Even the flowers have been on fire for three years, and they are out of stock recently. Online pharmacies and drug e-commerce platforms have developed into a hard-to-find drug, and some citizens even reported that drug prices have soared by 240%.
Another pharmacy dealer in Shijiazhuang told Zhongxin Jingwei: "A store sells 400,000 boxes a day, and the boxes are empty. They piled them up directly in the store and began to sell them out of the box. The workers did not put them on the shelves, but worked overtime to produce. "
Yiling Pharmaceutical Industrial Park Source: Provided by respondents.
Behind the explosion of Lianhua Qingwen, its manufacturer Yiling Pharmaceutical has also become a star among listed pharmaceutical companies, and investors hope that it will become the next "Moutai in medicine" after Pien Tze Huang. 18 From September 26th to February 9th, the closing price of Yiling Pharmaceutical rose from 18.83 yuan per share to 50.88 yuan, and its share price rose by 170%. In recent trading days, the average daily turnover of Yiling Pharmaceutical exceeded 654.38 billion yuan, beating Maotai and Wuliangye. How did Lotus Qingwen become an explosion? Where is the threshold for expanding production capacity? What kind of enterprise is behind Yiling Pharmaceutical?
"A-share richest academician"
The full name of Yiling Pharmaceutical is Shijiazhuang Yiling Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., which was established in June 1992. The word "Yiling" comes from its founder Wu Yiling. With the soaring share price of Yiling Pharmaceutical, Wu Yiling is also called "the richest academician of A shares".
According to public information and media reports, Wu Yiling was born in Gucheng County, Hebei Province in 1949, and began to consult with his father at the age of 17. 1977 after the resumption of the college entrance examination, Wu Yiling was admitted to Hebei Medical University, and later to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine as a graduate student. After graduation, he was assigned to work in Cardiovascular Department of Hebei Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Wu Yiling Image source: Yiling Pharmaceutical official website
1992, Hebei province set up a high-tech development zone, and Wu Yiling founded the Institute of Medicine of Shijiazhuang Development Zone, the predecessor of Yiling Pharmaceutical.
In 2009, Wu Yiling was elected as an academician of China Academy of Engineering. 20 1 1, Yiling pharmaceutical landed in a shares. "When an enterprise develops to a certain stage, it naturally needs to go public." Wu Yiling once said.
From the perspective of ownership structure, Yiling Pharmaceutical is a typical family business. According to the semi-annual report of 2022, Yiling Pharmaceutical Technology Co., Ltd., which is controlled by Wu Yiling 100%, is the largest shareholder of Yiling Pharmaceutical, with a shareholding ratio of 31.51%; Son Wu Xiangjun holds 20.8 1%, daughter Ray Wu holds 2.34%, and sister Wu Xizhen holds 0.36%. It is not difficult to see that, as people acting in concert, the Wu family firmly holds the control of the company.
There are also several members of the Wu family in the management of Yiling Pharmaceutical. For example, Wu Yiling is the chairman of Yiling Pharmaceutical, Wu Xiangjun is the director and general manager, Ray Wu is the director and secretary of the board, and Chenguang Li, the chief financial officer, is Wu Yiling's nephew.
According to the Hurun China Rich List in 2022, Wu Yiling's family ranked 235th with a wealth of 23 billion yuan, which was128th higher than 202 1. In 20 19, before the outbreak of COVID-19, family fortune, Wu Yiling was 8.5 billion yuan, and the wealth increased14.5 billion yuan in three years.
Data Map Source: Hurun Report official website
Although the public's understanding of Yiling Pharmaceutical may only be due to its continuous blooming, Yiling Pharmaceutical's business is not limited to this single product. According to public information, Yiling Pharmaceutical has three business segments, namely biochemical medicine, health industry and patented Chinese medicine.
The contribution of the first two business segments to the company was not disclosed in detail in the financial report. According to the semi-annual report of 2022, the revenues of other patented products and other categories were 654.38+88 million yuan and 55 1 10,000 yuan respectively, accounting for a small proportion of the total revenue, which were 3.37% and 9.9 1% respectively.
The core of the three sections is the Chinese patent medicine section, covering cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, colds and respiratory diseases, diabetes, nervous system, tumor drugs and other fields.
Before the epidemic in COVID-19, Yiling Pharmaceutical was the best-selling Chinese patent medicine for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and the main representatives were Tongxinluo Capsule and Shensongyangxin Capsule. For colds and respiratory diseases, the main products listed by Yiling Pharmaceutical are Lianhua Qingwen capsules/granules. Lianhua Qingwen was developed during the SARS period, but it was not approved for production and listing until May 2004 when the SARS epidemic had dispersed.
