The epidemic waits for no one.
Now that an expert consensus has been reached and the latest "Guidelines" have been released, and doctors from various countries have learned basic diagnosis and treatment, they just need to follow the guidelines. But then a new problem arises.
What about the drug oseltamivir?
Everyone at the scene looked at Chen Xia. After all, he was the leader of the medical team and he was the one who brought the medicine.
Chen Xia felt a surge of joy in his heart, but on the surface he still smiled warmly and said:
"Oseltamivir was invented by Xiangjiang Pumpkin Vine Pharmaceutical Company. Currently, the only production base is in Yuezhou, China. They have a total of 25 production lines, working overtime to organize drug production, but the quantity is..."
Before Chen Xia could finish, the English official jumped out:
"Chen, you are the most distinguished guests invited by the Ministry of Health of England. We in England need to order 10 million oseltamivir tablets."
Politicians are very smart. When they realize the miraculous effect of oseltamivir on influenza, they are ready to take the initiative immediately. Whoever grabs the drug first and puts it into clinical treatment sooner will be able to win back the hearts of the people sooner.
People's hearts are votes.
But the English were not the only smart people. Officials from the French Ministry of Health also jumped out.
"No, dear Chinese doctor, the epidemic in France is now more serious. Countless people lose their lives to the flu every day. We need oseltamivir more. Please give priority to supplying France."
Italian health officials are fed up. What the hell? The flu first broke out in their country. If you talk about severity, is it as serious as theirs?
"Doctor Chen, don't listen to their nonsense. Italy is the most powerful country in all of Europe. Please give us priority in supplying. You will definitely gain our friendship."
Now, health officials from more than 20 countries were arguing with each other.
Even officials from the European Community Health Agency jumped out and said that special-effect drugs should be handed over to the community for distribution.
Now everyone knows that even if they work overtime to produce, there are only 25 production lines. How much can they produce?
Compared with the tens of millions of influenza patients in Europe and the United States, this is really a drop in the bucket.
Chen Xia also wanted to make a lot of money, but there was no way. The flu was time-sensitive and might last for a month or two before it was over. He couldn't fish slowly.
This is also the reason why he asked Pumpkin Vine Pharmaceutical Factory to go all out to produce oseltamivir before he left.
Officials from China's Ministry of Health also remained silent. After all, they did not have the right to distribute drugs, although they wanted this right very much. However, this was a Hong Kong-funded company and they had to pay attention to the political impact.
Chen Xia clapped his hands, signaling everyone to be quiet:
"Everyone, I'm just a member of the Chinese Medical Group. I can't represent Xiangjiang Pumpkin Vine Pharmaceutical Company. So if you need drugs or patent authorization, you should talk to Ms. Chen Shuqin next to me."
Officials from various countries were cursing in their hearts, "You can't make the decision. Why did you pretend to know everything just now?"
In fact, the aunt and niece had already agreed that oseltamivir was a quick way to make money, so the price must not be low.
Currently, Yuezhou Pharmaceutical Factory has 25 production lines, which can only produce a maximum of 4 million oseltamivir capsules and granules a day, which is far from enough to supply the two huge markets in Europe and the United States.
Therefore, emergency patent authorization is not out of the question, the key issue is still the money.
You should know that in the past, Swiss Roche Pharmaceuticals held the patent for oseltamivir and acted even more excessively when facing the epidemic.
When influenza and avian influenza broke out, Roche not only did not increase production, but reduced the supply of Tamiflu. Even under strong requests from various countries, it insisted on refusing to provide patent authorization.
From a marketing perspective, this move was absolutely successful, because Tamiflu became extremely well-known at the time, and the price of a Tamiflu pill was quickly driven up.
But from the perspective of credibility, Roche has failed, because an irresponsible company that has made a fortune from the epidemic will deeply implant this bad image in the minds of every consumer.
When consumers have other options, they will abandon them without hesitation. This is why Roche has never been able to become one of the world's top pharmaceutical companies.
Chen Xia's "Pumpkin Vine Pharmaceuticals" aims to make good medicines with conscience. As a century-old pharmaceutical company, it naturally needs to establish a good corporate image and give people a good impression. Pumpkin Vine not only has good quality medicines, but more importantly, it has a better reputation.
This is also an important reason why he asked Xu Rui to help with advertising.
Of course, the pumpkin vine has already made such a huge "sacrifice", so it's understandable to ask for a little more in patent fees, right?
Chen Shuqin said to the health officials from various countries gathered around her:
"Currently, our company can only produce 4 million oseltamivir pills a day. The research and development cost of this drug is very high. We have already spent $1 billion on research and production costs, so we set the price at $10 per pill."
One pill costs $10. A typical course of treatment is five days, requiring 10 pills of oseltamivir, which costs $100.
Is $100 expensive? Of course it is.
But compared with the income of Europeans and Americans, this $100 is only a few tenths and is completely affordable.
But don't forget that in European and American countries, medical treatment is not paid for by individuals. This is completely different from a certain country, where medical care is either covered by national welfare or social insurance.
Therefore, the attitudes of the medical insurance bureaus and insurance companies of various countries on the scene are very important. Whether oseltamivir can be included in the emergency procurement list is related to the sales volume.
Several officials from the Medical Insurance Bureau and insurance companies had a heated discussion here, but the discussion ended on a relatively optimistic note.
If you compare it with the cost of medicine, other things like rescue costs and monitoring costs are already astronomical. An old man or old woman lying in the ICU, the medical expenses every day are really heartbreaking for them.
Some media outlets are even discussing whether it is worth spending huge sums of money to rescue these elderly people in their eighties and nineties?
While everyone was heatedly discussing the issues of drug distribution and reimbursement, Li Taowan was depressed.
Just now they were cursing how unreliable Chinese doctors were and how ineffective Chinese medicines were, but they were immediately slapped in the face.
But as a small country, it knows what it means to cry, make a fuss, and even commit suicide. What does face matter at the critical moment?
The most important thing is to get the medicine quickly, otherwise those voters will tear them apart when they go back.
"etc!"
An official from the Lithuanian Ministry of Health suddenly jumped up:
"Wait a minute, you big countries are too overbearing. Do you think your citizens should live and prosper while the citizens of small countries like us should die? No, oseltamivir should be supplied to our country first. We demand equality for all."
The scene suddenly became quiet. Everyone saw Li Taowan jumping up and down before, but now he regrets it?
Everyone once again turned their attention to the Chinese delegation.
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