Compared with the price of similar anti-cancer drugs, a box of "life-saving drugs" as long as 290 yuan is included in medical insurance is particularly warm.

This medicine, namely tretinoin capsules, also called retinoic acid capsules, is specially used for the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia. It greatly improves the survival rate of patients with leukemia and becomes the first tumor that can be cured in the history of human tumors.

This specific medicine comes from Wang Zhenyi, an expert in internal medicine and hematology in China.

At the beginning of the successful development of tretinoin capsules, Wang Zhenyi had two choices: one was to apply for a patent for this specific drug. After the application is approved, such drugs will be as expensive as similar "specific drugs". As long as you hold the patent, you can eat and drink; The second is to give up patent application, so that such drugs can be included in medical insurance at a low price and help more patients.

At that time, Wang Zhenyi hardly hesitated and firmly chose the latter.

Let the tumor "turn over a new leaf"

The development of tretinoin capsules originated from Wang Zhenyi’s research on acute promyelocytic leukemia.

This is a special type of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), which is classified as M3 type by FAB collaboration group. Once the disease occurs, a large number of leukemia cells in the patient’s bone marrow and other hematopoietic tissues will proliferate indefinitely and enter the peripheral blood, greatly inhibiting the production of normal blood cells.

The most typical characteristics of this type of leukemia are unclear etiology, acute onset, dangerous condition and rapid deterioration. Without timely and effective treatment, many patients will die within six months.

Academician Wang Zhenyi

At that time, Wang Zhenyi learned from sporadic overseas research progress that some foreign doctors were trying an all-trans retinoic acid therapy. Generally speaking, the idea of this therapy is to induce the problematic M3 cells to differentiate into normal cells. This new therapy immediately attracted the attention of Wang Zhenyi, and quickly launched the relevant research.

In 1986, Wang Zhenyi met a 5-year-old patient who was dying of acute promyelocytic leukemia. After analyzing the little girl’s condition, he carefully discussed with the patient’s family whether he would like to try this new drug.

With the consent of his family, Wang Zhenyi never imagined that the biggest resistance actually came from "one of his own".

At that time, Wang Zhenyi was 62 years old and was an expert in related fields in China. Therefore, when I heard that he was going to try this new drug on patients, many people came to persuade him: you have made a success, so don’t toss about. If the treatment doesn’t go well, it will ruin the reputation accumulated for many years, and the loss will outweigh the gain.

But Wang Zhenyi was firm: I did it for the patients. And we have experimental basis, and I believe in science.

In this way, the little patient ate tretinoin capsules. In just one week, her condition turned for the better, and the situation got better and better, and she was finally cured and discharged.

This case has also become the first successful case that the globally recognized theory of induced differentiation has made cancer cells "correct evil".

I decided to give up the patent.

The success of this case greatly increased Wang Zhenyi’s confidence in the research content.

After that, he and his students Chen Zhu and Chen Saijuan creatively proposed the treatment method of all-trans retinoic acid combined with arsenic trioxide. After the birth of this method, it was once regarded as the most dangerous acute promyelocytic leukemia and became the first leukemia that can be cured in the world. This treatment method has also been praised as "Shanghai Plan" by overseas media and listed as "Eight Contributions of New China to World Medicine" with the invention of artemisinin.

What is opposite to the extremely high evaluation of the outside world is the almost "low" price of this specific drug.

This sharp contrast is precisely because Wang Zhenyi chose to "give up the patent".

Academician Wang Zhenyi

When asked why he made such a choice, Wang Zhenyi took out his school motto when he graduated from the Medical College of Aurora University in 1948. Two of them were specially marked by him, which read: The rest of the sick should be treated carefully, not discriminated against because of the rich and the poor, and should do their best to study with its evolution in order to benefit the crowd; I will never accept ill-gotten gains in addition to proper medical treatment.

Wang Zhenyi said frankly that one of the reasons why he chose not to apply for a patent was that he didn’t have a clear patent consciousness at that time, but more importantly, he was always thinking about treating patients quickly. The examination time for applying for a patent is not short. Compared with the other, he hardly hesitated and chose to give up.

In 2020, Wang Zhenyi won the 2020 Future Science Award for Life Science with a prize of $1 million for her outstanding achievements in the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia.

Wang Zhenyi once said: "The doctor is to solve the patient’s problem."

This award is the greatest affirmation and respect for his research achievements and medical spirit over the years.

Read the original text

　　Beijing, Sept. 6 (Yang Yuqi) This year, the "post-00" students collectively entered the university era. Over the past few days, at the opening ceremony of major universities, university presidents’ "first lesson" explained the university spirit to these "post-00" students and taught them the truth of self-cultivation and scholarship.

　　What should college students do?

　　— — "There should be a responsibility to stand up and do things."

　　From Su Shi’s On Chao Cuo to Mozi’s Self-cultivation, in order to teach freshmen the first lesson in 2018, the principals quoted classics and warned every student the way of self-cultivation and scholarship with the wisdom of the ancients.

