing their teeth and wanted to eat Eli Lilly alive.
It's just that public opinion is turbulent, and they can't openly oppose the price reduction. They can't tell their sufferings, so they can only secretly wipe their tears in the toilet.
With this move, Lilly struck preemptively and turned passivity into initiative. Not only did he escape successfully, but he also put his friends and businessmen on the stake, making him a new target of attack by netizens across the country.
It even copied the insulin drugs of its friends in a very stupid way and sold them at a shockingly low price. It was clear that it was trying to steal the market from these two companies.
Anyone who sees this wave of capitalist backstabbing will give a thumbs up and shout: "Well done!"
Just when Eli Lilly started to cut the price of insulin, it became red-eyed.
Sanqing’s oral insulin has also been officially launched in Yingguo and has started Phase III clinical trials.
