He Could Tell They Were Close to a Breakthrough
Professor Qu washes his hands very meticulously. He first washes them with soap, then carefully scrubs them with a small brush, paying special attention to the skin folds. After washing, he wipes them with iodine, and then applies alcohol.
Professor Qu turned off the tap not with his palm, but with his elbow. He did this to avoid re-contaminating his freshly washed hands with germs.
Shen Qi copied and pasted Professor Qu's handwashing procedure, saying as he washed his hands, "To be honest, our center's pharmaceutical laboratory is indeed in dire need of manpower. At this stage, we are mainly engaged in the research and development of chemical drugs. Medicine is an extremely vast and complex discipline, encompassing much more than just chemistry."
"Chemical drug synthesis is a highly applied scientific research field, and it's not difficult to recruit some application-oriented elites. However, it's much harder to recruit scholars specializing in basic medical theory research. When Chinese students go abroad to study, almost no one chooses this major, and it's also very difficult for foreign researchers in basic medical theory to come to China to work. I personally attach great importance to basic theoretical work, whether it's mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, or medicine. So, Mr. Qu, we should increase our efforts to cultivate local researchers in basic medical theory."
"Those who synthesize drugs are Engineer. Those who conduct basic medical research are the masters." Shen Qi turned off the tap with a flick of his elbow and then returned to the office with Professor Qu.
"Director Shen, all you've said is that you want people. As I just said, you can take any of my students, including myself." Professor Qu was very generous.
"Then it's settled."
"Take them, take them all." Professor Qu waved his hand in agreement.
Shen Qi looked around but couldn't find what he was looking for. "Old Qu, don't you have any coffee here?"
"As a medical professional with thirty years of experience, I suggest you drink less coffee and more water." Professor Qu poured a glass of water and handed it to Shen Qi. "Director Shen, you said that those who do basic medical research are masters, and I completely agree. I've been researching anemia for many years, Thalassemia and Fanconi anemia. I've studied these diseases and made some small progress. Take severe thalassemia, for example. It's a hereditary disease, and the treatment isn't complicated: blood transfusions and iron chelation therapy. More severe cases require spleen removal or stem cell transplantation."
"R-type Anemia is not hereditary, but it's much more complex than thalassemia. Currently, the best drug on the market is GLK capsules, but as we all know, it's extremely expensive and doesn't solve the underlying problem. It only slightly improves the patient's quality of life. Without it, the patient suffers even more. We also want to do gene activation therapy, but there are no new drugs in this area. Without new drugs, even the best clinicians can't come up with better treatment plans. Director Shen, I have a general understanding of your center's LPJK1 project. I heard that LPJK1 is a gene activation therapy drug?"
"Yes," Shen Qi nodded.
Professor Qu asked, "It hasn't entered animal testing yet, has it?"
"Soon."
"I hope you succeed. Saving a life is a great act of merit. By the way, how has your wife been lately?"
"The usual." Shen Qi patted Professor Qu's files and said, "May I make a copy of these clinical observation records for patients with R-type Anemia to take back for research?"
"Certainly."
"Thank you, then I'll take my leave."
Having achieved his goal of visiting the hospital, Shen Qi returned to the center and convened a meeting with all members of the Chemistry Laboratory.
Shen Qi told Professor Qu that those who do drug synthesis are Engineer, but those who do basic theoretical research are the masters.
That makes sense. Scholars who research basic medical theories and make significant achievements are basically aiming for the Nobel Prize in Medicine. Those who work on drug synthesis also have a chance to win a Nobel Prize, but the prestige is definitely not as high as those who work on basic theories.
Compared to other fields, pharmaceuticals have the highest technical requirements. Many Nobel laureates work in internationally renowned pharmaceutical companies. They transitioned from academia to industrial applications, and what they do is not much different; it is still medical academic research, transforming medical theory into applied research.
In many other fields, academia and industry are largely separated. Mathematicians leave academia to work in investment banking, those who study the microstructure of materials go into new energy vehicles, and Computer Science scientists go into all sorts of other fields.
The academic community looks down on the profit-driven nature of the industrial application sector, believing that they have been corrupted by sugar-coated bullets.
Those in the industrial sector can't stand the aloofness and stubbornness of academia. What's the best thing these days? Money, of course.
This kind of contradiction also exists in Shen Qi's group, and it is difficult to completely resolve; we can only try to mediate it.
The contradiction is most subtle in the chemical drug laboratory of Shen Qi Research Center. In the field of drug development, academic research and engineering applications are closely linked and not clearly separated.
"LPJK1 has entered a critical stage. Let's all work hard for a while longer and produce more samples." After the meeting, Shen Qi went into the Chemistry Laboratory to conduct experiments with the researchers.
"LPJK1 Experiment 0202, using azirtriazole and 1,3-dithiazide as starting materials for S rearrangement reaction..." He Lin took the lead as the main operator without hesitation.
The S rearrangement reaction was invented by Shen Qi. The international chemical community has not yet officially named this new type of rearrangement reaction, so He Lin and her group of researchers have temporarily called it the S rearrangement reaction.
"Heat to 200 degrees Celsius, thermal cyclization... intermediate formed, add malonic acid, S rearrangement again..." Assistant Cao Fan assisted Professor He Lin very skillfully. After all, he was a doctoral student at Yenching University and had a strong comprehension ability. In a short time, he had mastered the operation of the new S rearrangement reaction.
Regardless of whether it was Newton or Leibniz who invented calculus, their definition of calculus was consistent. Calculus was a new type of mathematical tool used to solve other mathematical or physical problems at that time.
Shen Qi's invention of the S rearrangement reaction is also a tool. Of course, the academic significance of the S rearrangement reaction cannot be compared with calculus, since there are already too many named organic synthesis reactions.
"The final product should be an eight-membered heterocyclic ring. I hope the yield can be higher... Photocatalysis, removing side chains..." Cao Fan was very skilled at the experiment, which drew nods of praise from Shen Qi.
At this stage, the LPJK1 project has become more than just a project to synthesize a rare anemia drug.
The goal of this project is to develop a drug for R-type Anemia with high yield, few side effects, and significant efficacy. In the research and development process, new technologies such as novel rearrangement reactions and stable synthesis of Macrocyclic Compounds have been incorporated.
Novel rearrangement reactions and Macrocyclic Compounds are highly academic topics, while drug synthesis falls under engineering applications.
It has been proven that in top-tier chemical pharmaceutical laboratories, academic research and engineering applications are closely integrated.
Synthesizing a new drug requires both researchers with profound academic knowledge and skilled engineering operators.
The LPJK1 experiment is still progressing in a tense but orderly manner. Shen Qi is in the laboratory, and he feels that results are coming soon.