Chapter 292: The Pien Tze Huang name is monopolized
After traveling back to 1960, Lin Sanqi was always thinking about the differences between Chinese and Western medicine.
Even though he is known as a descendant of a traditional Chinese medicine family, he is actually a pure Western medicine practitioner at heart. He has five years of undergraduate study in Western medicine and is currently studying for a master's degree. He has learned all the theories and knowledge of Western medicine, and his thinking cannot be changed.
Although the "Western to Chinese medicine" method is very popular in major hospitals, it is not so easy to learn it well. Most people just memorize it for the certificate.
Therefore, many times when looking at traditional Chinese medicine, Lin Sanqi unconsciously substitutes the perspective of Western medicine, which makes him very contradictory.
For example, the "water flying method" involves grinding, stirring, settling and drying, and then grinding into a fine powder.
Among more than 100 steps, this small step alone would take a worker a full 7 days to complete.
The low efficiency and complicated procedures are simply outrageous.
If it is mass-produced, the labor cost alone will make people despair. Firstly, it is difficult to recruit so many craftsmen. Water flying is definitely a technical job that ordinary people cannot do.
Even if you recruit skilled workers, large-scale production requires a large number of workers. Can you afford the labor costs and can your profits support it?
In fact, from the perspective of a modern person like Lin Sanqi, the "water flying method" can be completely replaced by machines.
For example, if you want fine particles of medicinal materials, you can spend tens of thousands of dollars to buy an "800-mesh crusher". The fine particles produced by this machine are not much different from the traditional "water-flying method", and it can also save a lot of labor costs.
Then the problem arises.
Should Chinese medicine production follow ancient methods and traditional procedures? Or can modern machinery and equipment replace traditional techniques?
If the medicines are produced by machines and production lines, can their efficacy be the same as those produced by traditional ancient methods?
If the efficacy and quality are the same, can the traditional Chinese medicine extracted with modern pharmaceutical equipment still be called traditional Chinese medicine?
This is all controversial.
Just like when Grandma Tu Youyou won the Nobel Prize, there was huge controversy.
Western medicine believes that artemisinin itself is a chemical component extracted from plants, purified and developed through Western medicine technology, and thus made into the chemical drugs currently used in clinical practice, which are considered Western medicine.
The traditional Chinese medicine school believes that the award winner Tu Youyou works at the Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, rather than at a Western medicine research institution.
The professional title she applied for was also that of Traditional Chinese Medicine, not Western Medicine;
Artemisinin is extracted from the traditional Chinese medicine Artemisia annua, not from some Western medicine; the extraction process of artemisinin was inspired by the traditional Chinese medicine book "Emergency Prescriptions for the Elbow", not by any Western medicine book.
From this we can see that artemisinin is definitely a traditional Chinese medicine.
There are also centrists who put forward a proposal for "modernization of traditional Chinese medicine."
It is the process of using modern science and technology to research, develop, produce and manage traditional Chinese medicine in order to improve the quality and efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine, ensure its safety and comply with modern medical standards and international norms.
This process involves many aspects such as the cultivation, processing, extraction, preparation, quality control, and clinical application of Chinese medicine, all of which require improvement in traditional Chinese medicine.
However, there are also strong opponents who think that Chinese medicine has its own set of theories and practices, so why should it be tested according to the generation of Western medicine?
I feel that this is unnecessary and also an insult to traditional Chinese medicine, so I strongly oppose it and will refuse to change it.
So Chinese medicine is really in chaos now, from top to bottom, from inside to outside.
Lin Sanqi now makes a living from traditional Chinese medicine and has become the largest supplier of high-end Chinese medicinal materials in Dongguan Province.
In the future, will we take advantage of the chaos to fish in troubled waters and make a fortune, or will we invest a lot of scientific research funds to help traditional Chinese medicine find a path that suits us and is in line with mainstream medicine?
This also tests Comrade Lin Sanqi's wisdom and conscience.
While Lin Sanqi was confused, old man Ding Zhongying also started the production process of Babao Dan, and then there was a lot of core information.
"Xiao Qi, you have to remember that the core of the Eight Treasures Pill formula is publicly stated to be 5% bezoar, 3% musk, 7% snake gall, and 85% Panax notoginseng. In fact, this ratio is incorrect. If you follow this ratio, the Eight Treasures Pill will be far less effective.
