top student at medical school

The shift handover hadn't officially started yet, but the doctor's office was already crowded with doctors in white coats. Zeng Duoqin almost fell, a scene witnessed by everyone, and their expressions changed.

It was clear that Professor Zeng Duoqin, who was walking alongside Fang Ziye, was frightened by Fang Ziye. However, Fang Ziye's voice was very soft, and it was difficult for outsiders to hear what he was saying.

After Zeng Duoqin helped him up, his eyes lingered on Fang Ziye with a complicated expression. At that moment, his nerve synapses were completely shut down, and he still couldn't understand what Fang Ziye had said.

Turning generic drugs into genuine ones—is that something a normal person would say?

After calming down, Zeng Duoqin pulled Fang Ziye aside and gestured to the others with his eyes. Hu Qingyuan and Zeng Duoqin's student Dai Zhusheng, who were closer, quickly retreated.

"Fang Ziye, what did you just say? Did I not hear you clearly? What are you doing huddling in that stinking ditch?" Zeng Duoqin's question was very clear.

Generic drugs are similar drugs manufactured to imitate the original products. They are generally less effective than the original drugs, but they are cheaper and do not require much investment in research and development.

It belongs to the category of low-end pharmaceutical companies that use it to inflate their performance figures.

To manufacture generic drugs, one essential requirement is that the 20-year patent period of the original drug must have expired.

With such a large medical market, no company with even a modicum of ambition would consider making generic drugs.

Currently, only India has issued a "patent invalidation" regulation, meaning that any genuine drug will be directly manufactured as a generic version in India.

Given Fang Ziye's current scientific research experience and talent, there is absolutely no need for him to waste time imitating this drug.

Fang Ziye smiled calmly upon hearing this and said, "Professor Zeng, the generic drug industry is not a rotten ditch."

"If done well, it will be a great project that benefits the country and its people."

Most pharmaceutical companies in China do not focus on original designs but only on imitation, which is one of the reasons why the prices of genuine products have been driven down.

"But is this helpful for your personal growth?" Zeng Duoqin continued to ask rhetorically.

Fang Ziye knew the answer; it was definitely useless.

It's virtually impossible to own your own patent if you try to imitate generic drugs, unless you create something new based on the original drug, in which case you can apply for a separate patent.

But that's even more difficult.

However, for Fang Ziye, his previous "decision" to refuse to go to Kyoto had temporarily cut off some avenues.

Fang Ziye is now an associate professor. To be promoted to professor, he only needs to participate in the evaluation within Hubei Province. No one would object to him to the point that he cannot be promoted to professor.

Since becoming a professor is the pinnacle, what's the point of Fang Ziye producing more research output now? The upper limit has already been set by the framework.
"It's useless anyway, but since nothing we do will work, why not seek enlightenment in a single thought?"

"Currently, there are many drugs whose patent protection period has expired, but there are not many drugs that can be copied and achieve the same therapeutic effect."

"We still need to rely on imports!"

After Fang Ziye finished speaking, he smiled and said, "Professor Zeng, many people have said that the clinical cases I'm doing now are all diseases of the rich. After handling so many cases, it's time to do something for patients who can't afford it."

"It all takes time anyway."

Researching treatments for new diseases is indeed a good thing for scientific research. However, as soon as a treatment plan for a new disease is released, only a small number of people with substantial financial resources can afford the treatment costs.

For example, functional reconstruction surgery, or functional regeneration surgery.

Fang Ziye can perform surgery, but the overall cost of the surgery is not low!

Not all patients suffering from this disease can afford it.

"What do you mean by that?" Zeng Duoqin understood Fang Ziye's implied meaning and quickly pressed for an answer.

"It's nothing, Teacher Zeng, let's start the handover... It's time..." Fang Ziye didn't continue speaking.

Having one's future temporarily interrupted is one's own choice; it's because a powerful figure has lost his temper.

If Fang Ziye is someone you can't afford to offend, then you can at least avoid him.

Fang Ziye's return to the ward had been decided long ago, so today's arrangements included a 'functional rehabilitation procedure' that only Fang Ziye could perform.

Fang Ziye didn't waste any time, and didn't even give a speech after returning. After the on-duty doctor and nurse finished their shift handover, Fang Ziye said, "If there's nothing special, let's do our rounds as soon as possible, so as not to waste any more time."

