A gift from Dr. Roy Vagelos: For a China without hepatitis B
In September 1989, under the decision of the then president Roy Vagelos, the American Merck Company transferred the latest genetic engineering hepatitis B vaccine technology to China. In 1993, China successfully produced the first batch of genetically engineered hepatitis B vaccine. However, they may never know the reason why they could get the vaccine, because this fact has never appeared in the Chinese public media.
In September 1989, under the decision of the then president Roy Vagelos (Roy Vagelos), the American Merck Company transferred the latest genetic engineering hepatitis B vaccine technology to China. In 1993, China successfully produced the first batch of genetically engineered hepatitis B vaccine. Based on the 20 million newborns in China each year, from 1993 to 2018, at least 500 million newborns in China were vaccinated with this vaccine. However, they may never know the reason why they could get the vaccine, because this fact has never appeared in the Chinese public media.
Shi Anli was the Director of the Planning and Conditions Division and the Division of Science and Technology Exchange of the Department of Science and Education of the Ministry of Health from 1976 to 2002. He said: "At that time, China's yeast-based hepatitis B vaccine research was quite mature. Therefore, for Chinese scientists and engineers , Merck’s technology is relatively easy to learn and master. In addition, Merck’s recombinant technology can produce hepatitis B vaccine on a large scale and can serve more Chinese people.” In 1993, China successfully produced the first batch of genetic engineering hepatitis B vaccine. Based on 20 million newborns each year in China at that time, during the 25 years from 1993 to 2018, at least 500 million newborns in China were vaccinated with this vaccine.
As Vajlos said: 50 years later, hepatitis B will be eradicated in China. Vajlos learned about the specific situation in China: In order to protect 20 million newborns from hepatitis B virus infection each year, the Chinese government urgently needs to provide a safe and effective hepatitis B vaccine for all newborns and high-risk groups. He said: "In 1988, when the Chinese government delegation discussed the transfer of recombinant hepatitis B vaccine technology to Merck, Merck was very willing to do so, because the incidence and mortality of hepatitis B in China were very serious at that time, and the vaccine was huge in China. However, due to the huge differences in the national conditions of China and the United States, the negotiations were once deadlocked."
"Initially we wanted to sell the hepatitis B vaccine to China, but we quickly realized that even if we reduce the price to a minimum, they would not be able to afford it. In the United States, the hepatitis B vaccine needs to be injected three times in half a year at a cost of $100. For ordinary Chinese households at that time, this expenditure was equivalent to their income for most of the year. Therefore, we began to negotiate technology transfer, and the price problem reappeared, and we kept the price down again and again... I was very anxious, time was so tight, and I wanted to protect Children are protected from this deadly disease. Newborns should be vaccinated for the first time within 24 hours of birth... Finally, I proposed to transfer this technology to China at a reserve price of 7 million US dollars, because I know that we The cost of training Chinese engineers and technicians and sending Merck personnel to China will greatly exceed this amount... A few months later, the delegation agreed to this proposal."
After a year of negotiations, on September 11, 1989, the Chinese delegation and Merck signed a contract for the transfer of recombinant hepatitis B vaccine technology. According to the contract:
Merck provides China with a full set of production processes, technology and equipment design for the production of recombinant hepatitis B vaccine, and trains Chinese personnel to ensure that hepatitis B vaccine of the same quality is produced in China;
China is responsible for purchasing equipment, facilities, and building factories. The recombinant hepatitis B vaccine will be produced in Beijing and Shenzhen. The total annual output of the two factories is 40 million doses, enough to immunize all newborns;
Merck therefore does not charge any royalties or profits, nor does it sell hepatitis B vaccine in the Chinese market.
In 1986, after 10 years of painstaking exploration, the American Merck Pharmaceuticals Company finally developed the world's first recombinant genetically engineered hepatitis B vaccine under the leadership of President Vajlos.
This vaccine is not only safer, but also low cost, and can be produced on a large scale.
▲ The first batch of hepatitis B vaccine produced using Merck technology 30 years ago
In 1988, the Chinese government sent a delegation to the United States to negotiate with Merck, hoping to introduce hepatitis B vaccine technology as soon as possible to solve China's hepatitis B problem.
Merck is also very excited about the visit of the Chinese delegation. After all, China has a huge population, with more than 20 million newborns every year. If the negotiation succeeds, it will undoubtedly be a profitable business.