The actual formula is 4% bezoar, 2.5% musk, 5.5% snake gall, 1.8% antelope horn, 4.2% pearl, 5% borneol, 65% Panax notoginseng, and 6.5% wild ginseng from Northeast China.
Lin Sanqi was surprised and said, "Huh? There's actually Northeastern wild ginseng? It's not listed on the public prescription."
Mr. Ding stroked his beard:
"There are more than just these eight herbs. In fact, there are also elephant bark, amber, dragon bone, indigo, nectar powder, and reed stone. Together, they account for 5%. This is the complete and authentic Eight Treasures Pill formula, which is also the true secret recipe of Pian Zai Huang that you mentioned."
Pan Ye sighed beside him:
"It turns out everyone misunderstood. They thought the Eight Treasures Pill recipe only had eight herbs. It turns out it has a full 14."
Mr. Ding laughed:
"Didn't Xiao Qi say that many people use Pien Tze Huang as a tonic? Actually, there is some truth to that, because the real main ingredient is ginseng, not musk, ox bile, or snake gall as everyone thinks.
Ginseng, it’s good for nourishing the body, right?
Furthermore, before anti-inflammatory drugs were available, Pien Tze Huang was able to fight infection. From a Western medical perspective, Pien Tze Huang's true function isn't to kill bacteria, but to boost immunity, allowing the body's immune cells to kill bacteria themselves.
Lin Sanqi rubbed his hands excitedly. He never thought that one of the two secret recipes of Yunnan Baiyao and Pian Zai Yang, which were permanently kept secret by the country, had been discovered by him so easily.
According to information on the Internet, the brand value of the three words "Pian Zai Huang" alone has reached more than 20 billion yuan, so this is definitely a treasure trove.
Thinking of the brand effect, Lin Sanqi recalled a piece of news he had found on the Internet before.
There are a total of 84 trademarks related to "Pianzihuang", including "Pianzihuang", "Pianzihuang;PIEN TZE HUANG", "Pianzihuang PZH", "Pianzihuang Hongren", "Pianzihuang Qingjie", "Pianzihuang Queen" and other trademarks, all of which were applied for trademark registration by Zhangzhou Pienzihuang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
Later, a traditional Chinese medicine factory in Xiamen also developed a medical gel called Pian Zai Huang with the help of an expert. They wanted to use the name "Pian Zai Huang" but were sued.
The two companies fought two lawsuits, and Xiamen lost both.
Who said the Zhangzhou factory is a state-owned enterprise? Ahem.
Xiamen was dissatisfied and argued that the name "Pian Zai Huang" came from the folk and was originally a secret recipe of the imperial physician of the Ming Dynasty. It was not invented by the Zhangzhou factory itself, so the name of Pian Zai Huang could not be monopolized by one person or one factory.
The Zhangzhou factory asked, you said it was a folk rumor, what evidence do you have?
The lawsuit then reached a stalemate.
In fact, this logic is a bit like bandit logic. After all, everyone on earth knows that Pian Zai Huang has been passed down from the folk since ancient times and has no clear inventor.
But the Zhangzhou factory had a very strong rebuttal. You said it was a folk prescription that has been passed down since ancient times. Then why is it that only our Zhangzhou factory has the secret recipe and you don’t?
On the other hand, even if Lin Sanqi mastered the secret recipe and wanted to sell Lingnan Tang brand Pian Zai Huang on the market, it is entirely possible that the Zhangzhou factory would sue and ban the sale.
China is a country under the rule of law, and all business must be conducted in accordance with the law.
"Master Ding, let me give you an example. Now, both in the medical community and among the public, everyone knows that Babao Dan and Pian Zai Huang come from the same school. They are actually twin brothers. You also said that I can sell them directly under the name of Pian Zai Huang.
But the Zhangzhou factory has monopolized the name Pien Tze Huang, allowing only pills produced by their factory to be called Pien Tze Huang. No one else is allowed to use this name. So how can I break the deadlock?"
Mr. Ding was a little surprised:
"This Zhangzhou factory's eating habits are so ugly? They don't allow people to use Pien Tze Huang? Why? There was no such rule when I was in Fuzhou."