Zeng Duoqin and Wang Zongkai both got up and led their teams out.

Associate Professor Tang Yi immediately came over and reported with a smile, "Director Fang, it's so good to have you back. We've been sleeping much more comfortably lately."

Fang Ziye chuckled and replied, "Teacher Tang, is it really that serious?"

"Is it really that serious? If you don't believe me, ask Li Nuo and Qin Geluo." Tang Yi looked in the direction of Li Nuo and Qin Geluo.

Both men nodded, and Qin Geluo even put his arm around Fang Ziye's shoulder and said, "Ziye, I'm not just saying this to flatter you, but leading a team is really too difficult."

"And leading the team after you leave will be even more difficult."

"Never mind, let's not talk about it anymore. It's good that you're back."

"We have three surgeries scheduled today: one functional rehabilitation surgery, one partial hip replacement, and one fracture surgery."

"Would you like to demonstrate how to use the next two?"

These were the finishing touches that Tang Yi and the others had to do after Fang Ziye left, which were the patients they were admitting.

Fang Ziye shook his head: "Professor Tang can perfectly perform hip replacement, and you and Master Nuo can handle fracture surgery, so why should I get involved?"

"I have something to do later."

"Let's finish the functional rehabilitation surgery first. You guys didn't admit me as a spinal cord injury patient right away, thanks to the help of the older brothers."

Tang Yi replied helplessly, "If you don't personally select a patient with a spinal cord injury, who would dare to let us in? Would that be courting death?"

Only Fang Ziye can perform the procedure on this type of patient, and Professor Wang Ou from the Department of Spinal Surgery may also be needed to assist.

Now that Fang Ziye is gone, even if Professor Wang Ou were to come, it would be of no use.

If Professor Wang Ou could lead the team to open the show, then Professor Zeng Duoqin wouldn't have faced so much pressure.

Using a functional rehabilitation procedure as a way to get back into the operating room and get a feel for surgery is quite comfortable!

In just two and a half hours, Fang Ziye delegated the remaining operations.

Fang Ziye was overjoyed to see that his student Hu Qingyuan was also able to complete part of the tendon suturing.

Hu Qingyuan has only been in clinical practice for half a year, but his progress in suturing techniques has been rapid. He can now complete some simple tendon suturing, which is comparable to the level of a senior master's student or even a doctoral student in hand surgery.

Moreover, only highly talented master's and doctoral students can reach this stage.

Of course, it's not particularly outrageous. Lan Tianluo and Luo Tingzhu were able to reach this level quite early on, it just took them a few months longer than Hu Qingyuan.

After leaving the operating room, Fang Ziye traveled alone.

After hesitating for a moment, he decided to call Chen Guangbai directly.

Chen Guangbai was a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner and did not need surgery, so the other party answered the phone after it rang for half a minute.

"Ziye, what are you doing? I'm still participating in a case discussion, and I just finished speaking five minutes ago. If you had called earlier, I wouldn't have been able to get out," Chen Guangbai said.

Fang Ziye asked, "Uncle Chen, is Uncle Yao Guang still in Han City?"

"I have some important things to discuss with him."

Before Fang Ziye took a vacation, Yao Guang was stationed in Han City. But during Fang Ziye's vacation, Yao Guang would not stay in Han City for long.

I heard that she went to Kyoto and then went abroad for tourism.

Yao Guang is currently a senior executive at Guangbai Group, serving as the chief technical engineer and primarily responsible for overall research and development. His schedule is relatively flexible.

“I no longer hold a position in the company; I am merely one of the nominal directors. I am not entirely clear about Yao Guang’s whereabouts.”

“However, I can ask for you. Tell me what it is first…” Chen Guangbai said.

"I'd like to discuss the generic drug production process for several drugs with Chief Engineer Yao..." Fang Ziye replied.

"Generic drugs? You want to make generic drugs?" Chen Guangbai's tone was extremely surprised!
"Could it be because of that thing I found out about you?"

Chen Guangbai was not the one who sent the message to Fang Ziye saying that Fang Ziye was basically out of the running for academician nomination for the next few years, but Chen Guangbai also received this message that morning.

