The expeditionary force began to dominate Southeast Asia by recruiting defeated soldiers

Chapter 556 Streptomycin, Oxytetracycline, and Erythromycin

Lin Zhenhua nodded and said that the main products were penicillin, aspirin and morphine, which fully met the needs of the current end of the war and post-war reconstruction.

"What about R&D? I see there's a large R&D center on the factory floor plan."

"The R&D center is still under renovation, but the team has been formed." Chen Acai pointed to an independent white building in the distance with a significantly higher security level.

"It's led by Dr. Chen, who just returned from Bern, and they have several expert consultants from Italy and Hans. I heard their targets are streptomycin, erythromycin, and something... oxytetracycline? It's said to be a new drug that can fight more pathogens."

As early as when penicillin was just put into production, in order to break the Western patent monopoly on antibacterial drugs, Zhang Chi began to plan the development of new antibiotics.

Among them, erythromycin is mainly used to treat pneumonia, scarlet fever, syphilis, and otitis media. It is an alternative medicine for people who are allergic to penicillin. Historically, Eli Lilly isolated it from soil actinomycetes in 52. Now Nanyang has been able to extract this antibiotic in the laboratory, applied for a patent early on, and is studying methods for large-scale industrial production.

Streptomycin is primarily effective against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Yersinia pestis, and some Gram-negative bacteria (such as Escherichia coli), and is particularly effective against pulmonary tuberculosis, which is currently incurable. White Eagle Pharmaceuticals has just begun mass production, and Starlight Pharmaceuticals' mission is to compete with White Eagle. After all, there are countless tuberculosis patients worldwide, and the market prospects are enormous.

As for oxytetracycline, it is used to treat typhus, brucellosis, and mycoplasma pneumonia. In addition, oxytetracycline is also a special medicine prepared by Zhang Chi for subsequent large-scale breeding.

After all, once livestock and poultry are raised at high density, cross-infection is very likely to occur, and antibiotics need to be used on a large scale to avoid infection.

As for whether doing so will lead to the enrichment of antibiotics and thus drug resistance?

Zhang Chi said, "People are not getting enough to eat, and they can't even guarantee eating meat once a week. It's useless to think about these things. First, fill their stomachs and ensure that people can taste meat every day!"

"Oxytetracycline, streptomycin..." Lin Zhenhua's heart burned as he listened to this. The search for new broad-spectrum antibiotics was currently a cutting-edge research direction internationally, and Nanyang had already begun planning for this. This initiative and foresight filled him with curiosity and admiration for Zhang Chi, the great commander he had never met.

No, he did meet her once. It was on the day of the founding of the People's Republic of China. He saw her from afar on the viewing platform.

As the tour was coming to an end, Chen Acai took Lin Zhenhua to the workshop director's office.

The office was spacious and bright, with a large glass window overlooking the entire core production area. On the desk, besides a brand-new phone and a file rack, sat a thick copy of the "Penicillin Deep Tank Continuous Fermentation Process Procedures and Emergency Operations Manual," with "Top Secret" printed on the cover.

"Director Lin, this is your office. Next door is the technical team's office. The technicians assigned to you are all top students from the Chemical Engineering Department of Nanjing University of Chemical Technology, and there are also two veterans with experience in pharmaceutical factories.

Besides…” Chen Acai paused, a subtle expression on his face. “The group has assigned you a technical assistant, a… um… White Eagle expert, Mr. Hansen. He’s experienced, but his temper is a bit… blunt.”

Just as he finished speaking, the office door was pushed open with a bang.

A tall, gray-haired white old man wearing a white coat stained with oil strode in. He had a hooked nose and a bit of the stubbornness that was unique to old engineers.

"Are you the new technical director? Lin?" Hansen spoke in Anglican with a thick German accent, looking Lin Zhenhua up and down, his tone not polite, "So young? A master's degree from MIT? Hmm... I hope you're not one of those 'theorists' who only talk about theory on paper.

Drug production is a dance with the devil; any small mistake can turn raw materials worth hundreds of thousands of dollars into garbage in the gutter."

Lin Zhenhua felt the doubts and pressure coming his way, but he did not back down.

In Southeast Asia, as a Chinese, he represents the new generation of technological power and is also a practitioner of the concept of "technology in command".

He straightened his back and responded in fluent Ansa, neither humble nor arrogant: "Hello, Mr. Hansen. I'm Lin Zhenhua. Talking on paper is useless, so I'm standing here. MIT taught me theory and thinking methods, but true technology and experience need to be accumulated through practice. I look forward to working with you to ensure the stable and efficient operation of this production line."

Hansen seemed a little surprised by Lin Zhenhua's calmness. He snorted, his eyes swept over the top-secret manual on Lin Zhenhua's desk, and a barely perceptible complex look flashed in his eyes.

"Very good. Let's test your 'practical' abilities then. The first batch of bacteria has been inoculated, and in 48 hours it will enter the critical logarithmic growth phase. As the director, you will personally monitor the control curves for tank pressure, temperature, and dissolved oxygen, correct?"

"Of course, Mr. Hansen." Lin Zhenhua nodded, his eyes already cast on the huge group of fermentation tanks outside the window. He knew that this was his "entrance examination".

For the next two days, Lin Zhenhua spent almost all his time, eating and sleeping in the workshop.

He eagerly studied the thick, top-secret manual, and combined it with what he had learned at White Eagle, he quickly understood the subtleties and potential risks of this advanced system.

He led the technicians to check instruments, calibrate sensors, and simulate emergency plans over and over again.

His exchanges with Hansen were also full of tension and clashes of wisdom - Hansen was experienced and extremely demanding on details, while Lin Zhenhua was quick-witted and had a solid theoretical foundation, and his speed of understanding of this new system far exceeded Hansen's expectations.

When the fermentation entered the most sensitive logarithmic phase, an unexpected situation occurred.

The cooling water circulation pump connected to tank No. 3 suddenly made an abnormal noise, the flow rate showed a slight but continuous downward trend, and the temperature curve began to show signs of slowly rising.

"Damn it, it takes time for the backup pump to start. Manually adjust the bypass valve, quickly!" Hansen was experienced and immediately identified the problem, shouting anxiously.

"No, the manual bypass is not accurate enough and the temperature fluctuation will be greater, which will be a disaster for the bacterial flora." Lin Zhenhua's brain was working rapidly and he quickly came up with a new way to deal with it.

Hansen was stunned for a moment, and looking at the confidence in Lin Zhenhua's eyes, he subconsciously chose to cooperate.

After some trouble, the temperature finally stabilized.

"Well done, kid." Hansen's voice was still hard, but his eyes showed a little more recognition. "Quick reaction, brave enough..."

Lin Zhenhua shook Hansen's rough hand firmly, revealing his first truly relaxed smile since returning home. "Thank you, this is just the beginning. My goal is to make Starlight's pharmaceuticals the best quality, lowest cost, and largest volume in the world."

Chinese people should have their own high-quality and low-priced medicines produced by themselves, so that such medicines can benefit all compatriots.

This was exactly what Lin Zhenhua had hoped to achieve when he left Singapore and went to study chemistry in White Eagle.

The newly born United States of Southeast Asia and its leader Zhang Chi have obviously provided him with the best stage.