The Courage to Stay Humble and the Confidence to Believe

Shen Qi pointed to the production line and said, "Our factory's market share of Levetiracetam is acceptable, but the total domestic market size for this product is only a few hundred million RMB. My idea is to convert the Levetiracetam production line into an LPJK1 production line, which will save a lot of money compared to building a new production line."

"So LPJK1 is definitely going to pass Phase III clinical trials?" Old Yan asked.

"I dare not be complacent in the slightest, but I am full of confidence."

Shen Qi gave him a reassuring look and said, "The animal experiments for LPJK1 are finished. From now until the completion of clinical trials, it will take some time. I can't guarantee that LPJK1 will be approved and successfully launched. I can only say that there is hope. Old Yan, my dad doesn't understand the process technology very well, so we still need you and Old Cheng. For the Levetiracetam production line renovation project, you can first prepare the research plan. Once LPJK1 is settled, you should immediately start the production line renovation."

Old Yan looked at Old Shen and Shen Qi and asked, "As for the technical aspects, Old Cheng and I should be able to handle it. I don't know anything about sales either. I just wanted to ask, is Levetiracetam no longer producing or selling?"

Levetiracetam (Midazolam) is an intravenous anesthetic widely used in various surgeries.

Although widely used, as Shen Qi said, Levetiracetam's annual sales volume in China is only a few hundred million RMB.

Compared to people who take medication regularly, the number of people who undergo surgery is relatively small. How many surgeries can a person have in their lifetime?

The low overall market share is one issue, but Shen Qi's deep concern is another.

Ou Beiqi Pharmaceutical does not own any patents for Levetiracetam; they only have the domestic production rights for Levetiracetam, and they are not the sole manufacturer of Levetiracetam in China.

This is Shen Qi's deepest concern.

For a scientist accustomed to original work and patent rights, Shen Qi was extremely reluctant to let his father's factory produce and sell a non-original product without patent rights.

To put it bluntly, isn't this just about doing OEM or agency work for others?

Shen Qi's father, a man of great stature, going to do OEM or agency work for others?

Shen Qi was unhappy.

A few years ago, when Old Shen first acquired Ou Beiqi Pharmaceutical, he was penniless and had no choice but to rely on Levetiracetam to barely keep the factory running normally.

With the launch of Kang Shun, an original drug developed by Shen Qi's laboratory, Ou Beiqi Pharmaceutical is now a completely different company.

Intellectual property rights determine a company's initiative; a company without its own intellectual property rights will ultimately feel insecure.

Not only are they feeling guilty, but they may also face annihilation.

Foreign powers have repeatedly used intellectual property rights and core technologies to make things difficult for Chinese companies; this has happened far too often.

We are unwilling to fight, but we are not afraid to fight either; we will have to fight if necessary.

Yes, we can fight.

But to win, we must master independent intellectual property rights and core technologies, the more the better.

This principle applies to everything from the national level to enterprises, from laboratories to industrial sites.

Old Shen quickly offered his opinion. "Do as Shen Qi says. We'll stop Levetiracetam from now on and convert the Levetiracetam production line into an original drug production line. That's what we'll do. Thank you for your hard work, Professor Yan."

"OK, I understand!" Old Yan, after all, was a science master's student from Yenching University, and he was well aware of the importance of independent intellectual property rights and core technologies.

And just like that, Levetiracetam's fate at Ou Beiqi Pharmaceutical was decided.

Levetiracetam, a Class II psychotropic drug, is strictly controlled by the state, and its production license is very difficult to obtain.

Ou Beiqi Pharmaceutical holds the domestic production license for Levetiracetam, which is very valuable.

It's a bit of a shame to just discard such an extremely rare permit.

But in Shen Qi's view, intellectual property rights are paramount; production licenses without independent intellectual property rights are just empty promises.

Shen Qi, Old Shen, and Old Yan inspected the Levetiracetam production line. Converting this production line into the LPJK1 production line would be a large undertaking and would cost a lot of money.

Who will pay for this? Of course, it'll be Old Shen.

Ou Beiqi Pharmaceutical currently relies primarily on its diabetes drug, Kang Shun, for profits. This drug is the company's most important asset. It's a case of "using one drug to support the entire company."

