Chapter 171 The Big Funder Comes to the Door
Hearing that Sinopharm Group was going to invest in the mRNA vaccine project, Zhang Wei instantly understood that this was not to welcome the leader, but to welcome the funder!
These days, those who have money are the bosses, and those wealthy central enterprises are naturally the bosses among the bosses!
Tsinghua University’s scientific research funding mainly comes from four parts. The first is state appropriation, which is also the bulk of funding and the most stable source of funding.
The second is social donations, and the third is income from scientific research projects. These two items fluctuate greatly and mainly depend on luck.
If you are lucky enough to find a great alumni, you can donate hundreds or even tens of millions in one go. If you are unlucky, you won't be able to catch someone for several years.
The fourth is corporate funding, which is also an important source of funding.
Tsinghua University is, after all, the highest university in the country. There are many companies in the society who are willing to cooperate with Tsinghua University to improve their own technology, or let Tsinghua University help them develop new products.
Of course this kind of cooperation requires money. For general projects, the company will directly support a R&D fund. For larger projects, the two parties will set up a special cooperation agency. After the results are transformed into economic benefits, Tsingta University It is also necessary to draw a commission from it.
Therefore, Qingda University has always been open to wealthy donors, and the more the better.
Among legal businesses, the profitability of the pharmaceutical industry is certainly first-rate. Sinopharm is obviously the top financier in the country, not to mention that this time Sinopharm is coming to inspect the mRNA vaccine project.
Vaccines have always been hens that lay golden eggs. There are more than one billion people in China, and the demand for various vaccines every year is astronomical. If this cooperation project can be achieved, it will probably become the most profitable project at Tsinghua University in the next ten years.
It’s no wonder that Tsingta University attaches great importance to this. Only one executive director came. On Tsingta University’s side, Principal Gu and the main leaders of the school all came to greet him, which was considered a face-saving gift.
The executive director’s surname is Wang, and he looks quite a bit like a scholar. He also brought three academicians as consultants. Two academicians of the Academy of Sciences and one academician of the Academy of Engineering.
The academician of the Academy of Engineering is Zhang Wei’s descendant, also surnamed Zhang, and he studies chemistry. The other two academicians of the Academy of Sciences, one surnamed Qian and the other surnamed Li, both study pharmacy.
In the conference room, Zhang Wei gave a brief report, and the content was basically what was described in the paper.
Next, the three academician consultants took turns asking some questions. Zhang Wei can answer questions related to experiments, while Meng Heming can answer questions involving more professional biological knowledge.
After a report meeting, Director Wang and three academicians discussed in the room, while the others left temporarily.
In the lounge, Zhang Wei was sitting on the sofa, crossing his legs and drinking tea. He felt that he performed quite well.
However, Meng Heming's expression looked a little serious.
"Director Meng, you look like you are not optimistic!" Zhang Wei asked.
Meng Heming nodded: "Academician Qian and I are acquaintances. I just took the opportunity to go to the bathroom and made some inquiries. The results of this inspection are indeed not optimistic."
< br>"Why? Is there a problem with my scientific research results, or is there a problem with the mRNA vaccine?" Zhang Wei asked immediately.
"Your scientific research results have been published in "Science", so there must be no problem. It seems that Sinopharm still has doubts about the mRNA vaccine. After all, it is a brand-new vaccine. "No one has ever done it before, so it's normal to have doubts." Meng Heming said.
“In research and development, isn’t it just to do what others haven’t done before? If others haven’t done it before, if you don’t dare to do it yourself, then you’re just trying to pick on others!” Zhang Wei said with a look of disdain.
"Having said that, business management is not venture capital after all, and central enterprises like Sinopharm also bear huge social responsibilities and must contribute to the health of the people, so safety must still be ranked first. It’s normal to have a conservative strategy,” Meng Heming explained.
After waiting for more than half an hour, the three academicians finally came up with the results of their discussion, and everyone returned to the conference room.
Director Wang cleared his throat and said: "First of all, please allow me to express my most sincere gratitude to everyone here. I would like to thank Qingda University for its careful organization and thoughtful arrangements, which made this exchange possible. It was so smooth and pleasant. I was deeply impressed by your enthusiasm, friendliness and professionalism..."
After the daily thanks, we finally got to the point.
“After careful consideration and internal discussions, we regretfully decided that we are temporarily unable to cooperate with Tsinghua University on the development of mRNA vaccines. This decision is not due to flaws in the mRNA vaccine project, but mainly because of flaws in the mRNA vaccine project. It is based on comprehensive consideration of the current market environment, company strategy and resource allocation. ”
"Sure enough, the cooperation didn't work out!" Meng Heming sighed, showing a disappointed and expected expression.
Zhang Wei narrowed his eyes slightly. If it were another project, it would be impossible if it didn't work. But when faced with the mRNA vaccine being so conservative, Zhang Wei couldn't bear it.
Zhang Wei, who has experienced masks, certainly knows the significance of the mRNA vaccine. This thing is definitely strategic for the country.
When a major public safety incident strikes, making a vaccine one day early will not only save countless lives, but also allow the country to resume normal production as quickly as possible and allow the people to return to normal. Life. Even if we can't be one step ahead of others with this strategically important resource, we must never give it up. At the very least, we must have what others have!
