Mr. Du arrived soon, and after the two waited for a while, Tao Ling, who was off work, hurried over.

Tao Ling was dusty at this moment, her face was a little sallow, and her face was full of fatigue.

Seeing Chen Fei and Mr. Du, Tao Ling greeted: "Doctor Chen, Mr. Du, you are here."

Chen Fei opened his seat and said, "Doctor Tao, you have to be polite, let's have a meal and chat."

Tao Ling nodded and sat down.

Chen Fei didn't beat around the bush and said straight to the point: "Doctor Tao, I just came back yesterday. Early this morning, I discovered that our autumn group health wine was being snapped up."

"After the investigation, I realized that it was caused by the recent surge in medical expenses in the city."

"I heard that it costs one or two thousand yuan to treat a common cold now when you go to the hospital for treatment."

"Doctor Tao, what's going on? How could the hospital's cost increase so much?" Chen Fei couldn't help asking.

When Tao Ling heard this, she sighed, with a look of helplessness on her face and said, "I know these things, but to be honest with you, the hospital price increase is also helpless."

"How could this happen?" Chen Fei said.

Tao Ling said: "Doctor Chen, Mr. Du, you are all doctors, you should know. There is a common medicine in the hospital now called beta antibiotics."

"Well, I know." Old Du nodded, "This beta antibiotic is a basic medicine and is very common among various anti-inflammatory drugs and cold medicines."

Tao Ling nodded and said, "The reason for the surge in medical expenses is caused by beta antibiotics."

"How could it be?" Chen Fei was still puzzled.

Tao Ling explained: "This beta antibiotic is called Alstom antibiotic abroad. It was developed by a scientist named Alstom in the United States."

"After Alstom antibiotics were developed, the US Bald Eagle Pharmaceutical Company, a giant in the pharmaceutical industry, purchased the patent rights. More than ten years ago, in order to promote the popularization of Alstom antibiotics, Bald Eagle Pharmaceutical Company authorized the use rights of this antibiotic to pharmaceutical companies around the world at a low price."

"In the past decade, thousands of pharmaceutical companies around the world have been producing Alstom antibiotics, promoting the use of this antibiotic to the world."

Hearing this, Chen Fei felt a little bad premonition.

As expected, Tao Ling continued, "and just three months ago, the use period authorized by Bald Eagle Pharmaceutical expired. Bald Eagle asked various pharmaceutical factories to repurchase the patent right to use the antibiotic."

"This time, Bald Eagle Pharmaceutical has increased the patent usage cost by hundreds of times, reaching a terrifying $50 million. There are only a few pharmaceutical manufacturers in China that can afford this high price."

"So, with the expiration of the patent, many domestic pharmaceutical factories had to suspend the production of Alstom antibiotics. This led to a sharp drop in the production of this antibiotic, but the demand did not decrease, which caused a shortage of drugs. They could only rely on previous inventory or imported drugs from abroad to cure diseases."

"And this way, the cost is much higher and the medical expenses have also increased." Tao Ling said.

After hearing this, Chen Fei couldn't help but look gloomy and his expression was silent.

He understood that the feeling of being held by others in his hands was really bad. This is also because many things in the country need to have their own intellectual property rights, in order to prevent such patent hooligans from doing so.

But now things have happened and we have to find a way to solve it.

Chen Fei couldn't help but ask: "Ask such a big thing, are there any countermeasures for the relevant departments?"

Tao Ling said: "The relevant departments made corresponding preparations before the patent expired. On the one hand, they sent people to negotiate with Bald Eagle Pharmaceutical Company, hoping that they would reduce the patent usage fee; on the other hand, they gathered relevant scientific researchers to develop alternative drugs."

"But you also know that drug research is a long process. Moreover, even if it is developed, various testing experiments are still required, all of which are a long process. In the short term, it is almost impossible to rely on domestic drugs to replace Alstom's antibiotics."

Chen Fei nodded. He was also a doctor and naturally knew the difficulties and length of drug development.

Tao Ling continued: "In fact, although the price increase in Bald Eagle Pharmaceuticals has a great impact, it should not have caused such serious consequences in our Longjiang City. The direct reason is also attributed to Jianghuhai Pharmaceutical Company."

"Jianghuhai Pharmaceutical Company? This is--" Chen Fei had a question.

Tao Ling said: "Jianghuhai Pharmaceutical is a large pharmaceutical company in Xiangjiang. Because it is located in Xiangjiang and has close ties with foreign countries, Jianghuhai Pharmaceutical has been relying on agents to import foreign drugs to enter the mainland to make money."

"After the Alstom antibiotic patent expires this time, our agent imports in Longjiang City are under the responsibility of Jianghuhai Pharmaceutical. Jianghuhai Pharmaceutical is also intended to target us this time."

Chen Fei frowned and said, "For us? What's the point?"

Tao Ling explained: "Even if Bald Eagle Pharmaceutical uses patents to increase prices, it will not really force everyone. After all, this drug is widely used, and many countries and pharmaceutical companies have great power. If it is too tight, it will really make a big fuss in the end. Bald Eagle Pharmaceutical itself will lose a lot of business."

"So, the initial price increase, although the price proposed by Bald Eagle Pharmaceuticals is not cheap, it is still within an affordable range. It will not rise to such an unaffordable level now."

"However, Jianghuhai Pharmaceutical, which is responsible for the import of drug agents in Longjiang, tripled the price increase of Bald Eagle Pharmaceuticals. This led to the surge in Alstom antibiotic prices in Longjiang, and the medical expenses also rose."

When Chen Fei heard this, his face became solemn, with anger in his eyes, and said, "Are you not afraid of the relevant departments investigating them or Bald Eagle Pharmaceuticals for investigation?"

Tao Ling shook her head helplessly and said, "Jianghuhai is a Xiangjiang company and is not afraid of department inspections in the mainland. As for Bald Eagle Pharmaceutical, she turned a blind eye to this matter and pretended not to know."

"I guess they themselves want to use the current situation in Longjiang City as an example to threaten and warn everyone. If they do not purchase their patent rights as soon as possible, the hospital's situation may become like this in Longjiang City."

Hearing this, Old Du couldn't help but feel angry, slapped the table with a palm, and said angrily: "These foreigners are too much, and there are those from Jianghuhai Pharmaceuticals. As Chinese people, how can they treat their compatriots like this?"

Tao Ling had no choice but to shake her head and sigh.
Chapter completed!