[Industry Interview] Zhengqing Pharmaceutical Chairman Wu Feichi: Aggregating Resources to Build a National Brand in the Rheumatism and Pain Market

[Menet.com]   Building a brand is a reflection of a nation's economic capacity, an industry's creative ability, and an entrepreneur's vision and ambition. In the pharmaceutical industry, building products into national brands is even more significant because we have gone through too many years of 'wild' growth and imitation. When we finished interviewing Wu Feichi, Chairman of Zhengqing Pharmaceutical Group, we found that this elegant, rigorous entrepreneur, who started as a pharmaceutical engineer, has a special affection for the Zhengqing Fengtongning series of products. This affection concerns the entrepreneur's values, the future of the company, and the rise of national brands in the rheumatism and pain medicine market.

Concentrate advantageous resources to cultivate flagship products

Wu Feichi, Chairman of Hunan Zhengqing Pharmaceutical Group

On January 18, 2013, at the 2012 National Science and Technology Awards Conference, the project 'Innovation of Quality Control and Pharmacodynamic Evaluation Methods for Anti-Arthritis Traditional Chinese Medicine Preparations and Product Development', jointly applied for by Hunan Zhengqing Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd. and Macau University of Science and Technology, was awarded the second prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award. This honor excited Wu Feichi, as it affirmed the nation's progress in modernizing Traditional Chinese Medicine, significantly enhancing the academic research status of the Zhengqing Fengtongning series of products and writing a glorious chapter in the development history of Zhengqing Pharmaceutical.

It is understood that Zhengqing Fengtongning is developed using tetrandrine, a single active ingredient extracted from the plant Stephania sinica, as raw material. It is an exclusive patented product in China. It is a natural monomeric disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (n-DMARDs), a Traditional Chinese Medicine that underwent double-blind, double-dummy clinical validation against MTX, an oral preparation that underwent post-marketing safety re-evaluation, and an anti-rheumatic Traditional Chinese Medicine that won the second prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award.

Wu Feichi introduced that the raw material for Zhengqing Fengtongning is tetrandrine, which comes from the roots and stems of the Stephania plant. It is a strong histamine release agent in herbal medicines, and its chemical structure is similar to morphine, having an analgesic effect in the central nervous system and also inhibiting the synthesis and release of prostaglandins in local inflammation.

On May 4, 2016, Zhengqing Pharmaceutical Group's Tetrandrine Hydrochloride API project was launched in Huaihua Industrial Park, Hunan. It is understood that the Zhengqing Fengtongning series of products are the company's development pillars. With the nation's increasing emphasis on the chronic disease market and grassroots medical market, this will directly drive the growth of Zhengqing Fengtongning series products. Therefore, establishing a tetrandrine API production base is an inevitable choice.

Devote to academic construction and strengthen product efficacy

In December 2016, the 'Symposium on Biophysics and Innovative Technologies Leading the Future of Medicine & Inaugural Conference of the International Cooperation Alliance for Rheumatology Research', hosted by Macau University of Science and Technology, was held in Zhongshan. Zhengqing Group joined the International Cooperation Alliance for Rheumatology Research as an executive council unit. Professor Liu Liang, President of Macau University of Science and Technology, stated in his speech that the establishment of the International Cooperation Alliance for Rheumatology Research has built an important platform for integrating international cooperation between Chinese and Western medicine, which will enable traditional Chinese medicine to better become an important part of global medicine.

On April 14, at the '2017 Tianjin Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine Rheumatology Annual Meeting and National Continuing Education Project on New Advances in Traditional Chinese Medicine Diagnosis and Treatment of Rheumatism Training Course', Professor Liu Liang, President of Macau University of Science and Technology and Chief Scientist of Zhengqing Group, combined his own experience in clinical application of Zhengqing Fengtongning's Triple Sequential Therapy for Rheumatism and Pain. He pointed out that the Zhengqing Fengtongning series of products have definite efficacy, few adverse reactions, and no toxic side effects on the gastrointestinal tract, reproductive system, or other organs.

"Rheumatism is one of the diseases with the highest incidence rate in the world, with over two hundred types, causing considerable suffering to patients, even leading to disability and death. According to survey reports, the number of people suffering from rheumatism in China accounts for 1/6 of the total population, and among people over 60, 50% suffer from osteoarthritis," said Chairman Wu Feichi. He introduced that in recent years, orthopedic diseases have a high incidence rate in China. The Zhengqing Fengtongning series of products, as a domestically exclusive patented drug for rheumatoid arthritis, are widely used in pain departments, rehabilitation departments, orthopedics and traumatology departments, and traditional Chinese medicine departments. They have good therapeutic effects on various rheumatic and joint pain diseases and aseptic inflammation, and are one of the clinical medications specified in the "Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment Guidelines for Rheumatoid Arthritis" compiled by the Rheumatology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association.

