Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence-Chapter 132: Acquisition?

Chuanlong Pharmaceutical.

After seeing Song Sisi out, Purchasing Manager Liu Bohong’s expression darkened.

He turned and headed for the general manager’s office.

He knocked, but there was no response.

He asked the front desk.

"Did President Dong go out this afternoon?"

"Yes, he did."

Back in his office,

Liu Bohong called President Dong. "President Dong, there’s something I need to report."

"Go on."

"This afternoon, someone came by to sell medicinal herbs. I met with them, and they said the Guanghe District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine had purchased their herbs..."

"Hm?"

On the other end of the line, Dong Haitao was in the middle of a meal. He froze for a moment upon hearing the news, then nodded. "I understand."

Then he hung up.

"President Dong, is something wrong?"

A guest at the same table, noticing Dong Haitao’s displeasure, asked cautiously.

Dong Haitao sneered. "It’s nothing. Just a hospital making some sneaky moves on the side..."

He found Dean Sun’s number from the Guanghe District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine and dialed it.

"Dean Sun, what you’ve done is pretty shady."

"Ah, President Dong, what’s wrong?"

"What’s wrong? Dean Sun, are you telling me you don’t know what you’ve done?"

"Oh, President Dong, how could you say that? How would we know unless you tell us?"

"Hmph. I hear you’ve purchased a batch of medicinal herbs... That’s not how we do things. We have a contract, you know."

"Oh, you’re talking about the Aconite, aren’t you? President Dong, please don’t be angry. It’s just that this batch of herbs is truly excellent quality. Besides, we only bought one batch, worth just 100,000 yuan. It absolutely won’t affect our partnership."

"See that it doesn’t. Otherwise, if my uncle finds out, he’ll be very unhappy."

...

At the District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Dean Sun hung up the phone, muttering curses. "That brat found out so quickly. Hmph, just running wild because of his uncle..."

Though he complained,

there was nothing he could do.

He would still have to procure medicinal herbs from their company in the future.

...

Inside the R&D laboratory of Baixing Eye Medicine Group,

cold white lights shone down on neatly arranged test tube racks.

R&D Director Liu Ming pushed up the glasses on his nose and dripped a drop of pale green liquid into an analysis instrument.

A series of complex data curves immediately appeared on the screen.

"This is impossible..." He stared at the unusually active peak on the chromatogram, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the tabletop.

His assistant, Xiao Wang, leaned in. "Director Liu, still can’t analyze that active ingredient?"

Liu Ming shook his head, the blue light of the instrument’s screen reflecting off his lenses. "This is the seventh failure. The structure of this natural ingredient is too unique. The lab can’t synthesize it at all."

He picked up a sample bottle from the table and swirled it. "Ding’s Pharmaceutical’s Mao Duddu Eye Drops... their effect is more than ten times stronger than our imitation."

He recalled how, three months ago, patent examiner Zhang Pengfei had excitedly run into his office, saying he’d found an eye drop patent filed by a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner. The main ingredient was, of all things, green foxtail grass.

At the time, the entire R&D department had treated it as a joke.

However, not wanting to overlook any potential patent,

they had still attempted to replicate it.

The replicated eye drops were surprisingly ineffective.

They couldn’t even compare to their own Bright Eye Drops.

After that,

they forgot all about it.

Until the marketing department sent over a competitor’s sales data—Mao Duddu Eye Drops’ market share in Feng City had soared from zero to 18% within half a month.

"Run another comparative test between our replica and the genuine product," Liu Ming told his assistant.

Two hours later, the results were staggering.

In a cellular experiment for treating dry eye syndrome, the genuine Mao Dudu product had a repair efficacy of 92%, while Baixing’s replica only had 31%. Even more astonishingly, in a test for relieving visual fatigue, the ciliary muscles of the genuine product group relaxed three times faster than those of the replica group.

