Professor Hao Wenhua dreamed when he was a child that he would one day build bridges and roads for the benefit of his great-grandfather. Although his father's wish did not come true when he grew up, his desire to do something good for the public did not diminish when he became a doctor.
Hao Wen graduated from Shenyang China Medical University in 1950 and became a thoracic surgeon. Whenever he saw patients suffering from the pain of surgery at work, he felt compassion and dreamed of one day developing a drug that would save some chronically ill people without the need for surgery.
One day in 1965, he admitted a patient who, judging by his condition, was expected to survive no more than a month, but shockingly, the patient came back alive two months later and appeared to be very energetic. According to the patient said he had been drinking by a snake salesman called Fan Dafu prepared "snake soup". So Hao Wen immediately visited Dr. Fan, trying to learn more about the situation. The revelation was that certain ingredients in snakes might have something to do with the treatment of certain diseases. Since then, Prof. Hao has been obsessed with the study of snakes for decades, indefatigable and persevering.
Toxicity as medicine
Despite the toxicity of snake venom, the venom of venomous snakes has long been regarded by traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioners as an effective compound for treating certain difficult and complex diseases. The rationale for this is "fighting poison with poison". People may have heard that bleeding after being bitten by a poisonous snake is often one of the causes of death. This means that the venomous snake liquid must contain some kind of substance that prevents the blood from coagulating or dissolves blood clots. In reality, this is true.
According to a 1963 report on 10 Malaysian patients bitten by venomous snakes, the patients bled profusely because the blood did not coagulate due to thrombinoid, causing bleeding. This, on the other hand, suggests that it may have some beneficial effects, such as dissolving blood clots. This discovery led Hao to develop the idea of whether snake venom could be used to prevent and treat vascular embolism.
The use of snake venom for medical purposes goes back as far as ancient China-Li Shizhen (1518-1593), a renowned medicine man of the Ming Dynasty, wrote in the Compendium of Materia Medica (本草纲目), considered the bible of traditional Chinese pharmacology: "Pit vipers can relieve hemiplegia." According to traditional Chinese medicine, snakes are full of treasures.
Experts are discussing scientific research design, production and application programs To date, about 2,200 species of snakes have been found in the world, of which 600 are venomous. In China, there are 160 species, of which 10 are venomous snakes. The pit viper is a very poisonous species, which is distributed all over China except Tibet, Guangdong and Guangxi.
Cerebrovascular disease has always been a serious danger to middle-aged and elderly people. There are so many cardiovascular diseases and such a rich source of snakes in China. Therefore, how to understand the correlation between them, extract what is beneficial and remove what is harmful, and strive to fight poison with poison to bring out the curative effect becomes the crux of the matter. For this reason, Prof. Hao has devoted himself to the study of snakes and snake venom as well as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases since the 1950s. He went to the Snake Island to observe the habits of snakes, collected snake venom, participated in various basic researches, and even risked his life to try the drugs. He discovered that snake venom contains a variety of deadly toxins, including a neurotoxin that attacks the central nervous system, causing paralysis and death by asphyxiation, and a blood toxin that can cause internal hemorrhage and circulatory failure, often leading to death. In addition, the venom contains a cardiac toxin that causes heart palpitations and a muscular toxin that causes rigidity in muscle movement. However, snake venom also contains non-toxic or low-toxicity enzymes and proteins. The most important is an enzyme that has the property of dissolving blood clots in blood vessels.
Striving for excellence and continuous improvement
Extracting this enzyme is relatively complex and requires certain equipment and technology. After multidisciplinary **** collaboration and efforts, Hao Wen finally succeeded in extracting the enzyme from the venom of Snake Island Pit Vipers, which was named Snake Island Pit Viper Antithrombotic Engy (Svate-1, Snake). Venom Antittrombotic Engyme-1). After various animal experiments, it basically met the requirements and was used in cerebral thrombosis treatment with obvious thrombolytic properties. However, he was not satisfied with this, and was still working hard to develop the second generation product, Svate-2, which passed the national appraisal in 1985. In order to increase the equipment and enrich the research conditions, he transferred the exclusive production rights to Shenyang First Pharmaceutical Factory at a selling price of 6 million yuan. However, Savte-2 has not completely removed neurotoxicity and blood toxicity from snake venom. Clinical observations have proven that it can still cause toxic reactions such as diplopia and hemorrhage when treated in high doses.