At that time, the price of this hepatitis B vaccine on the market in the United States was US$100, and there were three injections in total, one injection each within 24 hours after birth, one month after birth, and six months after birth.
Merck originally planned to sell the hepatitis B vaccine to China at this price, but after the two parties formally negotiated, Merck discovered that China could not afford this price at all. US$100 was a sky-high price for ordinary Chinese families at the time. , Working for a few months may not be enough.
At the beginning of the negotiations, Merck tried to lower the price of vaccines, but the price dropped again and again was still beyond China's tolerance. Later, Merck directly dispelled the idea of selling hepatitis B vaccine to China, and the two sides began to negotiate the transfer of hepatitis B vaccine technology. Nevertheless, there was still no agreement on the price issue.
Finally, Roy Vagelos, then president of Merck, made an amazing decision after learning that more than 20 million newborns in China urgently need to be vaccinated against hepatitis B each year: Business, transferred hepatitis B vaccine technology to China at an ultra-low price of 7 million US dollars.
Some people say that 7 million US dollars is not a lot, but the actual situation is that the 7 million US dollars is not enough to deduct the cost of Merck training Chinese technical personnel and dispatching its own staff to China for guidance. In other words, not only did Merck not make a profit in the sale of the transfer of hepatitis B vaccine technology to China, it also paid for it out of pocket.
Today, we are telling a historical scene that made Chen Minzhang, then Chinese Minister of Health, weep.
When the Beijing production workshop for the genetically engineered hepatitis B vaccine (October 1993) held its inauguration ceremony, the Minister of Health Chen Minzhang missed the ceremony because he was visiting abroad. After returning home, he contacted me through the secretary, hoping to visit our factory, let me take him to visit but at the same time not disturb other leaders. I took him to visit our production facilities and gave him a brief introduction. After that, I asked him: "What do you think?" He did not answer; I asked again, but he still did not answer. I looked up at him, and I saw tears in his eyes.
——Zhao Kai, academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering, medical virologist, former director of Beijing Institute of Biological Products
In 1989, Merck transferred the most advanced recombinant hepatitis B vaccine technology to China at a price of 7 million U.S. dollars. In this business decision, we did not make a profit; Merck trained Chinese engineers and technicians and sent Merck employees to China. This number has been exceeded. Why do you want to do this? Because this is the right thing! I think this is one of the best business decisions that Merck has made in the 20th century. Although there is no profit, it is expected to save more lives than anything Merck has ever done. In 50 years, China will eradicate hepatitis B disease. "
——Roy Vagelos Former President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Merck
Twenty-nine years ago, on September 11, 1989, Merck and three Chinese units-China National Technology Import and Export Corporation, Beijing Institute of Biological Products, Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products-signed a contract for a price of 7 million US dollars The world's leading recombinant hepatitis B vaccine production technology is transferred to China, and 40 million doses of vaccine are produced every year to ensure that China will vaccinate all newborns against hepatitis B virus.
In the 1970s and 1980s, hepatitis B was the second leading cause of death in China, second only to tobacco. When the contract was signed, a person in charge of the Chinese Ministry of Health said: "We chose to agree to this (technology transfer) contract instead of developing our own production technology because we urgently need to shorten the production time."
Beginning in May 1990, engineers and technicians from two units in Beijing and Shenzhen went to Merck in the United States to purchase test equipment and receive training within one and a half years; after the equipment was shipped back to China, Merck dispatched engineers After helping to build a factory in China, after successfully producing the same quality hepatitis B vaccine in China, Merck completely withdrew. Now they are completely Chinese factories.
In 1992, as part of the National Immunization Program, the Ministry of Health of China recommended that all newborns receive hepatitis B vaccine; in 2002, the hepatitis B vaccine was included in China's Expanded Programme on Immunization EPI.
In October 1993, China produced the first batch of recombinant hepatitis B vaccine. The first batch of newborns who received the hepatitis B vaccine produced in China are now 25 years old. Their children will also receive hepatitis B vaccine at birth.
Based on the statistics of China at the time-20 million newborns each year-calculated that between 1993 and 2018, at least 500 million newborns in China were vaccinated against hepatitis B. However, they may never know the reason why they could get the vaccine, because this fact has never appeared in the Chinese public media.
