Rebirth 08: Rise from copycat phones

Chapter 342 Price Negotiation for Expensive Drugs
At the turn of spring and summer, a lot of things happened in the global science and technology industry, many of which had a significant impact and sparked widespread discussion.

For example, in March, major mobile phone manufacturers held spring press conferences and released their new mobile phones.

Zhiyun Group released C9 and S15X, and Apple released Apple SE; Samsung released Galaxy S7, and Vico Electronics released Bluemix MAX8.

In addition to the four leading companies mentioned above, a large number of mobile phone companies have also released corresponding products.

Among these products, quite a number of them adopt the notch full-screen design, some use rear fingerprints, and some use side fingerprints.

As a result, the mobile phone industry has entered the era of full-screen displays.

Of course, this full-screen display did not come about overnight. In 14, the Blue MAX6 Pro produced by Weiku Electronics already adopted a full-screen and rear fingerprint design. However, at that time, the Blue MAX6 Pro did not have a hole-punch screen or a notch screen. The top and bottom of the phone still had relatively narrow spaces.

Later, the Little Blue MAX7 also adopted this design.

However, the two consecutive Blue MAX full-screen mobile phones are not completely full-screen. After all, they still belong to the classic three-stage design, but the screen-to-body ratio is larger and more extreme, so they look like full-screen.

Therefore, although Weiku Electronics was promoting the concept of full-screen at the time, the industry did not agree, and most consumers did not have any special feelings: if this was considered a full-screen, then all mobile phones that used rear or side fingerprints would be full-screen phones.

The concept of full screen exploded completely last fall when Zhiyun released the S15MAX, introducing the concept of notch screen to the industry. Combined with 3D face recognition technology, the concept of full screen spread all over the world in an instant and became the most popular mobile phone innovation concept at the time.

Soon after, a large number of mobile phone manufacturers followed suit and launched notch screen mobile phones one after another. The intensive release time was around March and April after the Chinese New Year... After all, it takes time to design and produce mobile phones, and to solve technical and supply chain problems. It also took several months for these mobile phone manufacturers to follow suit.

In this way, full-screen mobile phones have completely become a widely used mobile phone design concept at the turn of spring and summer this year.

This has promoted the arrival of the full-screen era.

However, although these changes in the mobile phone industry are huge, they have not actually caused too much social discussion... After all, smartphones are no longer a new thing today, and people have seen them too many times and are used to them.

I won’t be shocked like I was a few years ago.

In 07, when Apple released Apple 2G, it was so amazing that it shocked the world and ushered in the era of smart phones.

In 08, Apple launched Apple 3G, allowing people to experience the smartphone experience under 3G network for the first time, which completely triggered the explosion of the smartphone industry.

In 09, Zhiyun released S9, with its extremely stunning three-section aluminum alloy body and silky smooth operating experience, announcing the rapid rise of the Android camp in the smartphone industry.

In 10, Zhiyun released the S10, which was far ahead of the competition. The fingerprint sensor technology it was equipped with set off a global buying frenzy. Half a year after its release, the phone was still out of stock worldwide. If someone had an S10 in his hand that year, he would be the coolest guy on the street.

In 11, Zhiyun released the equally significant S11, and the artificial intelligence "Xiaoyun" on it once again became a hot topic of global discussion.

However, going forward, there has actually been no major innovation in the mobile phone industry. Whether it is Zhiyun or Fruit, they seem to be innovating every year, but in fact they are just squeezing toothpaste and stacking hardware without any disruptive innovation.

It was not until the autumn of 15 that Zhiyun released the S15MAX, which brought people the major innovation of full screen and 3D face recognition. This caused a frenzy of discussion and led to crazy shipments of Zhiyun S series mobile phones, resulting in a surge in revenue.

After the shock this year, although the full-screen display has become popular and major mobile phone manufacturers have followed suit, people have become accustomed to it and there is no big discussion about it.

By the summer, the biggest technological news of the year was a new anti-cancer drug, Xylocta, which suddenly emerged from a little-known pharmaceutical company: Galaxy Pharmaceuticals.