"This isn’t scientific..." Liu Ming stared at the active ocular cells under the microscope. "The formula and proportions are identical. Why is there such a huge difference in efficacy?"

...

The air in the office of the Baixing Group’s general manager was thick with cigar smoke.

After hearing the report, the general manager forcefully stubbed out his cigar in a crystal ashtray.

"So, we can’t crack it?"

Liu Ming wiped the sweat from his forehead. "The key is a natural active ingredient, which might be related to the raw material’s growing environment. We’ve tried green foxtail grass from seven different cultivation regions across the country, and none of them can achieve this effect."

The general manager’s eyes narrowed as he quickly made a decision. "Then buy them out. Ding’s Pharmaceutical’s annual revenue is a mere fraction of ours. Make them an offer they can’t refuse."

The next day, Liu Ming, armed with an eight-figure acquisition proposal, traveled to Feng City and walked into the modest office building of Ding’s Pharmaceutical.

After hearing the offer, Ding Kaifang’s booming laughter could be heard even through the glass office door.

"Twenty million? President Ma really underestimates my Ding Group."

Ding Kaifang shook his head.

It was true that Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory had been consistently losing money.

It had even been on the verge of bankruptcy.

But the Ding Group was not short on cash.

Whether it was the group’s assets or Ding Kaifang’s personal wealth, both far exceeded that of Baixing Eye Medicine.

Ding Group’s chairman, Ding Aiguo, had acquired the pharmaceutical factory for two reasons. One was to research new drugs to treat his wife’s illness.

The other was to develop a new line of business.

Now, Xue Mei’s illness had been cured by Li Xu.

And the pharmaceutical factory had a new flagship product—the Mao Duddu Eye Drops.

With the group’s other business sectors flagging,

Ding Kaifang had already decided to shift the group’s focus onto the pharmaceutical factory.

So, a sale was naturally out of the question.

And they had the nerve to offer twenty million?

Hah!

Ding Kaifang sneered.

According to market feedback,

the Mao Duddu Eye Drops were selling so well that supply couldn’t keep up with demand.

In the future, this one product could generate hundreds of millions, or even billions, in revenue.

And they wanted to buy the technology for a mere twenty million.

’They must take me for a fool.’

Liu Ming maintained his smile. "President Ding, the market is fickle. Without Baixing’s distribution channels and marketing resources, how long can a single product stay popular?"

"Don’t you worry about that."

Ding Kaifang lit a cigarette. "Besides, I have great confidence in our product. I believe it will stay popular for a very long time."

The negotiation ended on a sour note.

Back in his car, Liu Ming immediately called the company’s patent examiner. "Find out who the real developer of this formula is. I want every detail."

「Half a day later.」

Liu Ming had the full story.

The patent for Mao Duddu Eye Drops had been filed by a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner from a clinic.

He immediately rushed over, full of confidence.

’Twenty million might not be enough to move the Ding Group, but surely it’s enough to sway a clinic doctor?’

...

Li’s Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic.

Li Xu had just gotten off the phone with Ding Kaifang.

The first batch of 5,000 bottles of Mao Duddu Eye Drops had its sales volume controlled.

However, as word-of-mouth began to spread,

the 5,000 bottles sold out ahead of schedule.

The market price was 98 yuan, and the factory price was 70 yuan.

The net profit was 60 yuan per bottle.

For 5,000 bottles, the total profit was 300,000 yuan.

Based on their fifty-fifty split,

Li Xu would receive 150,000 yuan.

The payment would be transferred to him next month.

Ding Kaifang also told him about the situation with Baixing Eye Medicine.

Afraid Li Xu might be tempted, Ding Kaifang said, "Doctor Li, even though they’re offering twenty million yuan, Mao Duddu Eye Drops will definitely be worth hundreds of millions, or even billions, in the future. You must hold firm. If you need money, you can take an advance from the group."

Li Xu chuckled. "Don’t worry. I’m not short on money right now. I won’t sell the technology."