According to the prospectus of Yiling Pharmaceutical, from 2008 to 20 10, the sales amount of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular drugs was 847 million yuan,10.98 million yuan,1514 million yuan, accounting for 910.08% and 0.08% respectively.
After the outbreak of COVID-19 epidemic, Lianhua Qingwen has caused several controversies, from being recommended by the World Health Organization to being questioned by Wang Sicong, and now it has been sold out. Even Lianhua Qingwen made Yiling Pharmaceutical earn a lot of money.
From 2020 to the first half of 2022, the income of cold medicines in Yiling Pharmaceutical was 4.256 billion yuan, 465.438+0.08 billion yuan and 2.553 billion yuan respectively, accounting for 48.46%, 40.60% and 45.87% of Yiling Pharmaceutical's income respectively, and its contribution to the company's income has exceeded that of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular drugs.
Is it a "magic medicine"?
What is the function of Lianhua Qingwen Capsule? According to the Reference Table of Commonly Used Drugs for Family Treatment of Infected People in COVID-19 issued by the State Council Joint Prevention and Control Agency on February 8th, 65438, Lianhua Qingwen Capsule is suitable for patients with fever symptoms, and it is juxtaposed with ibuprofen, Xuanfei Baidu Granule and Qingfei Baidu Granule. It is mentioned in the novel coronavirus Diagnosis and Treatment Plan that Lianhua Qingwen Capsule can be used for the treatment of some mild diseases and some common patients during medical observation.
It can be seen that Lianhua Qingwen Capsule is not a "specific medicine" in COVID-19, but a symptomatic medicine with certain indications. According to the instructions of the drug, the drug is used to treat influenza, which belongs to the syndrome that heat poison invades the lung. Indications: fever or high fever, aversion to cold, muscle aches, nasal congestion and runny nose, cough, headache, dry throat, sore throat, red tongue, yellow or greasy fur, etc.
Guo, a professor at Qilu Hospital of Shandong University and a doctoral supervisor of clinical pharmacology, told Zhongxin Jingwei that Lianhua Qingwen Capsule can be used for symptomatic treatment of mild or common COVID-19, which can help to improve symptoms such as fever, runny nose, cough, headache, dry throat and sore throat, but it is by no means a "magic medicine".
Guo believes that Lianhua Qingwen Granule/Capsule is similar to other reference Chinese patent medicines, such as Jinhua Qinggan Granule, Xuanfei Baidu Granule, Qingfei Jiedu Granule and Shufeng Jiedu Capsule. Its composition and preparation process are common.
At the same time, Guo suggested that Lianhua Qingwen capsule can only be used for symptomatic treatment of mild patients, but not for severe patients.
For some people's hoarding and preventive medication, a pharmacist in a 3A hospital told Zhongxin Jingwei that this drug can be used without COVID-19 infection, and it needs to be used according to the patient's constitution, onset time and disease progress, especially for children. It is even more counterproductive to use it rashly. If drugs are used improperly, it is easy to cause drug abuse.
"It is not recommended to use Lianhua Qingwen Capsule for prevention. Lianhua Qingwen capsule contains moxibustion ephedra, which can be eaten but needs dialectical treatment. The drug also has certain adverse reactions and is not suitable for patients with hypertension, cold and cold, spleen and stomach deficiency. " The pharmacist suggested.
Data Map Source: Sino-Singapore Dong Jingwei Xiangyi
Official website of the State Administration of Pharmaceutical Products shows that Lianhua Qingwen is the exclusive variety of Yiling Pharmaceutical. There are three dosage forms of Lianhua Qingwen approved by the State Medical and Drug Administration: Lianhua Qingwen Capsule, which belongs to Class A OTC；; Lianhua Qingwen granules and Lianhua Qingwen tablets are prescription drugs.
According to the Announcement of Protected Varieties of Traditional Chinese Medicine of the State Administration of Pharmaceutical Products, Lianhua Qingwen is listed as a protected variety of traditional Chinese medicine, and the protection level is Grade II.
Zhongxin Jingwei noticed that compared with the first-class protected varieties of traditional Chinese medicine, the second-class is more common. "Regulations on the Protection of Varieties of Traditional Chinese Medicine" shows that during the protection period, enterprises, relevant units and individuals shall keep confidential and shall not disclose the prescription composition and process preparation method of the first-class protected varieties. At the same time, it is required to establish the necessary confidentiality system. These include Yunnan Baiyao and Pien Tze Huang.
