Chapter 707


    Soon after, the elderly Mr. Tu had arrived, and the duo waited. After a while, Daphne who had


    gotten off work, also hurried over.


    Daphne seemed wan, her whole demeanour carrying an air of exhaustion.


    Daphne greeted them, "Hello, Dr. Chen, Mr. Tu, you''ve arrived."


    Fade pulled out a seat and said, "Dr. Tao, there''s no need to be courteous. Let''s talk while we eat."


    Daphne nodded and took her seat.


    Fade didn''t beat around the bush. He cut straight to the chase and said, "Dr. Tao, I just came back


    yesterday. Early this morning, I found out that Fei Enterprises Holdings Inc''s Life Elixir Wine was so


    well received that there were incidents of customers snapping up bottles of wine."


    "Upon investigation, I found out that the main reason was the sudden increase in the medical fees


    of the hospitals."


    "I heard that a treatment for a mere cold costs one or two thousand yuan now."


    "Dr. Tao, what''s going on here? Why would the hospital''s fees increase by so much?" Fade couldn''t


    help but ask.


    Daphne sighed and said helplessly, "I know what''s going on, but to tell you the truth, the hospital is


    forced to raise their medical fees."


    "Why so?" Fade asked.


    Daphne said, "Dr. Chen, Mr. Tu, both of you are doctors. You should know that there is amonly


    used drug known as the betctam antibiotic that is circting in the hospitals."


    "Yes, I''m well aware." Mr. Tu nodded and said, "Betactam antibiotic is a basic medicine, which is


    common in various anti- inmmatory drugs and cold medicines."


    Daphne nodded and said, "The rapid increase in the medical expenses is caused by the betctam


    antibiotic."


    "How?" Fade was still puzzled.


    Daphne exined, "Betactam antibiotic is better known as Alstom Antibiotic abroad. It was


    Alstom, a scientist from Micovia who developed this antibiotic."


    "When the Alstom Antibiotic was sessfully developed, the magnate of the pharmaceutical


    industry, the Bald Eagle Pharma of Micovia, purchased the patent right. Over ten years ago, the


    Bald Eagle Pharma gave authorization to various pharmaceuticalpanies all over the world to


    produce the antibiotics at a low price solely on the basis to promote the poprization of the Alstom


    Antibiotic."


    "Over the decades, there have been thousands of pharmaceuticalpanies all over the world


    producing this Alstom Antibiotic, which has promoted the use of these antibiotics throughout the


    world."


    Upon this, Fade vaguely had an ominous feeling.


    As expected, Daphne went on, "Just three months ago, the authorization rights of the Bald Eagle


    expired. Bald Eagle requested all the pharmaceutical factories to purchase the exclusive patent


    right of the antibiotics in order for them to continue to produce the antibiotics."


    "And now, Bald Eagle Pharma has increased the exclusive usage rights by a hundredfold, pushing


    the figure up to a terrifying 50 million dors. There are only a handful of pharmaceutical factories in


    our country that is able to afford such an extravagant price."


    "Thus, as the patent has expired, many pharmaceutical factories in the country were forced to halt


    the production of the Alstom Antibiotic. As a result, the supply was greatly reduced but the demand


    remains high. This led to an rming shortage of antibiotics. They could only rely on their remaining


    stock or resolve to importing the said drugs imported from other countries to treat diseases."


    "In doing so, the cost will be much higher, and the medical expense will also rise followingly,"


    Daphne said.


    When he heard this, Fade''s face darkened and he fell silent.


    He understood the feeling of having your life within the control of one''s palm, it was not a delighted


    one. That was rted to why you need to have your own intellectual property rights in a lot of the


    matters of your country. In doing so, you can prevent this kind of rogue behavior with regard to


    patents.


    However, as things have already happened, they must now find a way to solve this problem.


    A question popped into Fade''s mind, "For such a major issue, do you know if the relevant


    departments would issue any countermeasures?"


    Daphne said, "Before the end of the expiry of the patent, the relevant departments have made


    corresponding preparations. They sent people to negotiate with Bald Eagle Pharma, hoping that


    Bald Eagle could reduce the cost of the patent for mass production. On the other hand, the relevant


    departments have also gathered scientific experts to invent new drugs." "It''s just that, as all of you


    are also aware, drug research is an extremely time- consuming process. Moreover, even if we


    manage to invent a new drug, we are still required to conduct all sorts of tests. All these processes


    take up a lot of time. In the short term, we can hardly rely on our domestic drugs to rece the


    Alstom Antibiotic."


    Fade nodded. He was also a doctor, so he knew how difficult and lengthy it was to invent new


    medication.


    Daphne went on, "Although the cost of Bald Eagle Pharma''s exclusive rights greatly shook us, it


    shouldn''t have caused such a dire situation for Dragonville. The reason is attributed to Maritime


    Ocean Pharma."


    "Maritime Ocean Pharma? " Fade asked, there was a puzzled look on his face.


    Daphne said, "Maritime Ocean Pharma is arge pharmaceuticalpany in Jade City. Because of


    its location, it shares a close rtionship with foreign countries, so it has always relied on importing


    drugs from other countries into the country as a means of churning revenue."


    "Maritime Ocean Pharma is the one in charge of the drug importation into Dragonville since the


    expiry of Alstom Antibiotics'' patent.


    Somehow Maritime is intentionally targeting us."


    Fade frowned and said, "Targeting us? Why do you say so?"


    Daphne exined, "Even if Bald Eagle Pharma shoots up the right to mass production, it shouldn''t


    put us in a frenzy. This medicine has a wide range of use and many countries and pharmaceutical


    companies have great power. If Bald Eagle Pharma pushes them too hard when they no longer


    want to cooperate, Bald Eagle Pharma will be at a tight position."


    "The initial price that Bald Eagle Pharma proposed is rather costly, but it''s still within an eptable


    range. It should not rise to such a level that we cannot afford."


    "However, Maritime Ocean Pharma, who is in charge of the import of medicine into Dragonville, has


    tripled the price. This leads to a rise in the price of the Alstom Antibiotic in Dragonville. As a direct


    result, medical fees have also increased exponentially."


    When Fade heard this, his expression tensed. His eyes burned with rage. He said, "Is Maritime


    Ocean Pharma not afraid that the relevant department and the Bald Eagle Pharma will investigate


    them?"


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    Daphne shook her head helplessly and said, "Thispany is originally apany in Jade City. It


    does not fear the domestic investigation from the local departments at all. As for Bald Eagle


    Pharma, the only thing that they are doing right now is turning a blind eye to this matter, feigning


    ignorance."


    "I guess they want to use the current situation of Dragonville as an example to warn everyone else.


    If they don''t buy the right from them soon enough, they might be the subsequent situation like


    Dragonville."


    Mr. Tu was furious. He mmed his palm on the table and said angrily, "These foreigners had gone


    too far. Those people from Maritime Ocean Pharma as well. As fellow citizens, how can they do this


    to their own people?"


    Daphne could only shake her head, sighing dejectedly.


    Fade''s face darkened, his expression was gloomy.