Lin Sanqi thought, it is 1960 now, all pharmaceutical factories are state-owned enterprises, and since we are all state-owned enterprises, of course it is easy to talk to them. You use it, I use it, everyone uses it, and it is good for me, it is good for me, it is good for everyone.
But things are different a few decades later. The three words "Pian Zai Huang" are worth more than 20 billion yuan, so of course you won't be able to use them.
"If you don't want to use it, then don't use it. Anyway, the name of Pian Zai Huang is only famous in Hu Jian. You can sell it as Ba Bao Dan. People in Hu Jian will recognize it."
Lin Sanqi was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. The common people in 1960 didn't care, but the bosses in 2013 didn't think so.
In 2013, the drug Babaodan was also sold on the market, but this drug was unknown, inconspicuous, cheap, and had no economic value at all.
"Master, we need to sell this medicine. If we sell a lot and make a lot of money, we can exchange it for more food. So I definitely have to use the name Pien Tze Huang. But are there any ancient books that record that Pien Tze Huang and Babao Dan are actually the same recipe?"
Old Master Ding laughed and nodded at Lin Sanqi:
"Your thinking is wrong. In fact, Babao Dan was invented first. Later, because Babao Dan can relieve inflammation, it was commonly known as "Pian Zai Huang". The word "zai" is an interjection in our Minnan dialect, and "huang" means swelling and pain caused by heat toxins.
So, among the ancient books I handed over to you, there is one called "Puyuanshan Notes". This book was handed down from the Ming Dynasty. It is said that it was written by the imperial physician who fled. The recipe of the Eight Treasures Pill is clearly recorded on it. This should be the earliest record.
In addition, there is a book called "Longxi Fang Ge Kuo" written by Lu Dazhong, a famous Min doctor, which records the origin of the folk name of Pien Tze Huang and clearly states that Pien Tze Huang is another name for Babao Dan. This is very direct evidence and there is no need to worry about lawsuits.
At this time, Mr. Shi suddenly spoke up and added:
"I have a Buddhist medical treatise called 'Medical Prescriptions' that has an even more complete account. It clearly states that the sacred Buddhist medicine, Eight Treasures Pills, was manufactured and sold under the name 'Sengmao Brand' Pien Tze Huang by Monk Yanhou after he returned to secular life."
Mr. Ding nodded repeatedly and said:
"Right, right, right. Pien Tze Huang was originally called Monk's Hat brand, but it was renamed Lychee brand in 1956. This is all documented. How could the Zhangzhou factory possibly have a monopoly on the Pien Tze Huang name?"
Lin Sanqi clapped his hands, and the wave was stable.
…
…
2013, Huadu First People’s Hospital, Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
At this time, Mr. Mao Yichen, the old director of the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, was studying a pill for a long time. Finally, he broke off a piece and put it in his mouth to savor it carefully.
Lin Sanqi, Yin Lianyi, Song Jiming, director of neurosurgery, and Fu Guoding, Mao's eldest disciple and current director of the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, were all sitting nearby waiting for the result. The scene was very quiet.
After a while, Mr. Mao finally took the apprentice's cup of water and rinsed his mouth:
"Xiao Lin, you are really testing an old man like me. Haha, I can conclude that your Angong Niuhuang Wan is not produced by Tong Ren Tang, unless it was produced by Tong Ren Tang 70 years ago. Anyway, the current Tong Ren Tang can't produce it."
Lin Sanqi chuckled:
"Teacher Mao, you guessed correctly on the first one. This Angong Niuhuang Pill is indeed not from Tongrentang. So, based on your standards, do you think this Angong Pill is up to standard?"
Mr. Mao blurted out without thinking:
"It's not just qualified, it's far superior. If nothing goes wrong, the Angong Pills you brought are made differently from those from Tong Ren Tang. In addition, the formula of your Angong Pills has also been changed.
The key isn't these things. The key is the ingredients used in your Angong Wan, which I haven't encountered in decades. The musk alone isn't artificial, nor is it just natural; it's pure wild. Wow, what a generous investment."
Lin Sanqi gave a thumbs up:
"You're so good, you can even taste wild musk. But why do you say it's a big deal? How expensive can this musk be?"
As mentioned earlier, the price of natural musk is between 400 and 1,000 yuan per gram, which is comparable to the price of gold, or even more expensive.