"Mr. Boss Shen, shall I arrange for people to study a plan for the transformation of the Levetiracetam production line?" Old Yan asked for instructions.

Shen Qi smiled and said, "No need to rush, Old Yan. Today is already the 26th of the twelfth lunar month. The whole factory will be closed the day after tomorrow. We can discuss it after the New Year. Old Yan, on the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, why don't you, Old Cheng, and the three of us fly to the capital together? Your beautiful wife is all alone in the capital. Aren't you worried about her?"

"Of course I'm worried. Alright, let's go together on the 29th of the twelfth lunar month. Mr. and Boss Shen, you two can talk alone. I'm going back to the technical department to check some information." Old Yan then left, leaving Shen Qi and his son alone.

"Let's go take a look at Kang Shun's production workshop," Shen Qi suggested.

"Come on, over there." Old Shen led Shen Qi toward another workshop, saying as they walked, "Kang Shun is the lifeblood of our factory. Some foreign pharmaceutical companies have their eyes on it and want to acquire Kang Shun."

Shen Qi nodded and said, "I know that, they even came looking for me."

Old Shen suddenly became agitated. "That British company GLK offered Pound Sterling 700 million to acquire Kang Shun, but I rejected it. The British are too wicked; they think they can get Kang Shun for Pound Sterling 700 million? Dream on, you British!"

Shen Qi shook his head and said, "700 million Pound Sterling, we definitely can't sell it to them. Do these British guys think we're idiots?"

Old Shen: "700 million Pound Sterling plus a zero, and I might consider it."

Shen Qi looked incredulous. "7 billion Pound Sterling? Dad, are you crazy?"

Old Shen explained, "I know Kang Shun is your brainchild, the original creation of your lab. I'm just making a hypothesis."

Shen Qi: "No, what I mean is, if we really want to sell Kang Shun, Pound Sterling 7 billion plus a zero would be the starting price."

"Seven hundred... seven hundred billion Pound Sterling?" Old Shen thought he wasn't crazy; the crazy one was Shen Qi.

Shen Qi explained, "Kang Shun is an original creation of our lab, and it truly is my brainchild. If our factory is really short of money, I don't mind if you sell Kang Shun. Dad, let me give you some data, and you'll understand why Kang Shun is worth over 70 billion Pound Sterling."

"Diabetes is a global disease. Last year's statistics showed that diabetes accounted for 12% of global healthcare costs, amounting to $778.2 billion. Yes, you read that right. People with diabetes worldwide spend nearly $800 billion annually on treatment, and this number continues to rise."

"GLK is offering you Pound Sterling 700 million to acquire all of Kang Shun's patents, as well as global production and sales rights. Dad, you could just tell them: go to hell."

"Take GLK for example. They had a globally bestselling hypoglycemic drug Glycomet. Glycomet was amazing; in the early 2000s, its global sales reached several billion US dollars."

"Later, the FDA issued a warning, believing that Glycomet's side effects caused cardiovascular disease. Glycomet was severely impacted, and its global sales plummeted. I have studied this case in detail, and GLK was actually quite wronged. Glycomet was not as bad as the FDA accused it of. In 2010, the FDA fully lifted the ban on Glycomet, but by then the market for diabetes drugs had already been divided up by other international pharmaceutical giants, and GLK's Glycomet never returned to its peak sales."

"That's how the FDA works; they'd rather wrongly accuse than let something go unpunished. But objectively speaking, the FDA's review of drugs is indeed the strictest in the world, bar none."

"After Glycomet's decline, GLK was eager to obtain a new diabetes drug, one that was on par with Glycomet during its heyday. This is why GLK's sales representatives kept contacting you and me, because our Kang Shun perfectly met their expectations."

"After all I've said, Dad, do you understand now? The valuation of Kang Shun is at least Pound Sterling 70 billion. If you want to sell Kang Shun, I don't mind. Out with the old, in with the new. Give me one-tenth of the Pound Sterling 70 billion, and I can develop ten more new drugs. As for the remaining nine-tenths, I want to do something more meaningful."

Old Shen remained silent for a long time. After that, he took out a platinum pen and handed it to Shen Qi: "Here, take the pen. You be the boss."

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