It was someone from the logistics department of the Enshi Sanatorium who told him.

"Uncle Chen, yes, and no, not entirely."

"I've been feeling rather bored lately, and last year I attended a seminar where they mentioned that generic drug development is one of the key projects and an important project for people's livelihood."

"Moreover, the generic drugs I'm developing should have pretty good efficacy," Fang Ziye replied.

Actually, given his current level of scientific research, it's a complete waste of his talent to focus on imitation instead of creating original works!
However, doing so is indeed beneficial to the country and its people!
A long time ago, Deng Yong asked Fang Ziye a question: Do you want to be an academician doctor or a people's doctor?

Fang Ziye chose the latter answer at that time.

However, Fang Ziye was not a pedantic individual. Developing new surgical techniques and treatments for new diseases is extremely beneficial to the development of global medicine, placing him at the forefront of global scientific research!

It can infinitely accelerate China's overall level in a certain specialized field.

Moreover, if he could become an academician and receive honors under such circumstances, Fang Ziye would not deliberately give up or refuse.

Fang Ziye is essentially a person who won't act without self-interest; he's not that aloof.

But?

After listening, Chen Guangbai was stunned for a moment, and his breathing became rapid: "Fang Ziye, do you mean that you have the ability to adjust the drug based on the papers published by pharmaceutical companies, and make it potentially more effective than the original drug?"

"Isn't this possible?"

"This is absolutely impossible!"

This is absolutely impossible.

But compared to this—

Fang Ziye had previously forced Han Yuanxiao to come up with the same result for different research topics. If outsiders knew this, they would find it even more absurd and bizarre!

What is the concept of forcibly creating something by changing the environment?
To put it simply, this ability is no less than enabling someone with very average talent to easily get into Tsinghua University or Kyoto University through hard work.

"Uncle Chen, anything is possible if you make a guess. If you can guess it, there is a certain probability of success."

"If there's a chance, then there's no such thing as impossible!"

"For any medicine, the genuine product only represents the best efficacy at the moment, not the absolute best efficacy."

"Medicines are constantly being updated and improved, for example, antibiotics..."

"I think it's time to update and innovate some of the more classic oncology drugs," Fang Ziye said confidently.

If developing new targeted cancer drugs is a completely new direction forward, then reconstructing the structure and efficacy of existing drugs is a slightly roundabout way.

Its future prospects and potential are very limited.

"Uncle Chen, do you think this is unreliable?"

"I think it's fine. We can even fine-tune the drug structure without referring to their pharmaceutical processes."

"The difficulty in producing generic drugs lies in the reaction and preparation conditions, such as temperature and process!"

“In addition to focusing on the key core chemical formulas, we can also look for similar drugs.”

"For example, nonsteroidal drugs (NSAIDs) can be classified into formic acid derivatives, acetic acid derivatives, propionic acid derivatives, oxacin derivatives, coxib derivatives, pyrazolone derivatives, etc., based on their different chemical structures..."

Chen Guangbai was no novice in scientific research. Upon hearing this, he said, "Ziye, if you have such abilities, why are you looking at generic drugs?"

"Isn't this like using a cannon to kill a mosquito?"

"Generic drugs also have genuine products; it's just that they cost more."

"If you focus on incurable diseases and the development of new drugs, that's the right path for you personally."

Chen Guangbai immediately realized: "I understand. This news still affects you, so you want to give up?"

Fang Ziye laughed upon hearing this, "Uncle Chen, I'm doing this for the benefit of more patients. If you say I'm shirking my duties, and I complain to Dr. Chen, he'll scold you!"

"Furthermore, who says that modifying the structure of existing drugs isn't scientific research?"

"Should I find a pharmacy professor to discuss this with you, Uncle Chen?"

Medicine is a vast field!

Clinical medicine and pharmacy are two completely different disciplines.

Pharmacy is also divided into different major areas such as applied pharmacology and research pharmacology...

"No need!" Chen Guangbai rejected Fang Ziye's unreliable suggestion.

"Ziye, are you sure you want to follow this path for the next few years?"

“Once this decision is made, it must be followed through to the end. Otherwise, all the previous efforts may be in vain,” Chen Guangbai reminded Fang Ziye, hoping he would consider it carefully.