　　In his speech at the opening ceremony, Duan Xianzhong, president of Hunan University, quoted a sentence in the article "Mo Zi cultivate one’s morality", warning students that it takes hard work to learn.

　　He said that college students in Hunan should have the tolerance of looking at the world, inherit Zhu Zhixu’s wisdom, learn from the strengths of Europe and the United States, seek truth, pursue Excellence and stop at perfection; There should be a responsibility to stand up and do things. Chu Cai is thriving, striving for peace, rejuvenating China, worrying about the world, and being the first.

　　Li Yuanyuan, president of Jilin University, made the same speech at the beginning of school.

　　Li Yuanyuan encouraged his students to take reading and learning as the top priority of the university. He used Tao Yuanming’s Miscellaneous Poems: "If you don’t start again in your prime, it’s hard to get up in the morning. Be encouraged in time, and time waits for no one. " In this way, it is important to study hard, to study hard and to be persistent, and there must be no looseness or slackness.

　　In addition, he also quoted Su Shi’s famous line "On Chao Cuo": "Those who have made great achievements in ancient times are not only outstanding talents, but also have the will to persevere." Asking students to return to their original position, always carrying forward the spirit of hard work, and encouraging everyone to work hard has always been the "cornerstone" to change their destiny and achieve their dreams in life.

　　Lu Jian, the president of Nanjing University, used an ancient passage from "Happy Travel": "There are fish in the north, and their name is Kun. I don’t know how big it is. " He said to the freshmen: "In Nanjing University, you can really feel the joy of stretching and the harvest of growth, find yourself and learn to be adults."

　　What kind of person do you want to be?

　　— — "Tell the truth, be a real person and seek truth"

　　For freshmen who enter the university classroom, how to put moral education and morality first has become a reminder that the principals have been talking about many times.

　　Facing more than 3,800 freshmen in Tsinghua University in 2018, President Qiu Yong told the freshmen in his opening speech to "tell the truth, be a real person and seek truth".

　　He took Darwin’s book "The Origin of Species" published in 1859 as an example, and talked about Darwin being slandered, still not afraid of rape, and always sticking to his academic point of view. In this way, freshmen are encouraged to pursue truth, reject falsehood and abide by integrity.

　　Qiu Yong said: "Honesty is the basic principle that everyone should follow. I hope that students can always tell the truth, be real people, and achieve meaningful lives in the process of pursuing truth. "

　　In his speech, Qiu Yong quoted Einstein’s speech in 1931: "If you want to make your life’s work beneficial to mankind, then it is not enough to know only the applied science itself. Caring for people themselves should always be the main goal of all technical struggles. " He took this opportunity to remind a new group of college students to pay attention to humanistic care and fear life.

　　Lu Jian, president of Nanjing University, also made suggestions for freshmen’s way of life in his opening speech: "In college, you will face more powerful competitors, and you may encounter more difficulties in the future than expected. You should put forward higher requirements for yourself: strong body and strong mind; Self-study and self-management; Integrate into the collective and be kind to others. Become a college student with more independent personality, healthier body and mind, more active learning and more gregarious actions. "

　　How to learn?

　　— — "Look at yourself, and learn from the passive to the active"

　　Many freshmen are confused about how to become a qualified college student and make achievements in the professional field after bidding farewell to the junior and senior high school classes and entering the university. Don’t worry, the principals taught some learning methods to freshmen at the beginning of the "first lesson".

　　On the evening of August 24th, more than 6,000 freshmen of Zhejiang University in 2018 ushered in the opening ceremony. President Wu Zhaohui delivered a speech entitled "Building Excellent Ability of Autonomous Learning".

　　He warned freshmen that the first thing to do when they enter the university is to look at themselves, find their inner passion and creativity, get rid of the dependence of traditional learning paths, and turn from "passive learning" to "autonomous learning" to become a college student who loves learning, can learn and can learn.

　　Focusing on the topic of autonomous learning, Wu Zhaohui emphasized the importance of autonomous learning to the students. "Zhejiang University advocates the substantive integration of the four classes. Everyone can listen to famous teachers in the first class, engage in scientific research and innovation in the second class, engage in social practice in the third class, and participate in international exchanges in the fourth class."

　　Wang Shuguo, president of Xi ‘an Jiaotong University, also encourages freshmen to learn to take the initiative. He suggested that everyone must take an active and positive attitude towards anything, understand it, understand it, and take the initiative to participate in it. This is the basic way to be a man and do things. I hope everyone will try to be an active learner, not a passive receiver.

　　South university of science and technology of china, which has always attracted much attention for its innovation, President Chen Shiyi also put forward the suggestion of "building a rich and three-dimensional university life in multiple dimensions" for the students. He encouraged everyone to explore the depth of cognition, broaden their horizons, broaden their minds, hone their will, build the intensity of life, inject the temperature of life, and keep up with the times.

　　Moreover, Chen Shiyi encouraged his classmates with the poem "Today is a New Day" by American writer Donna Levin:

　　Today, you should know yourself and give yourself enough love and patience.

　　Today you will go forward bravely and rush to that brilliant tomorrow! (End)