This is a broad-spectrum anticancer drug that is described by many doctors as an antibiotic in the field of anti-cancer!

Because of its wide range of indications, good efficacy and few side effects, it saved the lives of at least thousands of critically ill patients in the first phase of clinical trials alone and quickly became the headlines of global science news.

The media competed to report on it, people were keen to discuss it, and patients were even more eager to get this life-saving drug.

In fact, due to the strong requests of countless patients, Galaxy Pharmaceuticals actually temporarily increased the number of places for the first phase of clinical trials.

One part is the trial quota for high-net-worth users, and the other part is the quota released to meet the needs of the clinical trial itself.

Needless to say, there are trial places for high net worth users... just pay the money and it's done

As for ordinary places, the requirements are actually very strict and need to meet various stringent conditions of the test requirements in order to obtain better test results.

After all, the cost of clinical trials is actually very high. In the clinical trials of Xylocta by Galaxy Pharmaceuticals in the United States, the cost per person is about 45,000 US dollars. It is cheaper in China, but it still costs about 10,000 US dollars.

Galaxy Pharmaceuticals hopes to collect as much data as possible with limited funding to determine the drug's indications, usage and dosage, side effects, conflicts with other drugs, whether it will have effects or conflicts on other diseases, etc.

As a new drug aimed at the global market, which has already started clinical trials in eight countries around the world, Galaxy Pharmaceuticals is actually very cautious in clinical trials, striving to ensure that everything is legal and compliant so that there is nothing to complain about.

However, Galaxy Pharmaceuticals itself is not in a hurry, but the patients are!

After all, not everyone can afford the VIP service fee... A family member of an American patient spent about $200,000 to purchase a variety of VIP services, and then received a call from Galaxy Pharmaceuticals informing them that a new batch of clinical trials are now open and there is a vacancy. Do you want to participate?
The insurance company will not compensate you for this money, you have to pay for it yourself... After all, no insurance company will reimburse you for VIP travel services.

As for why it is so expensive, it is not because Galaxy Pharmaceuticals is evil, but because clinical trials are expensive... The cost of clinical trials is 40,000 to 50,000 US dollars, and then there are some other additional fees. Charging only 200,000 is actually very cheap.

This is mainly because the drug is not on the market, is not insured, and Galaxy Pharmaceuticals cannot collect money directly, resulting in a deformed market.

If it can be successfully launched in the market later, the price will not be that expensive, at least it can be reduced by half!

As for Galaxy Pharmaceuticals, it considered the number of potential customer groups and their ability to pay, and then considered its own R&D costs, the subsequent R&D costs of new drugs, and the life support funds provided to Galaxy.

The final preliminary price is for a one-month course of treatment, which is about $100,000 in the United States...Other even cheaper anti-cancer drugs are not cheap either, and some gene therapies cost millions of dollars.

A broad-spectrum anti-cancer drug based on genetic technology costs $100,000 per course of treatment, which is already very cheap.

This is because Galaxy Pharmaceuticals takes into account the huge number of potential customers and the relatively high sales volume, which can spread some costs. Otherwise, it would be more expensive.

The price of $100,000 for a course of treatment is just the public price. If it is covered by various medical insurances later, the price will be even cheaper, around $50,000 to $60,000.

The insurance company can barely accept it. If it is too expensive, they will have objections and will not include it in the insurance coverage.

If there is medical insurance, the pressure on patients is actually not that great. Many commercial medical insurances have very high reimbursement levels, and patients themselves do not actually have to pay much money.

As for not having health insurance and no money…well, that’s not a cancer problem, it’s a poverty disease problem.

In the United States, if you don’t have medical insurance and money... let alone cancer, you can’t even afford to treat a cold. The bill can easily be hundreds of dollars or even higher.

If you have some daily problems, just take some painkillers and it will be fine. If you can bear it, bear it. If you can’t, it’s over. There’s no point in treating it!
Therefore, some fools in China advocate that Americans do not take medicine for minor illnesses and rely on their body's immunity to get through it, which is good for their health... Haha, I'm almost laughing my teeth off.

The dogs downstairs all know that seeing a doctor is expensive in the United States, and medicine is even more expensive.