Lin Sanqi has plenty of gold now, so he doesn't think it is that precious.
When Mr. Mao heard Lin Sanqi's question, he was also a little stunned, so he kindly reminded:
"Xiao Lin, let's not even talk about whether the country allows the use of wild musk. Just look at the price. One gram costs 50,000 to 100,000 yuan. Who can afford it?"
Everyone in the room gasped in surprise.
Lin Sanqi also slammed the table, his whole body shaking with excitement:
"Are you serious? Oh no, I misjudged the price. My musk is not only natural, but also wild. It costs tens of thousands per gram. How much would 2,000 kilograms of wild musk be worth?"
Everyone thought Lin Sanqi was going crazy. 2,000 kilograms of musk? 4,000 kilograms? I wouldn't even dare dream of that.
Even if we calculate it at 50,000 per gram, a kilogram of wild musk would be 50 million. How much would 2,000 kilograms cost? Even a computer can't display it.
Others thought he was just talking nonsense, but who would have thought that Lin Sanqi really had 2,000 kilograms of wild musk in his hands, which was almost the country's 10-year musk reserve.
Mr. Mao laughed out loud:
"Xiao Lin, if you really had two tons of wild musk deer, you would have been able to execute hundreds of them by now. Musk deer are a first-class protected species in China. Do you know what that is? It's the same level as the giant panda.
If you were to collect two tons of wild musk deer, the carcasses would have to pile up as high as Yuexiu Mountain. Currently, there are only about 20,000 wild and farmed musk deer in the country, which is not enough for you to kill."
Everyone in the office chuckled, and no one believed Lin Sanqi's nonsense.
Song Jiming from the neurosurgery department looked at Lin Sanqi with some heat in his eyes. He had witnessed the magic of Angong Niuhuang Pills and had always wanted to promote this drug on a large scale.
Firstly, we can set up a research team, and secondly, we can improve the recovery rate of comatose patients in neurosurgery.
Director Song believes that the level of neurosurgery at Huadu First Hospital is impeccable and has definitely reached the world's top level, with not much difference between them and their peers.
The rest depends on the postoperative recovery rate.
Relatively speaking, the recovery rate after craniotomy for ordinary cerebral hemorrhage is relatively high, reaching about 80%.
If the patient suffers from extremely severe craniocerebral injury, the mortality rate is extremely high, and only about 20% of the patients can regain consciousness and wake up.
If brain herniation is caused by a car accident, the patient's chance of waking up is as low as only 15%.
This recovery rate is similar both at home and abroad and cannot be increased any further.
But Director Song was thinking, if the neurosurgery department of Huadu First Hospital could use Angong Niuhuang Pills on a large scale, would the recovery rate be greatly improved?
It doesn't have to be too much, just an increase of more than 10%, which is an amazing number that can enable him to surpass his domestic and foreign counterparts in one fell swoop.
Will becoming an academician still be a problem by then?
Because it was related to his own vital interests, when he learned that Lin Sanqi had developed his own "Angong Niuhuang Pills", he came uninvited, wanting to hear what the results were.
When he heard from Mr. Mao that Lingnan Tang's Angong Niuhuang Pills were more effective than Tongrentang's, how could he not be tempted?
Action is the key:
"Mr. Xiaolin, since your Lingnan Hall has successfully developed its own Angong Niuhuang Pills, I wonder when you plan to mass-produce them? I can't wait to work with you."
Before Lin Sanqi could answer, Fu Guoding, the eldest disciple of Mr. Mao and the director of the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, expressed pessimism:
"Old Song, there's no problem with Mr. Xiaolin privately researching and producing pharmaceuticals. It can be considered scientific research. But if he wants to set up a factory to produce his own products, that's unlikely. Otherwise, Tong Ren Tang wouldn't use synthetic raw materials."
Mr. Mao also nodded in agreement:
"Yes, natural raw materials are indeed not allowed to be used in drug production. However, there are special exceptions. As long as the relevant national departments approve it, natural musk and the like can be used.
For example, Liushen Pills produced by Shanghai Leiyunshang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Angong Niuhuang Pills produced by Tongrentang, Pianzaihuang produced by Zhangzhou factory, etc., are specially approved to use natural musk and bezoar.
