After being fired, I became the light of medicine

Chapter 153 Male Contraceptive Pills - sAC Inhibitors (Subscription Request)
In the past two or three years, Tsingshan Pharmaceutical has invested more than 20 billion yuan in research and development of various drugs.

Since last year, we have gradually achieved certain results. More than a dozen organic compounds for the treatment of various diseases have been approved, and more in-depth research and development from organic compounds to drugs has been carried out.

Of course, this does not mean that all of these projects will eventually be successfully listed.

Some compounds may be PASSED during the animal testing stage.

Even after passing the initial processes such as animal experiments and ethics, the vast majority of remaining drugs will be stuck in Phase II and Phase III clinical trials for various reasons, and will eventually have to be stagnant or even abandoned.

It can be said that in the field of innovative drug research and development, high elimination rate and low pass rate are the norm.

The reason why Qingshan Pharmaceutical was able to bring various drugs to market so quickly before was because all of the drugs came from the complete simulator products provided by Zhang Yang.

Once Tsingshan Pharmaceutical develops a new drug completely independently, this high elimination rate will inevitably occur.

Even so, Zhang Yang did not expect that the first drug to break through the siege and potentially become the first independently developed drug in the history of Qingshan Pharmaceutical would actually be a male contraceptive.

"Should I be happy or not?"

Zhang Yang felt emotional, but soon felt relieved.

At present, modern human contraceptive methods are very mature. For example, women can use methods such as implanted "contraceptive rings" and oral contraceptives to prevent pregnancy.

Men can also achieve contraception by wearing condoms or even having a vasectomy.

This has led to a trend in the world where not many pharmaceutical companies with R&D capabilities are eager to invest in the research and development of male contraceptives.

Take the male contraceptive pill reported by Wei Tian for example. He remembered that when the active ingredient was first discovered, the drug's effectiveness seemed to be only 25%.

If Qingshan Pharmaceutical had not had many R&D projects at the beginning, and if he had continued to push forward with the attitude of "since we are here, let's give it a try", this drug might have been swept into the trash heap and there would have been no subsequent discoveries.

so,

It is expected that Tsingshan Pharmaceutical can achieve certain results in this market which is not given much attention.

"Well, since it is God's will, the project team will do well again!"

"As the first drug developed entirely by Qingshan Pharmaceutical, I should pay attention to it and not dampen everyone's enthusiasm for research and development!"

Zhang Yang thought to himself, then adjusted his sitting position and looked at Wei Tian, ​​solemnly affirming:

"Wei Tian, ​​you guys did a great job, very good! All the people involved in the research and development will be rewarded in full according to the relevant regulations. The company can see everyone's efforts!"

"Okay, can you tell me more about the drug mechanism of this male contraceptive pill? How does it achieve male contraception?"

"Also, what about toxic side effects and reversibility?"

"it is good!"

Wei Tian was also quite excited by Zhang Yang's emotions. He looked at Fang Hanliang on the side, then looked at Zhang Yang and said:

"To talk about this male contraceptive pill, we have to first briefly talk about the female contraceptive pill."

"We all know that the current female contraceptives are mainly short-acting contraceptives and emergency contraceptives. The previous long-acting contraceptives were almost withdrawn from the market because the drugs remained in the body for a long time and had too many side effects."

“The principles of short-acting contraceptive pills and emergency contraceptive pills are the same, both contain a certain amount of progestin;
Women take progesterone to inhibit the development of follicles, thereby inhibiting ovulation in the ovaries. If the ovaries do not ovulate, they will naturally not get pregnant. "

"Emergency contraceptive pills, such as Yuting, contain eight times as much progesterone as short-acting contraceptive pills. They increase the progesterone level in women's bodies in a short period of time and in large doses, thus achieving the purpose of emergency contraception."

"Of course, this method has great side effects. A large increase in the amount of progesterone in women's bodies in a short period of time can easily cause irregular menstruation, headaches, nausea and other problems. In addition, the chance of contraception is about 74%-85%."

Zhang Yang nodded. Progesterone is actually one of the types of hormones in women's bodies.

After increasing the progesterone level in a woman's body, the human body will think that the woman is pregnant, so it will no longer cultivate follicles and will not release eggs.

However, if a woman no longer ovulates, it means that her body no longer secretes estrogen and she no longer has menstruation, which is obviously abnormal.

