Editor | Lang Ming

There are no eternal enemies, no eternal friends, only eternal interests. This is the rule of the game in the business world.

Who would have thought that Li Gan Pharmaceutical and tonghua dongbao, the two leading insulin enterprises, were once like a family, but they failed to escape the "law of true fragrance" of "going their separate ways".

Today, tonghua dongbao has an advantage in the domestic second-generation insulin market, and Li Gan Pharmaceutical has a leading position with the third-generation insulin technology. In recent years, the revenue levels of the two companies are similar. In 20 19, tonghua dongbao's annual revenue was 2.78 billion, with a net profit attributable to its mother of 811000000, while Li Gan Pharmaceutical was 2.895 billion, with a net profit attributable to its mother of1/670000.

But after all, on the same track, it is inevitable to compare the two companies together. More interestingly, the founders of the two companies have a long history.

Gan Zhongru and Li Yikui are both students of Biology Department of Peking University 1970. Their different choices after graduation influenced their later life trajectory.

Li Yikui from Tonghua, Jilin naturally chose to go back to his hometown to study biopharmaceuticals. He returned to the local Tonghua Pharmaceutical Factory and became a technician. At first, Li Yikui also devoted himself to studying technology, but nature made people.

At that time, there was a vitamin C project in the factory. Li Yikui, who just left school, was covered in blood. "At that time, I was full and didn't know what fatigue was." This project has been done for ten years, and Li Yikui has also stayed in this factory for ten years.

But in the end, the project was forced to "stop" because the funds could not keep up, which was undoubtedly a bolt from the blue for Li Yikui, who had devoted ten years of hard work.

Li Yikui still remembers the picture at that time: "On the day when the project was dismounted, I was in Chengdu and they called me. I can't believe my ears. For ten years, I only focused on one thing. I invested more than 3 million yuan, and I really can't help crying. "

There was something wrong with the project, and Li Yikui, who had a bad relationship with the leader, was forced to be laid off. Li Yikui, who is unemployed at home, is not idle. He often goes up the mountain to dig ginseng and sell it for money. In the process of this business transaction, Li Yikui discovered the "business opportunity" and became the "middleman of ginseng purchase", earning the first 340,000 yuan in his life by earning the price difference.

When God closes a door for you, he will naturally open a window for you. 1992, Li Yikui, who made his fortune from ginseng, founded tonghua dongbao.

Compared with Li Yikui's experience from devoting himself to scientific research to "going to sea", Gan Zhongru took the road of being a scientist from beginning to end. After graduation, Gan Zhongru taught in Peking University for several years, and then went to the United States to study PhD. 65438-0987 Joined Merck Pharmaceutical Company as a senior researcher, studying insulin products.

At that time, there were venture capitalists looking for Gan Zhongru. At the same time, Li Yikui, who is also a technical background, also wants to do something related to his major, so he aims at the field of diabetes. After learning that his old classmate Gan Zhongru had the idea of starting a business, he also threw an "olive branch" to Gan Zhongru.

During 1994, when Gan Zhongru was preparing to return to China to start a business, Li Yikui successfully listed his company in tonghua dongbao.

As a classmate of Peking University and able to satisfy his own idea of starting a business, Gan Zhongru accepted Li Yikui's invitation. From 65438 to 0995, Gan Zhongru returned to China to form a team to develop insulin.

In fact, before Gan Zhongru invented recombinant human insulin, a company named after the two founders, "Li Gan Pharmaceutical", was born. Gan Zhongru holds the actual control right of the company, and Li Yikui of tonghua dongbao is the shareholder.

In other words, one person gives the technology and one person gives the funds. This kind of cooperation is Shunzhang. From 65438 to 0998, shortly after the establishment of Li Gan Pharmaceutical, Gan Zhongru and his team developed the first synthetic human insulin injection in China.

This biosynthetic human insulin not only broke the pattern that diabetic patients in China have always relied on imports of human insulin products, but also made China the third country in the world to produce recombinant human insulin after the United States and Denmark.

Gan Zhongru sold this patent to tonghua dongbao, and tonghua dongbao successfully entered the field of diabetes with this insulin. 16 years from 1995 to 20 1 1 is the honeymoon period of pharmaceutical industry in tonghua dongbao and Li Gan.

All good things must come to an end.

Especially in 200 1 and 2002, gan zhongru led the team to develop the first second-generation insulin products and the first third-generation insulin products in China. With the help of the patented technology of Gan Zhongru's team, tonghua dongbao has further established its position as an "insulin leader".

You know, at that time, only two companies in the world were able to produce second-generation insulin, one was Lilly in the United States and the other was Novo Nordisk in Denmark.