"Currently, Zhengqing Fengtongning is a Traditional Chinese Medicine product that has undergone double-blind, double-dummy clinical observation against MTX, an oral Traditional Chinese Medicine preparation that has undergone post-marketing safety re-evaluation, a natural monomeric disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (n-DMARDs), and an anti-arthritis drug that received the second prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award. Due to its accumulated research value, it has become an important brand in anti-rheumatic Traditional Chinese Medicine." At this point in the introduction, Wu Feichi could not hide his inner pride. In his opinion, Zhengqing Fengtongning has the potential to become the next Artemisinin, vying for the Nobel Prize in Medicine.

Promoting a Green Health Platform through the 'Five Ones' Project

On August 25, 2015, the Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine Science and Technology Development and Exchange of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine agreed to recommend Zhengqing Fengtongning's 'Rheumatism and Pain Triple Sequential Therapy' as a Chinese Traditional Chinese Medicine Scientific and Technological Achievement Promotion Project for clinical application nationwide. In Wu Feichi's view, this is a good opportunity for Zhengqing Group to cultivate renowned doctors, benefit the local people, and build a green health platform.

What is Triple Sequential Therapy? According to Dr. Wu Feichi, this therapy involves using transdermal drug delivery devices or local intramuscular injection (fixed-point intervention), applying Zhengqing Fengtongning Injection combined with Zhengqing Fengtongning Sustained-Release Tablets to treat various rheumatic and pain diseases. It is a systemic comprehensive treatment method that combines local and systemic drug administration. "Triple Sequential Therapy has a unique administration method, high local drug concentration, good safety, definite efficacy, and can improve prognosis. This therapy is a Chinese Traditional Chinese Medicine Scientific and Technological Achievement Promotion Project and has won the Hunan Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award," said Wu Feichi.

In Wu Feichi's view, Triple Sequential Therapy is safe and effective, suitable for promotion and use in grassroots areas, especially rural areas. Only when rural doctors master the Triple Sequential Therapy for rheumatism and pain can they effectively relieve patients' pain and also help solve the problems of difficult and expensive medical treatment caused by weak rural medical technical capabilities.

"One project partner, one lead mentor, one training base, one physician alliance, and one training system – these 'Five Ones' are our guarantee for achieving a green health platform for rheumatic pain. Good products are the foundation for alleviating suffering, and Triple Sequential Therapy is the scientific treatment plan we have explored. The 'Five Ones' project can be seen as our operational model." Wu Feichi believes that the key to how like-minded industry professionals and rural doctors accept his philosophy, ultimately benefiting grassroots patients, lies in the implementation of the 'Five Ones' project.

Building a 'One Body, Two Wings' Health Industry

Wu Feichi told Menet.com reporters that the National Development and Reform Commission has officially issued the '13th Five-Year Plan for Bio-industry Development', stating that by 2020, the scale of the bio-industry will reach 10 trillion yuan. The 'Healthy China 2030 Planning Outline' issued by the State Council will also have a huge impact on the pharmaceutical industry.

In Huaihua City's ten-year plan, the eldercare industry will reach 100 billion yuan. Zhengqing Pharmaceutical will be cultivated and supported as the first leading enterprise to exceed 10 billion yuan. Calculated based on 'one doctor per village and one town,' this project alone can reach tens of billions of yuan. This project has been recognized by domestic marketing experts and is a core advantageous project for Zhengqing to create a new stage of development." In Wu Feichi's vision, Zhengqing Pharmaceutical Group's 'one body, two wings' strategy has Zhengqing's pharmaceuticals as the 'body,' planting and big health as the first 'wing,' and the medical group as the other 'wing.'

Significant breakthroughs have also been made in capital operation; the listing bottleneck for Zhengqing Pharmaceutical has been overcome. In 2017, they can fully utilize the CSRC's IPO green channel policy for poverty-stricken areas, carry out various tasks centered around the GEM IPO, complete filing and private placement, and initiate the primary listing work." Wu Feichi told reporters that Zhengqing Pharmaceutical is a national high-tech enterprise for traditional Chinese medicine modernization, a key national leading enterprise in agricultural industrialization, one of the top ten national enterprises for independent innovation in the traditional Chinese patent medicine industry, and also a postdoctoral research workstation recognized by the Ministry of Human Resources.

Supply chain resources, financial resources, academic resources, and government policy support—various resources are gradually converging. The time has come to build Zhengqing's Fengtongning series products into a national brand in the pain and rheumatism market. The 'one body, two wings' health industry dream is not difficult to achieve," Wu Feichi said.

Article Source: Menet.com Reporters: Liu Jingfeng, Wei Dan