To fulfill our intention of promoting public health and welfare, we repeatedly inquire about the outside world on their suggestions for our product and business. We share all our acquired knowledge with the public, from children to elders. From visual to audio, we designed appealing materials to attract public attention. The feedback we receive guides our next move.
At present, the diagnosis of Parkinson 's disease is mainly based on clinical symptoms, which are usually diagnosed when neurons have been lost in large quantities. This late diagnosis limits the opportunities for early intervention and treatment. Early identification of patients with the possibility of Parkinson 's disease can be intervened when the nerve injury is not yet serious, which may delay the progression of the disease. Through the detection of biomarkers, early signs of PD can be found in asymptomatic or mild patients. We selected neurofilament protein light chain ( NF-L ), α-synuclein ( α-syn ), and amyloid Aβ42 as ideal biological standards. Their coding genes were introduced into BL21, and then the corresponding target proteins were overexpressed. In the future, specific antibodies will be obtained through animal experiments, and antibodies will be used to develop clinical detection kits.
“A Survey on the the population's understanding of Parkinson's disease and Product development directions”Our intention in conducting this survey is twofold: one, to gain a broad understanding of the current degree of knowledge regarding the familiarity of the Chinese population with Parkinson’s disease; two, to seek product functionality needs and preferences for further development of our product — Parkinson’s disease test box.
The questionnaire can be divided into three modules. In the first module, questions revolve around assessing the understanding of the disease’s symptoms, inducing factors, and treatment apparatus. In the second module, we survey media preferences, interest in relative knowledge, and the status quo of public education on Parkinson’s disease. The third module provides insights on the popularization of prevention measures, preferred pricing of our product, and product improvement suggestions.
533 sets of valid responses are collected within three days of releasing the questionnaire. The geographic coverage of our response spans across all of China's provinces, barring Taiwan province, Hainan province, and Xizang municipality, with 143 responses originating from Beijing.
Responses have a relatively even gender distribution with 45.22% respondents being male and 51.78% being female. Our respondents cover all age groups. Age intervals are categorized into 0-12, 12-24, 24-60, and above 60, receiving a 51.97% majority from respondents of age 24-60.
To better pinpoint our consumer group's (medical institutions) requirements, we asked for our respondents occupations. The highest proportion of 46.25% are identified as non-medical/health practitioners, while only 3% are medical/health practitioners. This reflects that our questionnaire results better represent the common public’s extent of education and attitudes towards our product.
When assessing common knowledge on inducing factors of Parkinson’s disease, we received 80.68% answering long-term pressure, 71.86% answering lack of sleep, and 69.98% answering lack of exercise (Figure 4). Also, among all choices to the question, the choice ‘excessive usage of electronic devices’ is a confound. However, 35.83% respondents believe that this is an inducing factor of Parkinson’s disease, indicating a prevalent misunderstanding that has to be addressed. Moreover, with an association with age, among the age group of 24-60, approximately 41.16% of respondents have selected the confound choice. This prompts us to emphasize the education of inducing factors in our human education activities, especially among the 24-60 age group. We should also make efforts to share the disease’s knowledge among medical/health practitioners as 43.75% of these respondents were also trapped by the confound choice. (Figure 5)
Similarly, we have questioned respondents on which they believe are symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. In this question, “Hallucinations/anomalous actions” is the confound choice, with 25.89% who selected this choice demonstrating a misconception (Figure 6).
The question of the public’s familiarity with existing products on the detection and treatment of Parkinson’s disease has revealed that 63.04% of respondents are devoid of any relevant knowledge (Figure 7). Though 30.21% of respondents have varying awareness of prescription drugs in the market, only 15.2% know about test boxes. Additionally, even among medical health practitioners, 12 out of 16 were never exposed to similar detection products like our test box. This data presents us with an exigent mission to promote the importance of testing and how taking such measures has profound health benefits. It will be necessary to design effective promotion strategies, increasing product exposure to our target consumers before achieving sales.
We asked about the public’s preference on which media platform they prefer to receive Parkinson’s disease. According to the results (Figure 8), the majority (68.29%) of respondents favor mainstream news media. Therefore, we have promptly established a Today’s Headline official account to respond to such needs. Along with this account, we have also posted blog posts and introductions of our team on all the platforms mentioned in the choices.
Respondents to the survey also highly agree on the insufficiency of knowledge for the prevention of Parkinson’s disease, where 48.59% claim that education is ‘inadequate’ and 15.38% claim that it is ‘totally inadequate’ This finding depicts a significant information gap yet is not fulfilled. Such realization consolidates our team's intention to enhance the UN’s sustainable goal of public health and welfare. We have decided that besides crucial product development, we will also devote a substantial amount of time to public education. So far, we have already scheduled three events to spread Parkinson’s disease health knowledge to college students and nursing home caregivers and vulnerable groups of children.