For the second-level protection, the regulations indicate that the varieties of traditional Chinese medicine that have been approved for protection are only produced by enterprises that have obtained the certificate of varieties of traditional Chinese medicine protection during the protection period, which means that the protected enterprises only have exclusive production rights in a partial sense, and cannot be expanded by imitation pharmaceutical companies like the original research drugs of western medicine that have lost the patent protection period, and the productivity improvement is limited. Based on the protection date announced in the above regulations, the protection starts and ends from September 6, 20 13 to September 6, 2020, that is, the flowers are cleared or no longer enjoy secondary protection.
However, Yiling Pharmaceutical also applied for a patent for Lianhua Qingwen. According to the prospectus, Lianhua Qingwen's parent patent and subsidiary patent will expire from 2023 to 2030, but the patent date may continue to be extended. Yiling Pharmaceutical revealed in its 20021annual report that the patent authorized by Lianhua Qingwen will protect the product until 2040.
The peak sales volume is closely related to the epidemic situation.
Zhongxin Jingwei noticed that the sales peak of lotus pest control in the past history was closely related to the epidemic situation and flu season, and its own research and development process was also closely related to the epidemic situation.
According to public information, Lianhua Qingwen Capsule was the first to enter the green channel of national drug review during the anti-SARS period, and it is a new Chinese medicine for treating colds and anti-SARS virus. Its listing date is May 9, 2004.
On April 30th, 2009, influenza A (H 1N 1) was classified as Class B infectious disease in China, and it was managed as Class A infectious disease. However, the sales volume of Lianhua Qingwen increased from 65.438+0.76 billion tablets in 2008 to 65.438+0.382 billion tablets in 2009, and the sales volume soared from 60 million yuan to 500 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 670%.
According to the prospectus, in 20 10, with the swine flu epidemic effectively controlled, the dealers had a large inventory of Lianhua Qingwen capsules, and the market was mainly in the stage of digesting inventory, and the sales revenue of Lianhua Qingwen decreased.
According to the sales data provided by Zhongkang CMH to Zhongxin Jingwei, during the epidemic period in COVID-19, Lotus has achieved good sales. In the retail market, in 2020, the sales volume of lotus pest control was 343 1 100 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 167. 1%, and the sales volume of public hospital terminal market was 700 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 38.90%.
Why does every epidemic sell well? Zhongxin Jingwei noticed that, first, Lianhua Qingwen frequently entered the national diagnosis and treatment plan; Second, Lianhua Qingwen actively carried out clinical trials to publicize the effect; Third, take Ling Pharmaceutical as an example to build intellectual property barriers in a timely manner.
As far as the first point is concerned, during the spread of influenza A, on May 9, 2009, the Ministry of Health released the first edition of "Human Infected with Influenza A H 1N 1 Diagnosis and Treatment Plan", and Lianhua Qingwen ranked first among Chinese patent medicines. Since then, Lianhua Qingwen has frequently entered the guidelines for influenza diagnosis and treatment, and during the COVID-19 epidemic, Lianhua Qingwen was included in the diagnosis and treatment plan for pneumonia in novel coronavirus.
At the same time, Yiling Pharmaceutical actively promoted Lianhua Qingwen to carry out relevant clinical trials, endorsed drugs through its exact therapeutic effect, and opened up markets for drugs by increasing indications. More and more virus names can play a role in Lianhua Qingwen.
It is worth noting that when some medical institutions carry out the related research of Lianhua Qingwen Capsule, they mostly use the form of combined medication to conduct retrospective research. For example, Lianhua Qingwen combined with oseltamivir to treat influenza; Combined with Lopinavir/Ritonavir, combined with interferon, arbidol tablets and other antiviral western medicines to treat COVID-19.
This combination is mentioned in the novel coronavirus Diagnosis and Treatment Plan issued by National Health Commission, in which it is clear that the empirical combination of antiviral drugs and traditional Chinese medicine preparations is recommended for the drug treatment of coronavirus pneumonia-19.
Zhongxin Jingwei noted that Yiling Pharmaceutical also attached great importance to the intellectual property protection of Lianhua Qingwen. Yang Shanshi, deputy director of the Medical Science and Technology Information Research Department of Shanghai Health and Healthy Development Research Center, introduced to Zhongxin Jingwei that Yiling Medical Technology Co., Ltd. has 40 patent records related to Lianhua Qingwen. Apart from patent layout in China, it also submitted two PCT invention applications to the World Intellectual Property Organization. Judging from the legal status and patent types, there are 3 inventions authorized and 8 invention applications.
During this epidemic period, Yiling Pharmaceutical also applied for a patent entitled "Application of a Chinese medicinal composition in drugs for resisting coronavirus, protecting organs and enhancing immunity", which is currently in a "trial" state.