Thinking of this, Zhang Wei said: "Director Wang, I personally think that you should seriously consider this project. As a new vaccine, the mRNA vaccine can not only bring huge economic benefits, but also bring great benefits to the country." An important strategic asset. As a central enterprise, Sinopharm has the responsibility to accumulate this strategic asset for the country.”
“Teacher Zhang Wei, of course we have considered what you said. But after discussion, three The academicians agreed that compared with traditional inactivated vaccines, mRNA vaccines have no advantages in practicality," Director Wang replied.
"What is the lack of practicality advantage you are referring to? Can you explain it in detail? We can also make subsequent improvements." Zhang Wei then asked.
“We mainly discuss it from four aspects: research and development, production, storage and transportation. Let’s talk about storage and transportation first. To maintain the activity of the mRNA vaccine, a low-temperature cold chain system is required. This is the traditional inactivation method. Vaccines are definitely more advantageous," Director Wang said.
“I admit that inactivated vaccines are easier to store and have lower transportation requirements. However, if a major public safety incident occurs, the vaccine will have to be transported at a faster pace after it is produced, and after it is transported to the destination, it must Put into use immediately, long-term storage is not possible
And as our country develops and the transportation network is increasingly improved, the domestic logistics system will definitely improve. When the mRNA vaccine is developed, the domestic logistics system may be able to withstand the more demanding transportation conditions.
What’s more, during the research and development process, we can also improve the vaccine, improve its adaptability to normal temperatures, and reduce the conditions for vaccine transportation. If it can be transported at minus 18 degrees Celsius, it will be similar to transporting seafood. Ordinary refrigerated trucks can also transport it, and there is no need to establish a special cold chain transportation network. "
After listening to Zhang Wei's words, Director Wang subconsciously looked at the three academicians. The three academicians nodded slightly at the same time, indicating that what Zhang Wei said was indeed reasonable.
"Okay, let's talk about production. For a new vaccine, a new production line must be established, right? We have made an evaluation in this regard. If the mRNA vaccine is successfully developed, it will cost at least RMB 80 million to establish a production line! "Director Wang said.
"80 million yuan? I think you are too conservative. I estimate that if you don’t have 4 to 5 billion, you probably won’t be able to build an mRNA vaccine production line! "Zhang Wei replied with a smile.
"Four to five billion? Teacher Zhang, you really dare to say that! Our national medicine can't even approve 80 million yuan, let alone four to five billion yuan!" Director Wang showed a frightened expression.
Zhang Wei is not exaggerating when he said four to five billion. Historically, Moderna established an mRNA vaccine production base through private equity financing in 2015, and it raised US$450 million at that time.
It is a normal conversion to spend US dollars in the United States and RMB in China. It costs 450 million US dollars to build a factory in the United States and 450 million yuan to build a factory in China.
Zhang Wei continued: "For pharmaceutical companies, how much is four to five billion? You Sinopharm can make money in minutes. And I just said that the mRNA vaccine will become an important strategic resource for the country. , Just for this reason, you should also invest this money! You are a central enterprise. If you don’t guarantee the country’s strategic resources, why should you let private enterprises do it?”
It involves national needs, let alone It's 4 to 5 billion yuan. Even if the whole family goes bankrupt, Sinopharm still has to invest. Director Wang really can't refute Zhang Wei's statement.
"Okay, let's not talk about production investment. Just talking about R&D investment, the mRNA vaccine is much larger than the inactivated vaccine." Director Wang said.
“Let me explain this!” Academician Qian stood up and said: “Everyone knows the principle of mRNA vaccine, so I won’t elaborate on it. I will mainly talk about an mRNA vaccine here. Research and development.
First we need to determine the target antigen of the vaccine, which is the protein we hope to induce the human immune system to produce antibodies.
Then we need to design, synthesize and target the vaccine based on the gene sequence of the target virus. The mRNA sequence corresponding to the viral protein coding region.
Next, the synthesized mRNA sequence needs to be packaged to protect the mRNA sequence from degradation and attack by the immune system. At this time, you need to use the core you developed. Glycoside modification technology
After completing this series of operations, the vaccine will enter the small-scale trial production phase, and then go through clinical trials and make adjustments based on the clinical trial results. Only after a safe and effective finished product is obtained can it enter formal production.
In the whole process, it is very simple to determine the antibody, and it is not difficult to package the synthesized mRNA sequence. With the nucleoside modification technology, it is nothing more than doing a few more experiments.
But mRNA sequence design and synthesis is a very complex and costly step. I can’t say that it’s completely impossible, but the investment is too great and too difficult.
With existing gene editing technology, it is possible to edit a viral mRNA sequence, but it must be specifically edited to target the mRNA sequence corresponding to a certain protein coding region of the virus. Really It's very difficult.
If we are unlucky, it may take several years to edit the mRNA sequence we want! This level alone can stump most R&D personnel!
It is also for this reason that after careful consideration, we believe that with the existing gene editing technology, the conditions for developing an mRNA vaccine are not yet mature! ”
“Existing gene editing technology? ”
Hearing this word, a confident smile appeared on Zhang Wei’s face.
Isn’t it just a lack of advanced gene editing technology! I have it!
< br>(End of this chapter)