When asked which specific type of knowledge regarding the disease attracts their interest, most respondents show great interest in multiple aspects. For instance, 84.05% are interested in the disease’s precursors and symptoms (Figure 10). We strive to provide comprehensive knowledge to the public, maximizing the effect to boost public health circumstances.
54.41% of respondents have confessed to never adopting any Parkinson’s disease prevention measures (Figure 11). This could suggest that there is a vast opportunity for massively reducing future Parkinson’s disease sufferers if our product can be popularized. Drawing a cross-analysis with the responses to the previous question: “What products do you know about Parkinson’s disease?” it is evident that the public is poorly aware of the fact that Parkinson’s disease can be forecasted. This concept should become one of our core values during product promotion and public education.
To assist with product pricing, we inquired about the acceptable range of prices to the public. While a total of 61.91% of respondents claim that below 500 RMB is acceptable, accounting for the opinion of different age groups presents more accurate information (Figure 12). An isolated analysis of respondents above the age of 60 (which will most likely be the age range of our product’s end users) reveals that they are more tolerant of higher pricing, with the highest acceptance for the price range of 1000-1500 RMB and above 1500 RMB (being 24.24% and 9.09% respectively). While we aim to make our product accessible to all, we still have to be cautious about covering research and development expenditures. This result provides a positive market prospect that our product is perceived to be worth of high monetary value to our end users.
We asked people to rank the importance of the following features of our product according to their opinions: (1) Minimize pain during testing, (2) Improve detection efficiency and shorten the re-examination period without affecting the effect, (3) More accurate screening instruments to prevent compounding the disease. The response is sequenced in the same order from one to three. Moreover, further analyzing the factor of age, 19 out of 33 respondents aged above 60 have prioritized ‘minimizing pain during testing.’ This finding highlights how our product development should emphasize this aspect over others to satisfy our end user’s needs.
At present, scientific research has no clear research effect on the pathogenesis and treatment of Parkinson's disease, so the prevention and detection of Parkinson's disease is particularly important. Our group is developing A Parkinson's disease test kit using α-syn, Aβ42, and NF-L as biomarkers. The sensitivity and specificity of Parkinson's disease diagnosis can be improved, and early intervention and better disease management can be achieved. We interviewed Dr. Chu, an attending physician in the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Wuhan No.6 Hospital, about the prevention, detection technology, future prospects and improvement direction of Parkinson's disease.
Parkinson's disease is a specialist disease of neurology in the Academy of Western Medicine, and Dr. Chu has studied this field. At the same time, he can also meet some patients with Parkinson's disease in traditional Chinese medicine. When we asked about the treatment of Parkinson's disease with Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), Dr Chu replied that the treatment of western medicine and its therapeutic effect are generally difficult to meet the expectations of patients or their families, so some patients choose TCM treatment. Dr. Chu also mentioned that not only the treatment of Parkinson's disease can be complementary, but also many diseases in the spectrum of diseases we have found, most of which are the combination of Chinese and western medicine to complement each other, promote the recovery of the disease, and get better curative effect. Parkinson's disease (PD) is called tremor in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). In the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, the cause of tremor disease is the wind, which belongs to the liver in the five zang organs. Generally, we treat it from the perspective of the liver.
（2）The prevention, detection technology, and improvement direction of Parkinson's disease.According to Chu, modern medical detection methods for Parkinson's disease are relatively simple. In general, according to the symptoms at the time of consultation, CT, magnetic resonance imaging, such as examination, or through some humoral examination to determine his neuronal injury dysfunction. Clinical diagnosis plus these biochemical indicators to make a rough judgment.
Chu noted that modern medicine does not have a gold standard for Parkinson's disease treatment. At the same time, the treatment of Parkinson's disease today is largely based on oral levodopa, which is also commonly used in clinical practice. However, in terms of effect, there was no very significant and stable effect. That's what we need to innovate. Parkinson's disease is more common in the elderly. From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, it is due to the lack of liver and kidneys due to ageing. Therefore, the prevention method provided by traditional Chinese medicine is to prevent Parkinson's syndrome by regulating the liver and kidneys to avoid premature kidney failure.
Dr. Chu believes that the key direction of Parkinson's disease in the future should be prevention, detection, clinical treatment, and unremitting efforts to let patients recover. That's what we're trying to do.
（3）The benefits of early intervention in Parkinson's disease.Early detection and treatment of Parkinson's disease can delay its progression and achieve significant results. The treatment period is also gradually shortened as the patient stabilizes. The long-term treatment of the intake of drugs can cause harm to the body of people, which Dr. Chu clearly pointed out, "For example, we mentioned that these western drugs can cause some damage to the gastrointestinal tract or liver and kidney. In traditional Chinese medicine, of course, this part is also involved. And it's limited by your level of TCM, or your knowledge of pathology, and the use of certain drugs. There are different scenarios. Some people may develop liver and kidney damage. According to the side effects, the drug was adjusted or reduced.