It is well known that all drugs have appropriate dosage standards. If the dosage is too low, the drug does not work; if it is too high, it can cause serious side effects.
To determine the optimal dosage, Hao injected himself with snake venom five times to see for himself how his body reacted to the compound. On two occasions he became very ill. His work often took him out of the lab and out of his house to hunt for snakes in the fields. He traveled to Dalian Snake Island in the Bohai Sea more than 100 times as part of a survey team. He recalls: "Initially, I stayed on the island for six months, patiently observing the animal for hours in order to learn about its nocturnal habits and characteristics. I have continued this research for eight years."
In 1985, Hao Wen invested 3 million yuan to create a specialized hospital, the Dalian Geriatrics Prevention and Research Center. Located on the waterfront, the hospital has 50 beds and serves as his clinical and research base. Later, Hao developed his third-generation snake venom injection (Svate-3), which took him five years to develop, and in October 1991, Svate-3 passed the appraisal of the Ministry of Health.
Professor Chen Yuancong of the Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, was instrumental in developing Svate-3. As a result of close cooperation, they finally developed the technology to isolate neurotoxins and blood poisons from snake venom.
The Yangzi River basin is a major habitat for pit vipers. Jiangxi, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces export pit vipers to Japan every year, where it is popular to drink snake wine, which is believed to increase overall physical strength.
Snake venom collected from these provinces, called pit viper venom, is the source of Hao's medicine. Hao literature uses snake venom as an ingredient in Svate-3, which is isolated through a complex process.
Intravenous drips and rest have long been used in the comprehensive treatment of patients with cerebral thrombosis. Since 1989, Hao Wen has applied internationally advanced digital subtraction angiography (DSA) to the clinic and collaborated with Jinzhou Central Hospital.
Expanding the business from within
Hao realized the need to commercialize his research so that he could use the profits to invest in further research funds for the medical application of snake venom.
In 1990, he invested 6 million yuan in order to establish a joint venture with a Hong Kong company, Dalian Svate Pharmaceuticals. Later he created Hao's Snake Venom Development Group Inc. Both the company and the group produce Svate brand snake venom products, such as Svate-3, NGF (Nerve Growth Factor) and so on. The brand name Svate is an acronym for Snake Venom Antithrombotic Engyme.
As an academic and entrepreneur, Hao aims to produce first-class products and enter the international market, especially in Southeast Asia, Europe and the United States.
Hao's factory, located on the outskirts of Dalian, produces 12 million units of Svate-3 a year, with a value of 20 million yuan. Under his leadership, a nationwide network of snake venom research, production and application has been formed.
Some news of the application of snake venom drug treatment has brought some patients from Japan, Indonesia, Korea, the Philippines, Hong Kong and Taiwan to Dalian to see Prof. Hao Wen. Many of them have recovered to different degrees after being treated with Svate products.
Zhou Deming and his son came to Dalian from Taiwan in the spring of 1991. The father suffers from heart disease and often feels numbness in his hands, and the son suffers from congenital microcephaly and diabetes. the 50-year-old father said, "We were introduced to Dalian, and we all have confidence in Hao Wen's snake venom medicine." A Korean patient wrote to Hao Wen saying that Svate-3 gave him the strength to go on with his life.
According to Gu Binxiang, an associate professor at the Geriatrics Prevention and Research Center, overseas patients should contact the center before coming to China so they can arrange a treatment plan. Doctors and nurses at the center speak some English, so there will be no problem with day-to-day conversations about treatment.
Hao Wen travels around the country to give presentations and teach treatment knowledge and techniques. He has spoken in 16 countries and regions.