Therefore, any female contraceptive pill contains not only progestin, but also a small amount of estrogen, which is essential for women.

Wei Tian continued:

"The male birth control pill works in much the same way."

"There are two main methods in the medical community. One is based on the same principle as female contraceptives, which involves taking hormone drugs to reduce the secretion of gonadotropin by the pituitary gland in men, thereby inhibiting the number of sperm produced by men, achieving the goal of few or no sperm and unable to conceive."

"But this method has serious problems. Changing the testosterone in men's bodies is likely to cause a decrease in male sexual desire, a decrease in beards, and even breast tissue hyperplasia, leading to enlarged breasts!"

"Of course, many pharmaceutical companies are trying their best to improve these side effects."

"The other method is also the one currently used in our male contraceptive pill."

"Instead of changing the testosterone in the male body, we are targeting the semen that is already being produced."

Wei Tian paused here.

Zhang Yang listened carefully and nodded slightly. Fang Hanliang, who was standing beside him, also became more and more interested. He picked up the information that Zhang Yang had just put down on the table and started to check it carefully while listening.

Seeing this, Wei Tian continued:

"As we all know, male sperm is further matured and stored in the epididymis, which also secretes some substances to provide nutrition and protection for sperm."

"We found that the active ingredient in this male contraceptive pill has a good inhibitory effect on the protective substances secreted by the epididymis, which will lead to a significant decrease in sperm quality..."

"Of course, the drug was not very effective at first, with only about 26% complete effectiveness. But later, after we focused our efforts on research and development, we gradually found one of the most important protective substances in epididymal secretions."

"This substance is essential for sperm to maintain vitality and maturation, and we named it soluble adenylate cyclase, or sAC for short."

"Later, we conducted in-depth research on sAC cyclase and used the active ingredients we discovered previously to make improvements. Finally, we developed a sAC inhibitor that mainly targets sAC cyclase!"

"The full chemical name is 'soluble adenylate cyclase sAC inhibitor'. This inhibitor perfectly inhibits the activation substance sAC provided to sperm in the epididymis, causing all sperm stored there to lose their activity and stop swimming."

"If they can't even swim, then naturally they can't break through the egg cell wall and form a fertilized egg."

"And this is also the core mechanism of this sAC inhibitor drug!"

Zhang Yang nodded repeatedly after hearing this.

Not only him, but Fang Hanliang who was sitting next to him also nodded frequently.

After a moment, before Zhang Yang could speak, Fang Hanliang spoke up:

"Director Wei, what about side effects and reversibility?"

“There are virtually no side effects.”

Wei Tian smiled slightly.

"This is an inhibitor that only targets sAC cyclase. It does not change the hormones in men's bodies, so it will not have any effect on the human endocrine system."

"Based on the data from our Phase I and Phase II clinical trials, there is no evidence of liver toxicity or kidney toxicity. It can be said that this is a drug with almost no side effects."

"It can't even be called a drug. It can only be called an sAC inhibitor."

"As for reversibility... According to clinical data, the inhibitor effect completely fades after two weeks of discontinuation, sAC cyclase returns to normal values, and the patient's sperm activity returns to normal."

"There is no problem with reversibility." Zhang Yang's face was full of smiles.

As a drug developer by profession, he naturally understood the advantages and selling points of this drug.

The three most important and necessary indicators of a contraceptive pill are:
It has good contraceptive effect, high safety (small side effects) and strong reversibility.

This sAC inhibitor clearly meets all the requirements of a contraceptive pill.

He couldn't help but praise again:

"Wei Tian, ​​you guys did a great job!"

"It's exactly as you said. It can be regarded as the world's first truly safe male contraceptive!"

"Next, complete the clinical trials as soon as possible and promote it to the market as soon as possible. If you encounter any problems, please report them directly to me!"

"Okay, boss!"

After saying that, Zhang Yang nodded and picked up all the information about sAC inhibitors that Wei Tian had just handed to him from the desk.

He is ready to take a serious look at the research and development information and has made up his mind to promote this male contraceptive developed by Qingshan Pharmaceutical!

But just as he stood up and prepared to return to the office, Fang Hanliang, who had always been interested in this male contraceptive pill, suddenly said:

"Director Wei, when will the Phase III clinical trial of this contraceptive drug of the First Project Team begin? I might as well participate in your clinical trial."