（4）The effects of Parkinson's disease on both patients and their families are significant.Dr. Chu emphasized the crucial role of family members in providing support and companionship to patients throughout their treatment journey. It is essential for family members to prioritize the emotional well-being of patients, as this greatly contributes to successful follow-up treatment. Currently, the government place significant emphasis on patient care, with a gradual integration of prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation efforts. A key aspect of patient care lies in rehabilitation assistance, which necessitates specialized institutions dedicated to this purpose. For instance, hospitals or specialized nursing centers have implemented and invested in the establishment of rehabilitation departments. Dr. Chu asserts that society exhibits understanding, acceptance, and respect towards individuals with Parkinson's disease. Dr. Chu mentioned that at present, many people are not clear about the specific process of going to the hospital to detect and treat Parkinson's disease, and in the future, we can carry out science popularization for the elderly.
（5）Future PerspectivesDr Chu mentioned that patients' acceptance of TCM treatment for Parkinson's disease is lower than that of western medicine, and successful cases need to be used to convince the public. We need more tools to detect Parkinson's disease.
3.Summary(1) The integration of traditional Chinese and Western medicine in the treatment of PD can enhance treatment efficiency and effectiveness.
(2) Due to individual differences in physical function, it is necessary to consider each patient's unique situation when consulting, which also serves as a direction for product improvement. Improving the accuracy of product detection is crucial in addressing this issue.
(3) Our kit represents a significant breakthrough in the single detection market, providing momentum for our project.
(4) Kit testing is essential for early disease detection and treatment due to its lower cost, shorter time frame, and greater efficacy compared to later stages of the disease.
(5) In caring for patients with Parkinson's disease, inclusivity, helpfulness, and respect are paramount.
4. Post-event inspiration and suggestions:Through Dr. Chu's sharing, we have improved our understanding of the project background and professional knowledge, as well as some of the society's attitudes towards patients and some of the treatment experience. At the same time, we harvested the improvement direction and future prospects for the detection kit. The importance and advantages shared by Dr. Chu for early detection of Parkinson's disease are very helpful for our product. The trend of government and national policy also played a strong role in our research. In the future, we will make gradual improvements according to the recommendations mentioned by Dr. Chu to improve the stability and accuracy of product detection. In addition, we will make more efforts in the education and publicity of Parkinson's-related knowledge, and strive to let more people know about Parkinson's disease and our products.
Modern medicine has not yet had a clear detection method and treatment for Parkinson's disease. Our team is working on creating a high-precision Parkinson's disease detection kit, which is currently in the research and development stage. Our team conducted an interview with Huang Limin, a doctor from the Department of Physical Chemistry of East China University of Science and Technology, who is currently the R&D director of Huahai Pharmaceutical, regarding the types of Parkinson's disease drugs, the side effects of long-term medication, our market positioning, challenges and solutions, details and precautions, and prospects.
Our team first asked Dr. Huang about the advantages and disadvantages of drugs used to treat different stages of Parkinson's disease. Dr Huang said the current treatment for Parkinson's disease is generally based on drugs, mainly neurotransmitters. Early mild disease is recommended to use drugs such as dopamine receptor agonists, the advantage is quick effect, the disadvantage is very expensive, and later efficacy will be reduced. Dr. Huang also mentioned that amantadine drugs, as a kind of medicine, are more effective, but the side effects are particularly serious, and there may be a risk of congestive heart failure, hypertension or hyperlipidemia in the later stage. Late treatments include anticholines and drugs such as dopamine inhibitors and compound levodopa. For example, the compound levodopa has a good effect on the later treatment of elderly patients. At the same time, Dr. Huang said that long-term medication may damage our intestines, esophagus, nervous system, resulting in nausea, drowsiness, dizziness, motor function decline and other symptoms. There is little difference in price between the early and late periods, but because of the need for continuous medication, longer medication cycles increase costs. In the later stage, the symptoms will be more and more serious, and patients may need to undergo surgery or psychological intervention to help patients recover. Therefore, in general, the treatment of Parkinson's disease should try to achieve early detection and early treatment. Early detection of the disease can delay its progress, the probability of improvement is greater than 20%, and it can reduce the financial pressure and complications of later treatment.