Currently, Hao is developing a purer snake venom injection, as well as other medicines. He said, "I want the world to know that Chinese medical practitioners are able to develop effective drugs to replace certain surgeries."
YinHui, a director of the Svate-3 pharmaceutical plant, praised Hao Wen, saying, "Prof. Hao never knows weekends or holidays, he's a total workaholic."
Hao himself said, "If my hard work can bring happiness to more families, then it's worth making some personal sacrifices. I'm getting older, so I have to seize the time to double my efforts and make more dedication." Prof. Hao Wenwen strives for technical excellence, is enterprising in his career, and has a solid theoretical foundation and good scientific research ability. He has served as a lecturer, associate professor and professor of surgery at the Second Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University. Now he is the director and professor of the Research Center for Prevention and Control of Geriatric Diseases of China Medical University, the director of Thrombosis Hospital, the director of Spinal Cord Injury Research Institute, the chairman of the board of directors of Dalian Hao's Snake Venom Development Enterprises Group, the chairman of the board of directors of Svetlite Pharmaceutical Co. He is also a member of the International Society for Fibrinolysis and Thrombosis, a member of the International Society of Toxicology, the Honorary President of the Chinese Medical Association of the United States, the Editor-in-Chief of the Chinese Medical Journal of the United States, the Associate Director of the Famous People's Biographies of the United States and the British Famous People's Biographical Association and the Director of the Chinese Association for the Prevention and Control of AIDS, and was awarded the certificate of the world's most famous doctor in 1997.
Since 1965, he has devoted himself to the study of snake venom for more than 30 years.
Since 1965, he has been devoted to the research of snake venom for more than 30 years, he has caught snakes and collected venom, purified and refined the venom, experimented with his own body, regardless of personal safety and danger, and finally developed a series of snake venom products. 1992, the scientific and technological achievements of the Ministry of Health appraisal that: the research topic is clear, the design is reasonable, the research method is advanced, the data is reliable, the results are credible; through the treatment of many patients, have achieved a better therapeutic effect. Therefore, Hao Wen was awarded the title of Expert with Outstanding Contributions in Liaoning Province in 1985, the Gold Cup Award and Honorary Award of the International Association for Geriatrics Research in 1990, the title of Expert with Outstanding Contributions of the State Council of the People's Republic of China and Special Allowance in 1991, the title of Shenyang Model Worker in 1993, and the title of Advanced Individual of the Production Enterprises of the Ministry of Health in 1997, and other honors. In 1992, his Svate-3 was designated by the Ministry of Health as a project under the "Ten-Year Hundred Achievements Promotion Program". He has published more than 10 papers internationally and more than 90 papers domestically, and has authored books such as Clinical Application of Chinese Viper Venom, Thrombosis and Antithrombotic Enzymes, and Thrombophilia---Basic Theory and Clinical Practice, etc. He is also the editor-in-chief of Quarterly American Journal of Chinese Medicine, etc. He is also the chief editor of the American Journal of Chinese Medicine.
Seizing the Opportunity to Go Higher
The 21st century is an era full of challenges and opportunities, with scientific endeavors advancing by leaps and bounds and the life sciences surging ahead, so the opportunity is not to be lost, and the time will never come again. Must catch up, seize the opportunity, in climbing the peak of science and technology, sparing no effort. Although Hao Wen has reached the age of old, but the ambition has not been reduced, as the so-called "martyrs in their twilight years, the strong heart has not been", he wants to dedicate the rest of his life to the cause of medicine. To this end, Hao Wen will further invest in the research and development of snake venom nerve growth factor (NGF), accelerate the snake venom antithrombotic enzyme and NGF genetic engineering research and development for the national "ten years of one hundred programs" popularization and application, and do a good job in the promotion of scientific and technological achievements of the treatment of trisomy 21, in order to adapt to the development of the new economic situation, and keep pace with the times. The pace of the times. Hao Wenwen said welcome to cooperate with people with knowledge at home and abroad, so that the cause of benefiting mankind a hundred feet, one step further!