September 2019 marks the 30th anniversary of Merck’s and China’s signing of a contract to transfer and restructure hepatitis B vaccine technology. It is also the 90th birthday of Mr. Roy Vagelos. To thank and remember Roy Vagelos and Merck’s contribution to China Contributions of the people, a special columnist of "Intellectuals", interviewed Mr. Vajlos in the library of a residential building next to Central Park in New York, USA on Christmas Eve in December 2017, reviewing this historical event and his presence in it Outstanding contribution made.
From virus to vaccine
Preventive medicine is the best medicine, and the best way to deal with infectious diseases is to prevent it.
——Roy Vagelos
Roy Vagelos was born in October 1929 to a family of Greek immigrants in New Jersey, USA; in 1954, at the age of 25, he received a doctorate of medicine from Columbia University School of Medicine in New York and worked in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for ten In early 1975, at the invitation of Merck, he resigned from the post of dean of the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Illinois and became deputy director of Merck's research and development department. A year later, he was promoted to director of the research and development department.
From 1975 to 1986, from blood-borne hepatitis B vaccine to recombinant hepatitis B vaccine, for ten years, Dr. Vajlos led the twists and turns of the vaccine development process, and finally launched.
Hepatitis B virus (hepatitis B) is an infectious disease caused by hepatitis Bvirus HBV, which can cause chronic or acute liver inflammation, and is a serious health problem facing humans. It is estimated that one out of every three people in the world may be infected with hepatitis B virus.
The main routes of hepatitis B infection are blood and body fluids. In hepatitis B endemic areas, mother-to-child transmission and childhood contact are the main routes of infection. Although most patients with chronic hepatitis B infection have no symptoms at the initial stage of infection, they may develop cirrhosis or liver cancer. More than 90% of infants infected by their mothers during the delivery process will become chronic hepatitis B patients, while less than 10% of children infected after 5 years of age will become chronic hepatitis B patients. Therefore, hepatitis B vaccination for newborns and children is an important measure to prevent this disease.
The road of human development of hepatitis B vaccine began in 1963. This year, American doctor and geneticist Baruch Samuel Blumberg (Baruch Samuel Blumberg, 1925.7.28-2011.4.5) discovered an antigen in the plasma of an Australian aborigines. He named it "Australian Antigen"; at the end of 1966, he and his collaborators published a paper, proposing that there is a close relationship between "Australian Antigen" and acute viral hepatitis; in 1968, virologist Alfred Prince (Alfred Prince) It was discovered that this antigen is a protein of hepatitis B virus. In 1976, Bloomberg won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of hepatitis B virus antigen (HBsAg).
In the early 1970s, Bloomberg's research team developed a hepatitis B virus (HB) test kit and collaborated with Merck Pharmaceuticals on vaccine research. Merck's virologist Maurice Ralph Hilleman (1919.8.30-2005.4.11) led the development of hepatitis B vaccine.
Sillerman is an excellent vaccine expert. He joined Merck in 1957 as the head of the Virus and Cell Biology Department of the company's R&D center. Under his leadership, Merck has successfully developed a series of vaccines, including influenza vaccine and MMR vaccine. In the late 1970s, after years of hard work, Sillerman's team extracted a surface antigen particle from the plasma of patients infected with hepatitis B virus. Victory is in sight. But at this time, Merck is facing a decision whether to continue investing in vaccine development.
In the 1970s, although the federal government invested in the purchase of clinical vaccines and launched a large-scale battle against specific diseases such as polio, few people noticed that several major vaccine manufacturers in the United States had withdrawn from this field at this time. It is out of responsibility. Vaccines are vaccinated by healthy people, and very few people will have predictable side effects. However, when such side effects occur on children, the result is catastrophic; moreover, government purchases have very low profits for manufacturers. Therefore, several pharmaceutical companies suspended the development and production of vaccines and chose to invest in the research and development of new drugs.
John J. Horan (1921-2011), then president of Merck, faced a difficult choice. At the company’s management meeting, on the one hand, the vaccine investment and income report submitted by the planning department, on the other hand, was the decision of the head of the R&D department to insist on researching vaccines. He emphasized that Merck has always been respected for its social responsibility. As a major vaccine innovator and producer in the United States, the company has the responsibility and ability to continue to perform its duties and strive to make profits for the company in the process. He said: "Preventive medicine is the best medicine. This is what Merck should do. ."