In 20 15, the global insulin market was about $22 billion, with the third generation accounting for $0/82 billion, Sanofi and Novo Nordisk each accounting for 42%, and Lilly accounting for 16%.

In particular, Gan Zhongru's team developed the third generation of insulin. Because it is difficult for recombinant human insulin (second generation) to completely simulate the curve of insulin release in human body and can not accurately regulate blood sugar, patients are prone to hypoglycemia after using second generation insulin. The upgraded third generation has higher safety and lower risk of hypoglycemia.

After the birth of the third generation insulin, Li Gan Pharmaceutical became an instant hit. At that time, the income of Li Gan pharmaceutical industry even surpassed that of tonghua dongbao for a time.

Until 20 10, Li Gan Pharmaceutical introduced strategic investor Qi Ming Venture Capital, and tonghua dongbao's equity was diluted to 29.43% with1000000 yuan.

On March 20 1 1 year, the two completely "separated". In fact, there are not a few examples of "face-slapping" in business in order to compete for benefits, but Li Gan Pharmaceutical broke up with tonghua dongbao peacefully.

According to the agreement, tonghua dongbao gave up all the shares of Li Gan Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., and both parties shared the second-generation and third-generation insulin patents, but the difference is that Li Gan Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. needs to obtain the second-generation insulin patents and technologies for 42 months before it can be listed for sale; Similarly, it will take 42 months for tonghua dongbao to get the patent and technology of the third generation insulin.

At present, tonghua dongbao firmly occupies the largest market share of the second-generation insulin in China, while Li Gan Pharmaceutical has made a lot of money with the third-generation insulin, and its technology is far ahead of domestic manufacturers.

But as a track, competition is inevitable.

In July this year, the National Medical Insurance Bureau focused on insulin at a centralized procurement forum. Perhaps it is only a matter of time before insulin enters the centralized procurement.

Whether it can enter centralized procurement may determine the future market structure. Who is more suitable to be the boss, tonghua dongbao or Li Gan Pharmaceutical?

In terms of income, from 20 17 to 20 19, the income of Li Gan pharmaceutical industry was 23.7 10 billion yuan, 2.387 billion yuan and 2.895 billion yuan respectively, of which the sales income of insulin preparations accounted for 96.45%, 98.35% and 95./kloc-0 respectively. One recombinant insulin glargine accounts for half of the country.

Compared with Li Gan Pharmaceutical, tonghua dongbao's recombinant insulin raw materials and injection products also account for 80% of the total revenue, but they also involve injection pens, blood glucose test strips, Chinese patent medicines and other medical devices. From 20 17 to 20 19, tonghua dongbao's revenue was 2.55 billion yuan, 2.69 billion yuan and 2.78 billion yuan respectively.

In terms of revenue, the two companies are comparable, but in terms of market share, they are still a little far from foreign brands that firmly occupy most of the domestic insulin market.

According to the data of China Industrial Information Network, in 20 19, the scale of China insulin market was about 20.288 billion yuan, and the proportion of second-generation insulin and third-generation insulin was 34.48% and 66.52% respectively.

Among them, in the third generation insulin market, the global insulin giant Novo Nordisk's insulin aspart accounts for 46.95% of the market share, followed by Sanofi's insulin glargine, accounting for 27.4 1% of the market share, and Li Gan Pharmaceutical has only 24% of the market share.

Similarly, in the second-generation insulin market, Novo Nordisk still ranks first, accounting for 43% of the market share, and tonghua dongbao ranks second with 36% of the market share.

Shi Lichen, general manager of Chen Ding Pharmaceutical Management Consulting Company, once said to the market: "If insulin enters centralized procurement, the price reduction will be very large, which can be seen from the intensity of centralized procurement of drugs before."

Some research reports also point out that this may be a good time for domestic brands to replace foreign brands. However, Guosen Securities also pointed out: "Changing the second generation to the third generation is a global trend. Since the third generation of recombinant insulin analogues went on the market, the sales growth rate has greatly exceeded that of recombinant human insulin. From the analysis of the current global sales situation, recombinant insulin analogues have occupied 80% of the global insulin market. "

From this point of view, tonghua dongbao is a bit slow, because although the research on the third-generation recombinant insulin analogues began at 20 1 1, it took nearly 10 years, and its third-generation recombinant insulin glargine was only listed in February this year, and its current income is very small, at least not as good as that of Li Gan Pharmaceutical.

The market is unpredictable, but demand is eternal. Tonghua dongbao and Li Gan Pharmaceutical were neck and neck for the first 25 years. Time will tell whether this centralized procurement will become a turning point.