New breakthrough of artemisinin and penicillin "stand by the side"

The discovery of artemisinin is another milestone in the history of the development of global antimalarial medicines following the succession of quinine, known as the “Chinese god drug”. Recently, another good news came from Shanghai: The scientific research team led by Professor Zhang Wanbin of Jiaotong University, for the first time in seven years, realized the effective artificial synthesis of artemisinin, an antimalarial drug, for the first time, enabling artemisinin to achieve large-scale industrial production.

The value of this scientific research is that it can make artemisinin more readily available and cheaper. Because on a global scale, only Artemisia annua grown in parts of China has the value of industrial extraction. Due to the low content of artemisinin in natural plants, the drug price is expensive. A ton of Artemisia annua can extract 6 to 8 kilograms of artemisinin, which amounts to 4000 to 6,000 yuan per kilogram of artemisinin, and is called "astronomy drug" and "noble drug." Well now, Zhang Wanbin's team used a specific catalyst to convert dihydroartemisinin obtained after the reduction of artemisinic acid into artemisinin in a high yield of nearly 60%. This achievement is expected to solve the major problem of high-efficient artificial synthesis of artemisinin that has plagued the pharmaceutical industry for more than 30 years. Two or three years later, it is hoped that nearly a million people will be rescued from the death line each year.

From discovery, extraction to synthesis, and mass production of artemisinin, Chinese scientists have made unremitting efforts for 40 years. The indispensable part of the Zhang Wanbin team's work is to turn the results obtained in the laboratory into large-scale industrial production. This is a big leap forward.

Artemisinin will be put into production, so I thought of penicillin. The difference between penicillin and artemisinin is different, but the efficacy is different. However, similarities are found in the discovery and promotion of the application process. However, the current situation of penicillin is thought-provoking.

Penicillin is also known as penicillin. In the summer of 1928, British bacteriologist Fleming discovered it in a Staphylococcus aureus culture dish. After 11 years, pathologist Florie and biologist Chin extracted penicillin crystals by freeze-drying. Mass production in 1942. The advent of penicillin saved the lives of millions of pneumonia, meningitis, abscesses and sepsis patients. However, penicillin was extremely expensive at the time. Before liberation, one penicillin value would use 1 gold. After the liberation, Shanghai established the Penicillin Laboratory, May 1, 1953. In the 1,500-gallon fermenter at Shanghai No. 3 Pharmaceutical Factory, the first batch of home-grown penicillin developed by China was launched. Since then, penicillin has become a kind of cheap and good antibiotics, and it has entered all major small and medium-sized hospitals across the country.

Penicillin has been affectionately referred to as "a needle spirit." Even though penicillin may cause allergic reactions to skin tests, its medicinal value is universally recognized. In many European and American hospitals, penicillin is still the most authoritative and effective antibiotic and is used normally. However, in many of China's top three hospitals, penicillin has been "eliminated out," and it is difficult to see the name of penicillin in the doctor's prescription. It is also wiped out on the hospital's drug bill of purchase. The main reason why penicillin was put into cold weather is that its price is too low. Its market price is 0.81 yuan and the ex-factory price is only 0.6 to 0.7 yuan. But its brothers - the value of similar antibiotics, but dozens or even a hundred times higher than the penicillin, such as a ceftazidime to sell 18 yuan -78 yuan. Some deans and directors told penicillin that the hospital is not a charity and the pharmaceutical factory is not the government's relief department. You cannot earn money on your body and you have to stand by.

Artemisinin is expected to be put into mass production, and it will become a commonly used drug from “Avalanche”, which is undoubtedly the gospel of malaria patients. However, the current experience of penicillin is worth the attention of artemisinin developers. Penicillin has become a "civilian drug" from "noble medicines," but civilians cannot use it. Treating penicillin with such a snobbery, I'm sorry Fleming and Flory, Channe, I'm also sorry that the producers of Shanghai No. 3 Pharmaceutical Factory. Since penicillin was invented and popularized, it took scientists more than 80 years to turn apothecary drugs into cheap drugs. With the improvement of pharmaceutical processes, penicillin's allergy problems can be solved. Now, in order to make more money, certain hospitals and pharmaceutical companies have abandoned the use of penicillin as the “first weapon for humans to treat bacterial infections.” This is a great pity.

So, is there a way to allow penicillin to serve thousands of patients again? some. If many public hospitals can get out of the "drugs for medicine" crisis, doctors do not seek the most expensive prescriptions, and seeking the most effective, for the sake of the patient, penicillin may be able to come back upright.