President Holland agreed with Vajlos' opinion and decided to continue research on the hepatitis B vaccine. In 1981, the blood-borne hepatitis B vaccine (Heptavax-B) developed by Merck was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
While American scientists are working on the hepatitis B vaccine, Chinese scientists are also working on the hepatitis B vaccine.
Tao Qimin (1931.10-2017.11), director of the Department of Biochemistry, People's Hospital of Beijing Medical University, has been engaged in hepatitis research experiments since 1972, and she took the lead in purifying the hepatitis B virus core antigen in China. On July 1, 1975, China's first-generation blood-borne hepatitis B vaccine was successfully studied, but China did not have the vaccine sensitivity and safety test conditions at that time, so she vaccinated herself with the first hepatitis B vaccine; October 1978, Beijing Medical
The University Liver Research Laboratory was established, with Tao Qimin as the director.
In order to curb the spread of hepatitis B, the Chinese government listed the development and pilot trials of blood-borne hepatitis B vaccine as a key national scientific and technological project in the national economic and social development plan from 1981 to 1985. Zhao Kai, a researcher at the Beijing Institute of Biological Products, undertakes With this important task, he led the team to develop a large-scale production process for blood-borne hepatitis B vaccine. In 1985, their research results passed national appraisal and promoted use.
In 1986, the blood-borne hepatitis B vaccine was approved in China, but it can only be produced on a small scale.
The joy of success has just come, a sudden new pandemic swept the United States, blood-borne hepatitis B vaccine was involved in the center of the storm.
From blood-borne vaccines to genetically engineered vaccines
Before the AIDS crisis broke out, I had begun to push the company to research vaccines in different ways. Until then, every virus vaccine was derived from an inactivated or attenuated virus, or particles in the virus, but I think a new method-recombinant DNA technology-can be tried to produce a vaccine that is both effective and safe. . When I spent a year of academic leave in Paris in the summer of 1962, I have been following the latest developments in molecular genetics with great interest...I was taking a basic course in molecular genetics at the University of Washington, I got it Recombinant DNA technology, it is envisaged whether this technology can be used to cut the hepatitis B virus DNA into some organic substance such as E. coli, and express the hepatitis B surface antigen we need.
——Roy Vagelos
In early 1980, when Merck announced the production of the first hepatitis B vaccine, AIDS quietly invaded the United States. At that time, no one knew about this new disease, but doctors and patients soon began to suspect blood-borne vaccines, with hepatitis B vaccine bearing the brunt.
The hepatitis B vaccine developed by Merck is taken from chronic hepatitis B patients. Many of these patients are homosexuals or intravenous drug users. In the United States, these are two types of high-risk groups of people carrying the HIV virus, which was caused by HIV at that time. AIDS is almost equivalent to death.
Roy Vagelos said: "Although Merck's purification process ensures that there is no live virus in the vaccine, there is still insufficient scientific evidence to convince the public to receive this minimally harmful vaccine. We are once again at a crossroads."
At that time, Sillerman was approaching his retirement age, and a relatively easy way was to let his hepatitis B vaccine research project also attenuate until the company closed the vaccine project, but Vajlos was determined to insist on advancing vaccine research.
Vajlos sought help outside of Merck, and he approached WILLIAM J. RUTTER (1928-), a scientist at the University of California, San Francisco. Rutter is an authority on recombinant DNA technology. When the two talked about Merck’s hepatitis B vaccine, Rutter immediately proposed that recombinant technology could be used to develop human insulin for Merck. But Vajlos insisted on the hepatitis B vaccine research. He explained, “We are now separating the hepatitis B surface antigen from the plasma of the infected person. The potential risk of doing so is very high, because workers may be infected during the production process, and The public is also skeptical of any blood-borne vaccine. But if we produce this antigen in a safe organism, the situation is completely different."
Rutter agreed to use E. coli to "produce" or "express" hepatitis B surface antigen, and the two parties established a cooperative relationship. After some efforts, Rutter successfully expressed hepatitis B surface antigen in E. coli, but the new antigen was slightly different from the naturally expressed antigen. They are looking for new methods again.
They found Ben Hall of the University of Washington in Seattle, an outstanding yeast geneticist. Rutter and Hall began to collaborate to put the hepatitis B surface antigen gene cluster into yeast. This time, they really succeeded. The activity expressed by the yeast cells can stimulate the immune response needed to make a vaccine.