"Uncle Chen, actually, you don't need to think of me as too noble. I have my own selfish reasons for making this choice," Fang Ziye replied.

Upon hearing this, Chen Guangbai hesitated for a moment: "Is it the 'ALS' patient you recommended?"

Enshi Sanatorium did not ask for the detailed name, so even though Chen Guangbai knew Luo Pan's name, he did not mention it.

Yes!

“To deal with a completely new disease, relying solely on innovation is still too difficult. I’m afraid Uncle Luo can’t wait!” Fang Ziye said.

Luo Pan is Fang Ziye's father-in-law, so it's not against the rules for him to mention Uncle Luo.

Chen Guangbai couldn't bring himself to say it: "Whatever you want. Since you've given your reasons, both for public and private reasons, I won't try to persuade you any further."

"In this life, no matter how talented you are, you can never have a smooth journey."

Even if your family members are very harmonious and understanding, you still need to spend some time and energy on them.

“Fang Ziye, according to the customs of our hometown in Enshi, your marriage signifies the establishment of your career, so outsiders will look at you differently than before.”

“Follow your heart. I don’t have absolute authority within the group right now, but I can report your suggestion.”

"With your first reason, convincing them shouldn't be a problem."

No matter how the details change, the overall plan that benefits the country and its people will never change.

If China can openly produce more generic drugs, and even improve their efficacy, then no one can reverse this situation.

Fang Ziye thought for a moment and then said, "Uncle Chen, I also want to make a suggestion to you. That is, I don't intend to keep this kind of thing from the patent-owning company."

"On the contrary, I might contact the company that owns the drug patent in advance and obtain authorization before optimizing and producing a generic version."

"This would be a win-win situation, and I don't want to create any conflicts of interest."

"From our perspective, as long as it benefits patients in our country, that's all that matters. And from the company's perspective, they're happy to update and innovate their drugs."

"After all, multinational corporations have such a large market share!"

Chen Guangbai took a deep breath: "Fang Ziye, I don't know if marriage can make a person more mature, but I can see that your thinking is becoming more and more sophisticated."

"Capital isn't actually that scary. On the contrary, if you can make capital profitable, you're the boss!"

"If you grasp the principle of capital pursuing profit, with your current abilities and influence, you really won't face any danger."

"With prior notice and coordination, those multinational corporations, seeing the potential profits, might even voluntarily release some of their 'patents' to you and pass on confidential information!"

Chen Guangbai had experience in business, and he knew that the main purpose of a company's operation was to make a profit. No matter what aspect, if it could increase the competitiveness of his company's products and defeat other competitors in the market, it would be a worthwhile investment!
In the pharmaceutical industry, efficacy speaks volumes, and market share is determined by results.

Only when the therapeutic effects are nearly identical can there be talk of dividing up market share; otherwise, it's all about product updates and replacements!

"If things go well enough, this could be a smooth road!" Chen Guangbai could no longer predict Fang Ziye's future.

Because Fang Ziye's path is somewhat similar to that of his father, with no end in sight, it is quite different from the traditional path of doctors.

A proposal is just a proposal; after it's made, there are still many procedures to go through.

It's not something that can be done just because we say we'll do it today.

With such a large research framework, the preliminary preparations and writing of the planning documents could take six months or even a year. Even if Fang Ziye could shorten the time, it wouldn't be something that could be done in just one or two days!

After hanging up the phone, Fang Ziye felt very calm.

A great physician benefits the country and its people; he may not achieve success in this lifetime, but his benefits will last for generations!
Medicine itself is neither good nor bad.

It depends on how you use it, how you use it, and why you use it.

The essence of medicine is to cure diseases, not to be a commodity, but it requires cost investment to manufacture new drugs.

Without official backing and funding, there must be a profit motive for people to engage in research and development.

"Neither boast about how noble or cunning you are, nor belittle yourself as how treacherous or cunning you are."

“After all, I have been to Enshi once, and I come from a county town. I know many patients who have no money to see a doctor.”

"Since I cannot change the medical insurance policy, I can only find another way."

"Professor Zhou Yan of Xiangya Hospital followed his path, and I have mine..." Fang Ziye stood in the pedestrian corridor of the new hospital area, hands behind his back, calmly strolling through the outpatient and emergency departments. (End of Chapter)