Chapter 449: Chapter 11: Hangover Medicine Goes Global (Part 2)
This kind of advice, traditionally given by a mother, didn’t feel awkward coming from Xiao Xian’s uncle. Having been accustomed to the unusual role reversal of her aunt and uncle over the past year, she felt warmed by it. However, as she basked in this warmth, Xiao Xian suddenly remembered Zhu Shijun in Guizhou and cursed herself for forgetting her grandfather’s matter.
Zhuo Feng dusted the pollen off his hands and answered the phone, which was odd because Xiao Xian rarely came home in the past two and a half months, returning only once to prepare for training and final exams at school. Now with a telephone installed at the farmhouse, this was her first time calling home.
"Aunt," Xiao Xian, upon hearing Zhuo Feng’s familiar voice, couldn’t help feeling a surge of excitement, "Is everything at home okay recently? Weren’t you frightened by the burglary last time? Why don’t you report it to the police and have them take a look? How are the sweet potato fields doing? The weather is quite hot recently, so make sure not to stay out in the sun and remember to drink more mung bean soup."
"Goodness, my little niece," Zhuo Feng chuckled while listening to Xiao Xian’s ramblings, "I’m starting to suspect you’re actually your uncle’s biological niece. You sound just like him," thinking that her niece was so considerate. But as for the sweet potatoes, ah, they were indeed a problem.
She couldn’t let this affect Xiao Xian’s mood for traveling. But wait, who told Xiao Xian about the burglary at home? In order not to disturb her studies, Zhuo Feng hadn’t mentioned it, so perhaps her husband inadvertently spilled the beans.
Standing nearby, Feng Xing was suddenly the recipient of a glare from his wife, and he was utterly puzzled.
After chatting a bit more with Zhuo Feng, Xiao Xian finally hung up, having made a decision. She was about to tell Xuerou and Mrs. Zeng when she overheard a conversation Mrs. Zeng was having with Xuerou.
"Mom, you mean you’ve registered the hangover medicine formula? Not just domestically, but you’ve also registered it abroad?" Xuerou was already in her second year of junior high and would be entering her third year soon. Even though fifty percent of the students at Sacred Heart Middle School were expected to advance directly into its high school division, Mrs. Zeng wanted Xuerou to have a broader range of options and didn’t rule out sending her to high school in Europe or the United States after she graduated.
Mrs. Zeng had not disclosed the registration of the hangover medication to Xuerou or Xiao Xian before. It was only after the registration was successful and the product was about to be launched that she shared the good news with her daughter.
"Registered? And it’s already approved? Is that really impressive?" Zhang Yiyi overheard and quickly joined in. Mrs. Zeng gave her own head a pat, almost forgetting that aside from her precious daughter who was very knowledgeable about business operations and legal procedures, the other two were completely students, so she provided a general explanation of drug registration and patent applications.
Before the "Coated Little Bomb" developed by Xiao Xian and Xuerou hit the domestic market, it had already passed clinical trials through past connections of the small pharmaceutical factory and obtained the necessary patents and approvals.
Mrs. Zeng’s idea to apply for the hangover medication’s patent overseas was provoked by a news article she read about Japan registering the trademark of China’s Tong Ren Tang. With her high market acumen, she believed in the market potential of this type of hangover cure and commissioned a trademark registration company to register the drug’s patent and trademark in over twenty major countries around the world.
The patent application procedures for pharmaceuticals vary between domestic and international spheres. Herbal medicine tablets, which are relatively easy to register in China, can be quite difficult to apply for abroad.
Especially in the United States, where it’s mandatory to provide clinical trial cases before obtaining the relevant approval documents. Taking the recommendation of the registration company, Mrs. Zeng submitted the hangover remedy for evaluation to a renowned foreign pharmaceutical research institute.
"So that means, the approval documents for the United States and Europe haven’t been issued yet, but the patents and trademarks in other regions, including Japan and South Korea, have all been applied for, right? Mom, you’ve played this hand really well," Xuerou admired her mother’s shrewdness. When she and Xiao Xian were running the pharmaceutical factory, she hadn’t thought of this. It seems like there’s still a lot she needs to learn if she truly wants to thrive in the business world.
"But don’t get too excited too soon. The markets in the United States and Europe are the hardest to break into, and their drug review systems are incredibly strict. I’m just giving you guys a heads-up. Whether it’ll succeed or not depends on the clinical reports from the drug regulatory authorities in Europe and America. If it goes well, your little pharma factory might have the chance to get listed on the NASDAQ’s Startup Board in the United States," Mrs. Zeng said, feeling relieved as she looked at her daughter’s excited face.
Xiao Xian couldn’t grasp all the details, and Zhang Yiyi was even more confused.
"To sum it up, if the quality report and clinical trial reports are approved, our little pharmaceutical factory’s future can be described in six words: ’prospects are boundless and immeasurable,’" said Xuerou as she glanced at the rear-view mirror to see that the car behind them was still stubbornly following.
**
At the European Medicines Agency located in the UK, an intermediate-level researcher was studying a drug sample sent over from a subordinate unit.
"John, still busy? I mean, it’s just a simple modified herbal medicine, why bother over it so much?" Normally, John would be the first to disappear when work hours ended, but it was unusual for him to willingly stay late for experiments.
"You think this is just a simple modified herbal medicine? You’re mistaken. This is the most perfectly combined drug with the proportion of ingredients and the manufacturing process I’ve ever come across in this lab. It’s like a piece of art." John, with his characteristically deep-set British features, was barely visible as he spoke with his excessively thin lips.
"You’re joking, right? Since when did traditional Chinese medicine care about proportion and manufacturing techniques? I’ve always heard that they use a one-size-fits-all approach, talking about balancing yin and yang with no scientific basis for their medication system," the researcher didn’t believe him, picking up the tablet and holding it up against the bright laboratory lights.
"Don’t ruin the sample. Let me take it back to show my grandfather," John retrieved the few remaining test tablets.
"What? You’re going to send such a substandard thing over to Sir Johnny?"
John was no longer in the lab.
**
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