Without medical insurance, Americans would go bankrupt if they saw a few more colds... bills of hundreds or thousands of dollars are common, and since most people have no savings, what else can they do but go bankrupt?

What should they do if they get sick when they have no money and no medical insurance?
Take painkillers!

A thousand painkillers cost only about ten yuan. They are sold in supermarkets. You can stockpile them as snacks...

Little-known fact: the United States is the world's largest country with advanced technology, but the average life expectancy of Americans is lower than ours.

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Clinical trial spots that require payment are too expensive for ordinary families to afford.

The number of free clinical trial quotas is extremely limited... Galaxy Pharmaceuticals is not doing charity, and will not release clinical trial quotas without limit... The clinical trial cost of one quota is 40,000 to 50,000 US dollars. If there are too many quotas, Galaxy Pharmaceuticals will go bankrupt first. Therefore, even if there are additional free clinical trial quotas in the future, there will only be dozens in each country, and there will be more in China, but only more than 100.

Globally, more than 30,000 people die from cancer every day!
More than half of the cancer deaths were caused by cancers that are indicated for Xiluokeda.

After all, most cancer deaths are caused by common types of cancer such as lung cancer, liver cancer, and gastric cancer, and these common types of cancer are the indications for Xiluokeda.

If we do a rough calculation, 10,000 to 20,000 cancer patients die every day, and a considerable number of these patients may survive if they can get the experimental new drug Xiluokeda.

Of course...most of them did not die of illness, but of poverty.

But there is no cure for poverty!

But even so, there are still quite a number of patients who have the financial means but cannot find corresponding treatment options. They urgently need this new drug. As long as the price is not as outrageous as more than $200,000, but a slightly more reasonable price, such as tens of thousands of dollars, they can afford it.

These patients and their families have given feedback everywhere, hoping that Galaxy Pharmaceuticals can open up more trial spots, or simply put the product on the market for sale.

Direct listing and sales are naturally unreliable, and we haven’t reached that level yet.

If the number of clinical trial quotas is increased again, how will the funds be raised? If you don’t use the VIP channel but insist on using some low-price channel, Galaxy Pharmaceuticals will suffer huge losses if it only charges tens of thousands of dollars.

Therefore, Galaxy Pharmaceuticals naturally remained unmoved.

At this time, a large number of patients changed their minds and hoped that Galaxy Pharmaceuticals would complete the second and third phase clinical trials as soon as possible and then start marketing the product.

However, Galaxy Pharmaceuticals has no final say on such matters; the final say lies with drug management agencies in various countries, such as the US FDA.

At this time, the U.S. FDA was also very concerned about the drug Xiluo Keda and was also under considerable pressure.

Many patients and their families hope that they can complete the various reviews of Xiluokeda as soon as possible, and then enter the next stage, such as conducting the second and third phase clinical trials, and quickly complete the testing and market launch.

The family of one of the patients wrote a letter that moved them: "Every day, hundreds or even thousands of people are dying in agony!"

"Everyone, including me, is eager to get this new drug!"

"I have medical insurance. As long as Xiluokeda is certified by the FDA, it will be included in the reimbursement scope. Then I can take this medicine and I can survive!"

An FDA official looked at the letter and said with emotion: "It's unfortunate and touching, but..."

"Rules are rules. Xiluokeda must strictly follow the procedures and complete the third phase of clinical trials before it can be approved!"

"We must ensure the safety of this drug, rather than rushing to certify it based on the results of the first phase of clinical trials. We don't even know the dosage or drug conflicts, so who will take responsibility if problems arise?"

"you?"

"still me?"

The same thing actually happened in related institutions in several other countries.

Finally, as the parent company of Galaxy Pharmaceuticals, the relevant Chinese institutions reviewed in detail all the case information and data of the Phase I clinical trials after communicating with Galaxy Pharmaceuticals.

Finally, a decision was made: to grant a "temporary emergency sales authorization" to the drug Xiluokeda, but the scope of use of the drug was strictly limited. The drug can only be used in patients with critically ill and known 16 cancer indications.