After he finished speaking, Zhang Yang was stunned for a moment. He was about to stand up, but suddenly he stopped and looked at Fang Hanliang in a daze.

Wei Tian was the same. He was stunned for a few seconds before he suddenly realized:

"Fang Bo, do you need contraception too?"

"Hmm? Isn't this normal? Why do your expressions seem a little strange?"

Zhang Yang subconsciously exchanged a glance with Wei Tian.

To be honest, we were all sitting together discussing male contraceptives just now. After all, we were discussing something with a work mindset, so we didn't feel that awkward.

But now Fang Hanliang's initiative to propose taking and trying male contraceptives did make the two of them feel a little awkward.

In the minds of traditional Chinese men, this topic is as private as asking "Do you wear a condom when you pay your dues?"

Fang Hanliang didn't expect the two to react like this, but he soon realized it.

He shook his head and smiled:
"I have been in Germany for 20 years, so my thinking may be a little different from that in China. No, it should be the culture that is different."

"As you know, my wife is German. There is not a lot of use of 'IUDs' abroad. Most people rely on condoms and oral contraceptives for contraception."

"When we first arrived in Germany, we relied mainly on condoms for contraception."

"But you don't know if you haven't lived abroad for a long time. Condoms abroad are actually much thicker than those in China, and the experience is not good.

Unscrupulous domestic manufacturers make domestic condoms very thin in order to create a gimmick or to provide a better experience. "

"After we had a child, Jenny switched to short-acting oral contraceptives, but she needs to go to the hospital for a physical examination every six months, so..."

"Now there is a contraceptive pill for men, and I know it has no side effects. Why wouldn't I want to try it?"

It turned out to be the case.

Zhang Yang smiled slightly awkwardly. It could be seen that Fang Hanliang was a good husband.

But after a moment, he suddenly realized a serious problem.

Fang Hanliang has lived abroad for more than 20 years and has accepted Western values ​​in his thinking.

But what about traditional Chinese men?

Let me put it more bluntly.

Would you like to take male contraceptive pills?
Zhang Yang was suddenly shocked when he thought of this question. Deep down in his heart, he seemed to have some resistance.

“It’s a cultural difference!”

At this time, Fang Hanliang, an elite who had received domestic education and lived abroad for a long time, also noticed this problem.

Reminder:
"By the way, Mr. Zhang, your reaction just now actually made me think of a question."

"This male contraceptive pill may be more accepted abroad, but in China... I think it will take some time for it to be accepted."

Fang Hanliang's words were already very tactful.

Zhang Yang nodded, and the excitement he had just felt to promote the product was gone.

"Thank you, Fang Bo. I noticed what you said. I will consider this matter carefully."

"Ah That's good!"

……

The joy of Tsingshan Pharmaceutical's self-developed world's first male contraceptive pill was dissipated a lot due to Fang Hanliang's "little episode".

Zhang Yang took the documents back to the office and called his assistant immediately.

The "differences in culture and values" between the two sides in Fang Hanliang's office just now did serve as a reminder to Zhang Yang.

Soon, assistant Xiao Liu came to the desk.

"Xiao Liu, collect some contraceptive data on birth control pills, condoms, etc."

"Pay special attention to the differences between each region and each country in the world. Once you have sorted it out, give it to me by tomorrow afternoon at the latest. The more information the better, and the more detailed the better. Do you understand?"

Assistant Xiao Liu is not married yet, and his face turned a little red when he heard this, but he still nodded quickly.

"I know, Mr. Zhang."

As Xiao Liu turned around, Zhang Yang added:

"Don't be afraid to spend money. Go to all the overseas data websites that offer paid downloads and buy a copy of all the relevant data."

"This is very important!"

"Okay, Mr. Zhang, I'll do it right away!"

Assistant Xiao Liu was very quick, and by noon the next day, a complete set of charts and data on various contraceptive methods around the world, including birth control pills and condoms, was placed on Zhang Yang's desk.

At the same time, Ren Xiaomin also learned that Qingshan Pharmaceutical's Drug Research and Development Center had developed the world's first male contraceptive, and hurried to the office to discuss it with Zhang Yang.

"Brother Ren, you see, the contraceptive methods used abroad are completely different from those used by us East Asians!"

(End of this chapter)