But Mr. Xiaolin, don't be too happy. These companies that can use natural musk and other medicinal materials are all giant pharmaceutical companies and state-owned enterprises. They have connections and backgrounds that small private companies like you can't compare to."
Lin Sanqi scratched his head a little. This was what he feared the most.
If he only had raw materials but couldn't produce drugs, then wasn't his work in 1960 all in vain? He only had traffic but couldn't monetize it?
Yin Lianyi was smarter than Lin Sanqi. As she listened attentively, she caught on to something and interrupted:
"Grandpa Mao, you just kept saying that the use of this and that is not allowed in China. So, are natural musk, natural bezoar, and the like allowed to be used abroad? Or are they allowed to be sold?"
Mr. Mao laughed when he heard this:
"Look, girls are still knowledgeable. Foreigners don't use traditional Chinese medicine, so they don't prohibit the sale of natural musk. Moreover, musk is an important raw material in the perfume industry, so it is even more impossible to ban it."
Yin Lianyi had grasped the crux of the matter and asked again:
"So, Mr. Mao, if foreigners also use musk, but our country doesn't allow it to be exported easily, does that mean musk is not unique to our country, and other countries actually produce it?"
Director Fu helped his teacher explain:
"Musk is indeed not a specialty of our country. It is produced in other regions such as Nepal, India, Bhutan, Pakistan, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, and Siberia in Russia. Russia is especially famous for its export volume, which ranks first in the world.
Not to mention bezoar, which is simply a stone. It can be found wherever there are cows, so it is not a precious thing abroad. Only in China is its trading prohibited."
Yin Lianyi understood what was going on, so she made her own suggestion:
"If raw materials like musk and bezoar are available overseas, and we have the secret recipes and production techniques for Angong Niuhuang Wan and Pien Tze Huang, could we set up factories abroad, such as in Vietnam or Pakistan, where labor costs are low, and then export them back to China?"
Director Song was delighted when he heard this. He only wanted the medicine and didn't care whether it was made in China or abroad.
"Yes, yes, this is a good idea. It avoids legal issues."
Fu Guoding felt a little sorry for Lin Sanqi's money:
"If you set up a factory abroad and then bring it back to China, the tariffs will be huge. Your logistics costs will increase significantly."
Lin Sanqi looked at Yin Lianyi, his eyes unable to stop admiring her:
"Ah, Mr. Yin is truly a business genius. He can even think of this idea. It seems that setting up a factory abroad is indeed something we can consider."
Yin Lianyi also smiled: "Yeah, I also feel that I am becoming more and more like a strong woman now."
But Mr. Mao heard something unusual:
"Wait, you also know the secret recipe for Pien Tze Huang? Is that true? This is a national secret recipe, and it's kept secret forever. You got it, too?"
Lin Sanqi took out a pill from his backpack:
"Come, old man, please taste it and see if there is any difference between the Pien Tze Huang from our Lingnan Hall and the one from the Zhangzhou factory?"
Mr. Mao was even more surprised: "It has been developed? Bring it here, bring it here."
After tasting it for a long time, Mr. Mao finally exclaimed:
"It's better than the one from the Zhangzhou factory, Mr. Xiaolin. The ingredients used in your Pien Tze Huang are even purer. I really don't know where you got this good fortune. Just the fact that you got the secret recipes for Angong Niuhuang Pills and Pien Tze Huang means your Lingnan Hall has a bright future."
Fu Guoding was also deeply shocked. If it weren't for his teacher who authenticated the recipe, he would have doubted whether it was real. Two state-level secret prescriptions.
"Yes, it's true that there's a lot of money to be made, but the first word should be changed to 'money'. With these two medicines, annual sales of over 100 billion yuan will be easy. Didn't you see that there's a purchase limit on Pian Zai Huang? It shows that the market demand is huge."
Director Song Jiming’s inner thoughts: Hurry up and start production, hurry up and start mass production.
Lin Sanqi shrugged after hearing this:
"There are still many difficulties. One is where to set up a factory. The second is that good medicine does not necessarily lead to good sales. How can we establish the Lingnan Tang brand in China and convince patients that the medicines produced by Lingnan Tang are far better than those produced by Tong Ren Tang and the Zhangzhou factory? This is a huge problem."
Lin Sanqi didn't understand anything about business at all.
(End of this chapter)
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