In 1986, the first human genetically engineered vaccine developed by Merck, the recombinant rDNA hepatitis B vaccine, was approved by the FDA for marketing, with the trademark Recombivax HB. The cost price of the recombinant hepatitis B vaccine produced on a large scale is lower than that of the blood-derived vaccine. 83-95% of newborns born to mothers carrying hepatitis B surface antigen will be protected after vaccination. This year, Vajlos has become the president, chief executive officer and chairman of the board of Merck.
During this time period, China has initiated three hepatitis B vaccine development projects at the same time: the development of recombinant yeast hepatitis B vaccine, the development of hepatitis B surface antigen expressed by recombinant CHO cells, and the development of recombinant vaccinia virus hepatitis B vaccine. However, the first project was interrupted due to the main R&D personnel leaving the country. Although the second and third projects successfully owned independent intellectual property rights, large-scale industrial production was not yet possible.
As the director of the Beijing Institute of Biological Products, Zhao Kai keeps up with the forefront of vaccine research in the world while leading vaccine research. He suggested to the health authorities that introducing the world's most advanced hepatitis B vaccine production line is a top priority.
This is the right thing to do
In 1982, in Hong Kong, we met with scientists from Merck. In 1984, the Chinese Ministry of Health sent a delegation to the United States, and Merck showed us the recombinant hepatitis B vaccine technology. After returning to China, I reported to the leaders of the Ministry of Health: If we need to introduce new technologies, then we should introduce Merck’s recombinant hepatitis B vaccine technology. In September 1988, a Chinese government delegation went to the United States to negotiate with Merck for the introduction of hepatitis B vaccine technology. In 1989, we signed a contract.
——Zhao Kai
Shi Anli was the Director of the Planning and Conditions Division and the Division of Science and Technology Exchange of the Department of Science and Education of the Ministry of Health from 1976 to 2002. He said: "At that time, China's yeast-based hepatitis B vaccine research was quite mature. Therefore, for Chinese scientists and engineers , Merck’s technology is relatively easy to learn and master. In addition, Merck’s restructuring technology can produce hepatitis B vaccine on a large scale, which can serve more Chinese people."
Vajlos learned about the specific situation in China: In order to protect 20 million newborns from hepatitis B virus infection each year, the Chinese government urgently needs to provide a safe and effective hepatitis B vaccine for all newborns and high-risk groups. He said: "In 1988, when the Chinese government delegation discussed the transfer of recombinant hepatitis B vaccine technology to Merck, Merck was very willing to do so, because the incidence and mortality of hepatitis B in China were very serious at that time, and the vaccine was huge in China. However, due to the huge differences in the national conditions of China and the United States, the negotiations were once deadlocked."
"Initially we wanted to sell the hepatitis B vaccine to China, but we quickly realized that even if we reduce the price to a minimum, they would not be able to afford it. In the United States, the hepatitis B vaccine needs to be injected three times in half a year at a cost of $100. For ordinary Chinese households at that time, this expenditure was equivalent to their income for most of the year. Therefore, we began to negotiate technology transfer, and the price problem reappeared, and we kept the price down again and again... I was very anxious, time was so tight, and I wanted to protect Children are protected from this deadly disease. Newborns should be vaccinated for the first time within 24 hours of birth... Finally, I proposed to transfer this technology to China at a reserve price of 7 million US dollars, because I know that we The cost of training Chinese engineers and technicians and sending Merck personnel to China will greatly exceed this amount... A few months later, the delegation agreed to this proposal."
After a year of negotiations, on September 11, 1989, the Chinese delegation and Merck signed a contract for the transfer of recombinant hepatitis B vaccine technology. According to the contract:
Merck provides China with a full set of production processes, technology and equipment design for the production of recombinant hepatitis B vaccine, and trains Chinese personnel to ensure that hepatitis B vaccine of the same quality is produced in China;
China is responsible for purchasing equipment, facilities, and building factories. The recombinant hepatitis B vaccine will be produced in Beijing and Shenzhen. The total annual output of the two factories is 40 million doses, enough to immunize all newborns;
Merck therefore does not charge any royalties or profits, nor does it sell hepatitis B vaccine in the Chinese market.
In an interview in New York in December 2017, Mr. Vajlos said that when making the final decision in this negotiation, he was inspired by a kind deed by the former president of the company George Merck (1894.3-1957.11) decades ago. Impact-Transfer of Merck's drug streptomycin for the treatment of tuberculosis to Japan without patent fees.
