Recently, Ma Xiaoyun (pseudonym), who lives in Wuhan, Hubei Province, was hospitalized due to a new crown infection. She urgently needed an intravenous injection of human immunoglobulin (hereinafter referred to as "globulin"), but the hospital was out of stock. At the same time, she also visited Wuhan and her hometown Huangshi pharmacy Afterwards, they were told that they were sold out, so she had no choice but to seek help from relatives and friends in Guangzhou and Shenzhen to find the drug.
"In the end, my younger brother successfully purchased 20 bottles of globulin at a pharmacy in Shenzhen, at a total cost of about 11,200 yuan. Because of urgent needs, it cost more than 1,500 yuan in logistics costs to send these medicines from Shenzhen to Wuhan." Ma Xiaoyun told China Business News Reporter said.
As one of the blood products, intravenous human immunoglobulin (PH4), also known as "static C", "globulin" and "globulin", is a prescription drug, which was not widely used in clinical practice, so the hospital stock is limited.
Recently, due to the increase in the number of Omicron infections, globulin has been sought after by the market, and many pharmacies have also reported that it is out of stock.
It is worth mentioning that when purchasing medicines in pharmacies, a doctor's prescription is required.
The first financial reporter exclusively learned that the daily purchase price of a bottle of globulin is about 300 yuan, but at present, the terminal sales price in some markets can be as high as thousands of yuan, and even 1,700 yuan a bottle.
How do you view the phenomenon of "difficult to find a bottle" of globulin?
What effect does globulin play in the treatment of new crowns?
The original ex-factory price is more than 300 yuan
"Help everyone in the circle, may I ask if there is a channel to buy gamma globulin, my family is in urgent need of hospitalization." Recently, news about various purchases of gamma globulin can be seen everywhere on social media.
Public information shows that globulin is a concentrated immunoglobulin preparation isolated from the plasma donated by thousands of healthy people, which can defend the human body against infection, prevent autoantibody damage to the body, and improve human immune function. .
There are more than 20 effective indications confirmed in the clinical application of globulin in various countries in the world, which can treat primary immunoglobulin deficiency, such as common variable immunodeficiency disease, immunoglobulin G subtype deficiency disease, etc.; treatment of secondary immunoglobulin deficiency Globulin deficiency diseases, such as severe infection, neonatal sepsis, etc.; treatment of autoimmune diseases, such as idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, Kawasaki disease, etc.
A channel dealer who once represented globulin told Yicai Global that globulin can enhance immunity, and this product is widely used in developed countries.
However, before the emergence of the new crown epidemic, the usage rate of this product in China was not high, mainly due to insufficient market education.
In view of the low utilization rate in China, the sales price of some imported globulins in China once appeared upside down, that is, the price was lower than that in developed countries.
However, recently, with the increase in the number of Omicron infections, globulin has been "out of the circle", and the market's awareness has greatly increased.
"Originally one-third of the national sales market of globulin was mainly concentrated in Guangdong, especially the Chaoshan area of Guangdong. As a drug strictly controlled by policies, the daily ex-factory price is more than 300 yuan a bottle, and the retail price in pharmacies is around 450 yuan. Recently, In some areas, the drug has been hyped up to thousands of yuan. In addition to the surge in demand brought about by the epidemic, some distributors are also hoarding and hyping. Especially in the past half a month, the phenomenon of hoarding in the market has been on the rise. This kind of hoarding has also exacerbated the tight supply in the market to a certain extent. In addition, in the process of hoarding, some channel operators will also increase the price layer by layer, and the price of one layer may increase by 50% before transferring.” The above-mentioned channel provider revealed to the first financial reporter. .
According to the official website of the State Food and Drug Administration, there are more than 100 intravenous human immunoglobulins approved for listing in China, and the manufacturers involved include Hualan Bioengineering Co., Ltd., Nanyue Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Shanghai Raas Blood Products Co., Ltd., China Resources Boya Biopharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd., Guangdong Shuanglin Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd., etc.
"At present, there are not many domestic companies that can produce globulin. The main raw material for globulin production is plasma. Although the production of plasma is increasing every year, the increase is still limited. Due to the epidemic, the market demand for globulin has increased greatly, but for For enterprises, it is not easy to expand production in the short term, because in addition to being constrained by the tight supply of raw materials, the production of this product is also quite difficult.” A person from a globulin production company told a reporter from China Business News.
It is worth mentioning that recently, with the increasing number of people who are positive for the new crown, the number of people who are isolated and treated at home has increased, and the number of citizens who have gone out for activities has decreased significantly, resulting in a corresponding decrease in the number of blood donations. Some blood banks have also reported shortages in stock.
How effective is globulin in the treatment of new crowns
How much role can globulin play in the treatment of new crowns?
"Globulin is used to passively enhance human immunity. It is used by people with low immunity and various infections in the late stage of infection. It is not necessary for other people to use it, and it has no preventive effect." An infection expert told the first financial reporter.
Hu Yang, deputy chief physician of the Respiratory Department of Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, told Yicai Global that as a globulin extracted from blood plasma, the main component is antibody.
In the body, the elimination of the new coronavirus mainly depends on antibodies.
Theoretically speaking, after the antibody is injected into the human body, it has a certain anti-virus effect, especially the antibody extracted from the blood that has been infected with the new crown can exert a greater effect.
In the process of the new crown infecting the human body, the virus and the body's immune system are mainly interacting, which is equivalent to a battle between two parties, but any party's overreaction will cause damage to the human body.
Injecting globulin, in addition to eliminating viruses, can also inhibit the production of inflammatory factors.
"Different from specific monoclonal antibodies, globulins are equivalent to polyclonal antibodies, but not every antibody in them is effective against the new coronavirus, and some antibodies are even ineffective. In addition, after globulins are injected into the human body, within 24 hours Therefore, this product cannot be used for prevention, but it can be used for the treatment of severe cases of the new crown. Although the plasma is strictly screened and the virus is inactivated during the extraction process of the product, But theoretically, there is still a potential risk of spreading pathogens. Therefore, considering its potential risks, before the outbreak, there were not many clinical uses." Hu Yang said.
On January 9, 2021, "International Journal Infectious Disease" magazine published the title "Efficacy Evaluation of Intravenous Immunoglobulin in Non-severe Patients with COVID-19: A Retrospective Cohort Study Based on Propensity Score Matching” research.
Currently, the COVID-19 epidemic is spreading globally, and there is no definite and effective antiviral drug.
Theoretically, intravenous injection of human immunoglobulin may enhance the immune function of patients and promote the clearance of the new coronavirus, thereby improving the clinical outcome of patients with new coronary pneumonia.
The study aimed to evaluate the clinical effect of intravenous human immunoglobulin on non-severe patients with new coronary pneumonia.
However, the study showed that intravenous human immunoglobulin did not significantly improve clinical outcomes in non-severe COVID-19 patients compared with the standard treatment group.
The above-mentioned channel business told CBN reporters that globulin has certain requirements for storage and transportation conditions, and it needs to be stored in an environment of 2 to 8 degrees, otherwise it will easily become invalid.
At present, in the process of market hype, whether the product can be guaranteed to meet the storage and transportation standards still has to be questioned. However, if the storage and transportation does not meet the standards, it may also bring certain safety hazards.