The journey starts from the Titanic

From beginning to end, the Los Angeles Times has been paying attention to the clinical effects of sulfa, and sent reporters to the hospital.

Good news came out from the first day. After taking sulfa, most patients' condition improved, but the effect varies from person to person. People with strong bodies recover faster.

"In just three days, Dr. Franks, you cured a dying flu patient. What do you think?" Franks just walked out of the ward, and the resident reporter of the Los Angeles Times couldn't wait to interview him.

In the past few days, the reporter named Kwame has been following Franks' treatment process.

"No! I didn't save him! It was sulfa that saved the patient! I just did what I was supposed to do." Franks said seriously.

After he turned and left, his steps were so brisk.Yes, there are more patients waiting for him, but he is no longer at a loss.

Kwamei walked quickly to the report agency. He had already thought of a beautiful topic-sulfa, the magical sulfa, it saved the world!

Back at the office, Kwame couldn’t wait to write: “In three days, in just three days, I witnessed a miracle. A miracle called sulfa!... As of this writing, the first patient in Los Angeles who took sulfa is about to be discharged! ...I don’t know how Mr. Li Renqiao did it, but I’m sure that he changed the world. His contribution is noble and more just than the war we are doing. I believe that in the future, the magical story about sulfa It will continue to play in this country."

Chapter 217 Sulfa Release Continued

Sulfonamide was shocked!

The month comes first near the water tower.Patients in Los Angeles were fortunate to be the first users of sulfa. Except for a few people who died, most of the patients got better after taking sulfa. Patients were discharged from the hospital a few days later.The flu epidemic in Los Angeles suddenly had hope of being controlled.

Witnessed by health officials from the Los Angeles City Government, Giant Company held its first press conference to officially announce that sulfa is effective for the treatment of Spanish flu, and stated that it will work hard to expand production capacity to benefit more patients.

Giant's sulfa production plant is in full swing, working in round-the-clock shifts, but in the face of huge demand, the supply of sulfa is like a drop in the bucket.

Production capacity has become a headache for Giant. Holding the golden doll of sulfa, it would be a shame if it can't fully tap its potential. Situ Nan can't help but care.

He couldn't sit still at home, so he went to the sulfa production workshop to inspect.Seeing the busy workers on the production line, Situ Nan nodded.

"How much sulfa can be produced in one day?" Situ Nanxiang asked Corey, the general manager of Giant Company next to him.

Corey is the veteran of the Giant Company, forty years old, mature and stable, although he has no genius and gorgeous, a bit old-fashioned, but he is serious and responsible, so he has the trust of Situ Nan.

Situ Nan took a bottle of packaged sulfonamides from the production line, took out a pale white and yellowish pill from it, carefully examined it, and looked infatuated in his eyes, as if he had seen Jinshan Yinshan.

"How much does the sulfonamide cost? How much does it cost?" Situ Nan asked.

"The cost of each sulfa tablet is 0.5 cents. Our tentative price is 5 cents per tablet. The ex-factory price of a 100-piece bottle like this is 5 US dollars. We currently mainly produce this kind of packaging, and we will reproduce it later. 30-piece family pack.” Corey introduced earnestly.

"That is ten times the profit?" Situ Nan smiled, noncommittal, thinking that Corey is really an honest person.

"So how much is the output?" Situ Nan continued to ask.

"About 200 kg/day," Corey replied.

"It's only 100 kilograms? That's too low." Situ Nan frowned slightly, and calculated it in his heart. One tablet of sulfa 10 mg. Adults take two tablets at a time, twice a day. 100 kg can only supply 250,000 people. That is to say, the sulfonamides produced by the giant company can barely guarantee the supply of one tablet in Los Angeles.

With this capacity, let alone saving the world, even treating American patients is unrealistic.Tens of millions of people in the United States have been infected with the Spanish flu. If Giant cannot expand its production capacity in time, it is not impossible for the government to require Giant to transfer patents to other pharmaceutical companies at low prices due to public pressure. .

Situ Nan’s dissatisfaction was felt by Corey for the first time. He quickly explained: “Currently, the production capacity is low, mainly because our company only invests in one production line, and the other production line is still under debugging. There is also the worker’s comments on the new process. We are not yet fully proficient, which is also the reason for limiting our current output. Now the relevant worker recruitment, training and other work have been launched, and it is expected that the production rate in three months will be 4 to 5 times the current."

After Corey finished speaking, he quietly touched a slightly moist forehead. During this period of time, the giant company had undergone earth-shattering changes, which made Corey somewhat unable to adapt.Sulfonamide puts tremendous pressure on Giant and himself.

What makes Corey a little embarrassed is that he is good at production management, but he is a bit blinded in the sales of medicines, and the sales department of the giant company does not have very good talents.

Back in Corey's office, Situ Nan looked at Corey's hesitation and stopped talking, so he asked, "Is there anything embarrassing? Corey, is there not enough funds?"

"No! It's not a question of funding." Corey said seriously, "Due to the company's development considerations, I think the company's sales department needs to be strengthened. I am going to take full charge of the company's production management, and the sales work is handed over to more suitable candidates. , But I couldn't find such a person for a while."

"Oh?" Situ Nan gave Corey an interesting look. Most people hate to get more power, but he wants to separate some of the power. It's really honest.He is also a wise man because he knows himself.

"You will get a good helper. I'm ready to help you." Situ Nan smiled and pointed to a man in his thirties next to him: "This is Mr. Alan Prik, who turned out to be Pfizer’s sales manager, he has extensive experience in tablet sales. From today on he will be the deputy general manager of our giant company. From now on, the company’s sales will be handled by Mr. Prik."

"Welcome to the Giant Company!" Corey took the initiative to shook hands with Prik. He did not expect that the man who was visiting the sulfa factory with Situ Nan was not Situ Nan's assistant, but a general who wanted to join the Giant Company.