(2) Market positioning of Parkinson's disease test kitsWe asked Dr. Huang about the market pricing and packing of our products. Dr Huang said only two companies on the market have completed the application for the test kit, and the price is high. Modern medical testing is mainly based on cooperation with hospitals, and the direction of our products may be inclined to over-the-counter testing drugs. To this extent, the public can choose to test at home, which expands the demand market of the product and enhances the competitiveness of the product. Dr. Huang suggested that we should have an advantage in pricing our products according to their effectiveness and cost. According to the expert feedback, our kit is planned to take the form of independent packaging, because once the packaging is opened, the oxygen and moisture in the air will affect the test drug and cannot be stored for a long time.
(3) Challenges and solutions of Parkinson's test kitIn the development of an early test for Parkinson's disease, our team asked Dr. Huang about some of the challenges we might face. Since our product is exogenous, we only need to contact the target protein to be tested with the detection kit, and there is no direct physical contact with the user. As a new pharmaceutical company, our team needs to understand industry regulations and standards. From the development of a new drug to the market, we need to ensure the safety and efficacy of the drug through clinical trials. After that, the product goes through a shelf stabilization period to ensure that there is no increase in the relevant impurities in the test box. Finally, we need to resubmit the application. If we find the problem by ourselves, we need to make timely changes and submit the instructions to indicate the data. The application will be reviewed by the Review Committee. If the test we develop is the latest in the world, we can propose to establish the corresponding regulations as a reference for other companies, and that's the whole process. In general, the company will set up a project management department to conduct product audits to deal with potential compliance problems.
(4) Details and cautionsIn terms of the details and precautions of our products, Dr. Huang said that if we do early detection products, the specificity and sensitivity of the products are higher. Timely detection of early symptoms can shorten the period of medication for patients, which can reduce the economic burden of patients. In terms of publicity, on the one hand, it is online and offline advertising; On the other hand, our products should have enough detection effect to support the reputation of the product and can achieve the publicity effect of mutual promotion among users. In creating the supply chain, Dr Huang points to hospitals as good partners, which need huge quantities of experimental products for disease prevention and early detection. Moreover, kits for early detection need to be refrigerated and transported, so we need to find a suitable production base for distribution. On how to achieve the goal of sustainable development, Dr. Huang said that in the experiment, toxic and harmful gases and sewage discharge may be produced. So, we need to choose a more remote location to build factories to recycle, clean and treat harmful substances.
(5) Future PerspectivesRegarding the future profit cycle and market penetration rate, experts say that the profit cycle of a new drug or generic drug is generally about five years, and it can be profitable in three years as soon as possible. Many testing or therapeutic products need to be done clinically, which will be a high cost. Like some new pharmaceutical companies, the upfront pricing has a ten-year protection period and needs to be profitable within that period. If there are fewer competitors, upfront pricing can be higher. After profit, if more enterprises follow up in the later period, they can reduce prices. As for the market penetration rate, Dr. Huang said that market penetration is because few enterprises do it in the early stage. If our products collect information, our market share will be very high in the early stage. If our product is launched, our product can be promoted through collective procurement to increase market share. For a new company, by making a profit from this product, our team can develop other products and follow such a positive cycle to invigorate our enterprise.
To adhere to, follow, and promote the principle of human sustainable development, in the following product research and development process, we will ensure the implementation of the green concept. Based on the actual situation, we will use the three proteins for the detection of lesions, so that each detection kit sent to the user has high accuracy and detection effect. We will continue to contact the sales team with more contacts and resources in the medical field and continue to occupy the market. Through the product effect and user feedback, we constantly improve the market influence.
Parkinson's disease is increasing by 10% to 20% per year worldwide, and our team is developing early detection kits to help early detection of Parkinson's disease. To implement the principle of human sustainable development and understand the financing process and details, we found Mr. Han, financing director of Shanghai Runda Medical Technology Co., LTD., for an exclusive interview.
Mr. Han said that the financing strategy of startups should be systematically evaluated according to the size of the enterprise and the start-up capital, looking for venture capital or industrial investment. As for how to deal with the challenges and risks we will encounter in the financing process, we learned from the interview with Director Han that we need to seek legal advice and bet in advance. In the case of company emergencies, you need to use your own ability to solve them. We need to promote the product and find its radiation surface. In terms of the size of the research and development and management team, Mr. Han suggested that typically, like a startup, you need 10 to 20 people on the personnel side. This size gives us more room for capital. The prospect of early detection products is broad, which gives us great motivation to move forward.
We conducted in-depth discussions on the financing strategy, product competitiveness, risk aversion, company size composition, R&D investment, market prospect and other issues of Parkinson's early detection box. Director Han suggested that start-ups should choose appropriate financing channels according to their own positioning, pay attention to technological development trends, and improve product accuracy and stability. At the same time, it also affirmed our project and believed that Parkinson's disease detection is a promising direction.
In the later stage, our team will strive to improve the value of the product, set up a legal team and plan the promotion. The Parkinson's early detection kit was successfully marketed.