In 1943, with funding and equipment funding from Merck, the laboratory led by Selman Abraham Waksman (1888.7.22-1973.8.16) at Rutgers University in New Jersey successfully separated Streptomycin; In 1948, Merck Laboratories completed a double-blind comparison test with streptomycin in the treatment of tuberculosis. Streptomycin became the first drug to treat tuberculosis in humans; in 1952, Waxman discovered that it was effective in treating tuberculosis. Streptomycin won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
After the end of World War II in August 1945, as a defeated country, Japan fell into starvation and tuberculosis epidemics. After the war, Japan's national strength was poor and unable to purchase streptomycin. Several pharmaceutical companies went to the United States to contact George Merck (George Merck, 1894.3.29–1957.11.9), hoping to obtain this life-saving drug. Merck made an unprecedented decision: to exempt Japan from patent rights for streptomycin and to impart production technology. Japanese pharmaceutical companies were able to produce enough streptomycin to stop the tuberculosis epidemic.
Vajlos said that this charitable act of the Merck president did not get the company any reward, but it saved a lot of lives. On December 1, 1950, in the face of doubts inside and outside the company, George Merck explained this behavior: "We must always remember: medicine is always for people, not for profit, and profit will follow. If we keep in mind At this point, profits will not fail to appear. We cannot stand aside because we have invented a new drug. We will never stop until we find a new method that can bring our best invention to each In front of people who need it."
I asked Mr. Vajlos: "In December 1941, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor caused great harm to the United States. The United States therefore declared war on Japan. Why did Merck help Japan after the war? Don’t you hate the Japanese?" Vajlos Said: "The war is over, the people are suffering, we should help."
I asked Vajlos again: "Profit is the basic guarantee for the survival of a pharmaceutical company. How do you convince the company's board of directors to agree to your loss-making decision?" He said: "At that time Merck was very wealthy. I was a very strong person. Persuade them to do this."
Merck's gift
For a pharmaceutical company, the number of vaccines vaccinated during this period is enough to generate high profits, but we know that Merck will give it as a gift to China, which is an invaluable treasure for the Chinese people.
——Liang Xiaofeng, Deputy Director, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention
In 2006, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention conducted the second nationwide plasma epidemiological survey and found that the incidence of such diseases was relatively low. The new findings show that the rate of vaccination coverage is higher among adolescents, so the incidence of surface antigen (hepatitis B) is lower in this group of people. Compared with the 1992 study, the hepatitis B surface antigen carrying rate of children over 1 year old is about 10%. Now, the carrier rate of the entire population has dropped to 7.18%, and the carrier rate of people under 15 has dropped the most, indicating that hepatitis B vaccination The importance of vaccines.
After the contract was signed, in early 1990, the training began in two stages. In the first phase, in the United States, from May 1990 to March 1992, 19 Chinese engineers, quality inspection scientists, and production supervisors went to Merck in the United States for design, installation, testing, and production training; the second phase , In China, from September 1992 to August 1993, Merck staff went to Beijing and Shenzhen, China, to assemble equipment, trial production, and inspect product quality with Chinese engineers and technicians, and achieved success.
Many years later, Mr. Vajlos recalled the training experience of Chinese engineers and technicians in the United States in New York. He said: "For a year and a half, it was not easy for them to stay away from home in a strange place. There was no e-mail or mobile phone at the time. They worked three shifts seven days a week with 4 people in each group. It was very hard work. , They are diligent, brave, and dedicated."
Merck and its employees have greatly helped their Chinese counterparts. Wang Daxiong, a former engineer of Beijing Institute of Biological Products and a senior consultant of Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products Co., Ltd., said: “Merck has prepared many documents for us, covering every detail of this technology, describing the equipment model and standard And norms. These documents still guide our vaccine production."
Li Tong, an engineer at Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products Co., said: "In the one and a half years of studying at Merck, we spent most of our time with the American team. We are sincerely grateful for their help. We share. We are permitted to enter their laboratory at any time, whether it is day or night. We are familiar with all American workers and technicians. In this year and a half, we have learned about this vaccine I knew nothing and grew up as a professional engineer. This is one of my most precious memories."