"Mr. Corey, the Giant Company is very good under your management. I believe that under your leadership there will be greater achievements. I hope we can cooperate happily." Priek said enthusiastically and patted softly. Corey's flattery.

"Okay. From now on, the Giant Company will leave it to you. I hope that the company can become a miracle like the sulfonamide we developed." Situ Nan smiled.

It took a lot of effort to get Priek from Pfizer, because at Pfizer, Priek was trained as the company's future leader.However, with the charm of sulfa, the giant finally attracted Prick to join.

Originally, the Giant Company was just a humble junior in the William Consortium, but with sulfa, the Giant Company is destined to be no ordinary.Whether it is for the company's development or to check and balance Corey, the giant company needs fresh blood to join.

After the greeting, Situ Nan asked Prick: "Alan, do you have any plans for sales?"

"I think the current price of sulfonamides is a bit low, and the 10 times profit is totally inconsistent with the value of sulfonamides." Prick immediately entered the role, and he continued: "Now the whole world is eager to get sulfonamides, and the scarcity is more expensive. I think even if the production capacity becomes four or five times the current capacity in two or three months, the supply of sulfa is still in short supply. Why don't we increase the profit?"

"Then what do you think is the price of sulfa?" Situ Nan asked.

"50 times, 100 times or even 1000 times the cost is appropriate!" Prik said confidently, "This is not what we decide, but the market determines the value of sulfa. The sulfa that we previously provided to hospitals in Los Angeles They are all free trials, and now this advertisement has received good results.

Regarding the sales of sulfonamides, I have an idea. In the first month, we set the price of sulfonamides at 1,000 times the cost, 300 times in the second month, and 100 times in half a year, and so on. For mass production, the price will gradually drop.

If the price is too low at the beginning, we will lose a lot of profits, which is not conducive to the development of the company.I heard that Mr. William spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in the laboratory to develop sulfa?"

"Not bad!" Situ Nan nodded, tacitly.The sulfa experiment actually did not cost much money, and most of the laboratory funds were used by Li Renqiao to do research on synthetic ammonia.

"Mr. William, can you return the laboratory to Giant now?" Corey took the opportunity to interject.Although sulfa is produced by Giant, the related patents belong to the laboratory chaired by Li Renqiao, so Corey is now eager to "include" the laboratory and put the benefits of sulfa in his hands.

Corey looked at Situ Nan eagerly, and it was up to Situ Nan if the matter was successful.It's just that Prik has just joined the Giant Company, and he doesn't understand it for a while.

"Of course. From now on, the laboratory will be under the management of Giant, and the sulfa patents will also be transferred to Giant. But I hope Giant will not neglect its investment in scientific research. In addition to medicine, it is best to take into account the chemical and chemical business. .

According to Mr. Li Renqiao's report, in addition to sulfa, their chemistry research has also made breakthrough progress. As for what it is, you can ask him if you are interested.Situ Nan exhorted.

"Yes. Mr. William is right. All the world's major pharmaceutical companies are large chemical companies. German Bayer, which produces aspirin, and Pfizer, which produces citric acid, are representative of them. The success of sulfonamides is also chemical. In terms of combining chemistry and medicine, I think Giant will surpass Bayer, Pfizer and other companies one day."

Prick confidently said that although he graduated from economics, he also learned a lot about chemistry and medicine after working for Pfizer for several years.

"Haha. It's best if you have this heart. There is good news to tell you that in addition to sulfa, there is another medicine that can effectively prevent influenza."

Situ Nan said again, under the gaze of Corey and Prik, he slowly took out a blue tree root from his pocket and introduced, "It is called Banlangen. It comes from far away China. The ancient Chinese used it It is used to treat colds, fevers and other diseases, and it has a history of hundreds of thousands of years. The professor of medicine at the University of William told me that although they have not yet analyzed which ingredients can treat the flu, this medicine can indeed Improving the body’s immunity has certain effects on the prevention and treatment of influenza."

"Is it true? But how to produce the medicine? Should I cook and drink like the Chinese?" Corey was a little puzzled, out of professional habits, and asked a professional question.

How to make medicine?Situ Nan thought for a while, knowing that it is impossible for these foreign devils to accept the practice of taking Banlangen home to boil and drink, and said: "Don't be so troublesome, just use a machine to smash it, and then mix some other drugs. Okay. I suggest that the company open another pharmaceutical factory in San Francisco to produce this Isatis root. The advantage is that it can be produced in large quantities and is not expensive. Before sulfa is popular, Isatis root can fill this gap! "

"Okay! But I want to confirm that this isatis root is indeed effective." Corey said, although he is very obedient, but out of responsibility for the company, he somewhat cautiously agreed with Situ Nan's opinion.

Prick has just joined the company. It’s hard to say anything, but in his opinion, if this distant oriental medicine is really like Situ Nan said, even if the curative effect is not as magical as sulfonamide, but it is cheap and sold with sulfonamide, it will It is another source of revenue for the company.

Chapter 218

In the early twentieth century when medicine was not well-established, an ordinary flu could cause human disasters. The emergence of sulfonamides was absolutely epoch-making. Its emergence declared that humans could produce broad-spectrum anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory drugs on a large scale through chemical synthesis. , Opened up a broad world for medical research.

Following the success of sulfonamides, Situ Nan believes that with the deepening of research, more and more anti-inflammatory drugs will be developed by giant companies and eventually develop into sulfa drugs that he is familiar with in his previous life.

In addition to the treatment of influenza, the extensive effects of sulfa drugs in other medical aspects will be gradually discovered, such as the prevention of infection after surgery, epidemic meningitis, sepsis, pneumonia, etc., sulfa drugs will play a huge role.