Compared with the potential risks of drugs, saving lives is more important!
At the same time, the medical insurance management staff also started formal negotiations with Galaxy Pharmaceuticals... Both parties want to include this drug in the medical insurance, but there are huge differences on the price!

Galaxy Pharmaceuticals initially offered a price of 150,000 for a course of treatment, which is 30 days of medicine... and they said that this was already a bargain price, and that any time they went abroad, they would have to pay more than 400,000!
Galaxy Pharmaceuticals is not only testing in China, but is also conducting clinical trials in eight countries around the world. Prior to this, it had actually conducted some negotiations with medical insurance agencies in various countries, and the basic asking price was more than 400,000 yuan.

The VIP service previously launched for high net worth users is more expensive when converted into money.

However, the medical insurance department countered with a price of 15,000... This price silenced everyone at Galaxy Pharmaceuticals.

The price difference between the two parties was too big, so the negotiations failed.

Galaxy Pharmaceuticals wants to recover the sky-high R&D costs, and also needs to maintain the operating system and keep more R&D projects running. Therefore, the price cannot be cheap. A discount is fine, but it cannot be the floor price...

However, medical insurance must limit the amount of expenditure and cannot let this sky-high-priced drug break through the insurance... Once Xiluo Keda enters the medical insurance, its wide range of indications will lead to very large sales volumes. If the price is too high, it will cause a large amount of medical insurance funds to be occupied, which will lead to a funding gap.

This is the contradiction between the two parties. Each party has its own reasons, which ultimately leads to a huge price difference...

This is also the main reason why many original drugs and new drugs cannot be included in medical insurance. It is not that they are bad, but that they are too expensive and cannot be covered by medical insurance.

After all, basic medical insurance is used to ensure the lower limit of basic medical care on a large scale and to ensure the basic medical care level of the vast majority of people.

Rather than raising the medical ceiling.

This concept still needs to be clarified.

If you want to raise the medical ceiling, buy commercial medical insurance yourself!
Therefore, although the anti-cancer drug Xiluokeda has obtained emergency approval in China and can be marketed and sold on a limited basis, it is still an external medicine covered by medical insurance.

The price is clearly marked: 150,000 for one course of treatment!

This medicine has a course of treatment of one month, and you only need to take one pill a day.

This means that one pill costs five thousand yuan!
A serious, sky-high-priced medicine!

But... don't underestimate it because it's expensive. It's very effective. After taking the medicine for one month, the condition will improve greatly. If you take it for three consecutive months, basically all patients with early and mid-stage cancer can recover and be discharged from the hospital. They don't need to take medicine anymore and only need to have regular checkups.

This may seem expensive, but it is actually a short-term expense, a bit like the cost of surgery. It is expensive, but you can get through it. In fact, an ordinary middle-class family can grit their teeth and support it.

Unlike some medicines that require long-term medication, which cost tens of thousands of yuan a month, but have to be taken for a lifetime, an ordinary middle-class family simply cannot afford it.

Of course, even so, many people still can't afford it...

After learning about this situation, Xu Shenxue asked a few questions and also inquired about the manufacturing cost of the drug, including R&D costs, subsequent operating costs, and R&D costs of other subsequent projects.

Then Xu Shenxue said, "Let's lower the price a little bit more. This way more people will buy it. Although the profit per patient will be less, the total profit can be guaranteed!"

"Besides, the patent period for our drug is still very long. Unlike other newly developed drugs, which only have a few years left on their patents, we want to recover our costs and make a fortune in the shortest possible time!"

"Calculate the costs carefully and ensure your own interests, especially to ensure the subsequent research and development funds, and lower the price as much as possible!"

Xu Shenxue personally asked his company to lower prices. Although the management of Galaxy Pharmaceuticals was helpless, they had no choice but to do it. Then they made various calculations and finally took into account that overseas prices were higher, revenue and profits were also higher, so they could subsidize part of the domestic market at that time.

Finally, a new round of negotiations was held with the medical insurance department!

And a lot of people are paying attention to this negotiation!

Especially the large number of cancer patients and their families!

Whether Xiluokeda can be included in the medical insurance and how much it costs is related to the interests and even lives of many people!

(End of this chapter)