Wang Enhao, the former project leader of Shenzhen Kangtai, said: “Merck takes care of us very much. They know our loneliness here, without relatives or friends. Every weekend, Merck’s engineers take turns to invite us to their home. We participate in parties, dinners and sports activities, teach us to play chess, which makes us feel happy. This laboratory is in the suburbs, and it takes an hour to drive to the city. We don’t have a car and live in the suburbs. It’s really isolated."
In an interview in New York, Vajlos held the company's report and carefully reviewed the achievements of China after the transfer of recombinant hepatitis B vaccine technology: Statistics from the United Nations showed that the coverage rate of hepatitis B vaccine in China was about 30% in 1992. In 2005, This value has risen to 90%; statistics in 2011 show that 82% of Chinese newborns received the hepatitis B vaccine in time within 48 hours after birth; after the vaccination, the infection rate of hepatitis B surface antigen among Chinese children under 5 years of age decreased Among children under 15 years of age, about 16-20 million cases of hepatitis B virus carriers have been prevented, and 2.8 million to 3.5 million deaths from liver cancer have been prevented; the hepatitis B vaccine has become part of China’s national immunization program, and the government afford the expense.
"Why do you want to do it like this? Because China needs it. The significance of this thing is that the vaccine production capacity of these two factories is now enough to vaccinate Chinese children, which limits the epidemic of this disease in China. In this matter, we have no Profitable, but we have controlled the epidemic. I used to be a doctor and I am very willing to see that I can prevent a certain disease. This is also the motivation for Merck and other companies to develop vaccines."
Heike's report shows that so far, there are 6 hepatitis B vaccine production plants in China, and the two factories in Beijing and Shenzhen account for 65% of China's hepatitis B vaccine production. As Vajlos said: 50 years later, hepatitis B will be eradicated in China.
Concluding remarks
September-10, 2005
During the month, Mr. Vajlos and his wife visited China. I am a reporter from the Science Times of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Professor Dai Hailong, director of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania, introduced me to interview Mr. Vajlos. He said: "Vajlos is a great scientist, Entrepreneurs, great humanitarians, philanthropists, and the true friendship between China and the United States are built on the outstanding contributions of giants like Dr. Vajlos."
My interview article "Basic research is the basis and direction of discovering new drugs-Interview with Dr. Vajlos, a member of the American Academy of Sciences and former president of Merck & Co.", was published in the 11th issue of Science News in 2006.
Twelve years later, in October 2017, Professor Dai Hailong was the vice president for international affairs at Temple University in Philadelphia, and I became a columnist for Intellectuals. Professor Rao Yi, the editor-in-chief of "Intellectuals", suggested to interview Vajlos again. Professor Dai Hailong once again helped me to contact and interview Mr. Vajlos. He said: "I hope that the Chinese people will remember and thank Vajlos for his contribution."
"The grace of dripping water should be repaid by the spring." This is the virtue of the Chinese nation. As the 30th anniversary of Merck’s transfer of the recombinant hepatitis B vaccine to China is approaching, "Intellectuals" would like to use this article to pay tribute to Roy Vagelos!
Reference materials:
1.Roy and Louis Galambos: Medicine, Science, and Merck, 2004
2. Wang Danhong: "Basic research is the basis and direction for the discovery of new drugs: Interview with Dr. Vajlos, a member of the American Academy of Sciences and former president of Merck & Co.", Issue 11, 2006, Science News
3. Chet Kitchen: The Hepatitis BVaccine Technology Licensing Story----Celebratinga Collaboration that Enable Dramatic Public Health Progressin China. Merck&Co, IncAugust, 2011
4. ASoloemn Promise----Commemorating the 20thanniversity of the HBVVaccine Tech Transfer to China, MSD Shanghai
5. Pan Xiaoben Viral Hepatitis: How far is it to be eliminated "Intellectuals" 2017.7.30
A medicine that Merck previously gave to Africa, to eradicate river blindness, was given for nothing. It is estimated that it cost several hundred million. The medicine given to Africa is an abamectin derivative for treating river blindness (Roy Vagelos: A gift to the world, China and the future). Two days after the drug was approved, Vajlos announced that Merck will distribute river blindness drugs to all endangered people in the world for free until the disease is eradicated on the planet. Statistics show that from 1987 to 2009, from sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America to Asia, Merck's drugs treated approximately 90 million patients each year, and ultimately eradicated river blindness.