The person unraveling the secrets of Royal Virgin Final instalment: THE PROBLEM OF COPYRIGHT AND THE FATE OF 696 SAMPLES

10/09/2005

When we finish this series, the research in Royal Virgin (Whose scientific name if Crinum latifolium L.) of Dr. Tram and her colleagues are entering a new phase. If the clinical trials at the coming days continued smoothly, apart from the treatment effect on BPH in men, Crila will have a new indication, “Treatment of uterine fibroids” written on the package. General Director of Phytopharma - Pharmacist Hoang The Tan also said he would be determined to complete the procedures so that Crila would soon be available on the world market.

Back in time, in 1994, Dr. Tram (as Assoc. Dr. at that time) represented Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) signed a contract on long-term cooperation in scientific research No. 06/DL2-HĐ with Phytopharma about “Cultivation, harvest, process, and research of chemical compositions and the treatment effects of Crinum latifolium L. tea on cancer”

Shortly after the contract was signed, a research team was formed including Dr. Tram (monitoring cultivation and researching chemical compositions and treatment effects in clinical practices) and another specializing in researching on tissue culture methods, under the contribution and direction of Prof. Dr. Do Tat Loi.

In October 1998, Prof. Loi spoke publicly about this research activity at a seminar in HCM City that “It is a large-scale and costly study subject but in almost 6 past years Nguyen Thi Ngoc Tram mainly spent her personal money on paying costs, such as cost of cultivation for testing clinical effect and pilot manufacture...which were up to hundreds of millions VND. This is not a small amount. The subject is in the time of deploy, so lack of funding would be a real difficulty.”

The providence of Prof. Loi in those years was not obscure at all because everyone knew that one spending her/his own money on scientific research like Dr. Tram was very rare. However, we also understood that at that time, Dr. Tram was on the right track as working to find a cure for cancer from plants. Moreover, seeing an impending future of the magic ability of Crinum latifolium L., it was difficult to stop her in those years. She said when going abroad for researching, to feel secure, she needed someone who has professional knowledge in planting seedlings and caring for Crinum latifolium L. plantation. She accepted to pay 300 USD/month for a trusted person. Prof. Loi knew this but until the Council of Science announced that Dr. Tram has found 63 compounds in Crinum latifolium L... a tragedy of dispute happened. The event made a tumult in scientific researching circles. Dr. Tram had to take a long time to prove her work. Prof. Loi and Council of Science had to jump on the bandwagon to “bear witness” and vindicate her because they actually knew she had to take many years to overcome “pity” look of her colleagues and friends, as they thought that “She is crazy to pursue studying only one kind of medicine while having ability to study another kind.”

Now, when having “The registration patent and utility solution”, Dr. Tram did not retell that sad story, but according to what we collected, especially the letter Prof. Loi sent her in those years, we knew that the conflict occurred very intensely. Prof. Loi was the one "in the middle" but also very upset. Furthermore, the “mess” also damaged ...good repute of Crinum latifolium L. even in the context of its peak fever in the market. What could be sadder than when the “king” of the pharmaceutical industry had to say, “Since 1995, Ms. A. (because the person concerned died, we changed and abbreviated her name - reporter) has suggested producing Crinum latifolium L. tea using traditional experience in capacity of my name, but actually in a few years of production I never got a dime from her. In April 1998, to conduct clinical trials in the National Institute of Medicine, I suggested Ms. A doing sampling, but I noticed that the sample did not meet the heterogeneous quality and had uneven weight package, since she fixed my recipe of 18 medicines for kidney. I did not send out this sample to National Institute of Medicine and then Mrs. Tram had to bring the leaves to Hanoi Institute of Medicine to formulate tea-formed medicine that is now undergone clinical trials in HCM Institute of Medicine. Since April 1998, I  decided not to allow Ms. A. to use my name and moved the production to Tue Lan clinic, assigned Tram to research and produce tea, conduct contract with Central Pharmaceutical company No.2 since 1994 and Central Pharmaceutical Company No.2 has established Crinum latifolium L. tea workshop which is putting into pilot production research from September 1998”.

However, it was not the only “hurdle” in the journey of putting Crinum latifolium L. into the human world of Dr. Tram. After a long time bringing dried materials to foreign countries to research, in February 2000, although she and her colleagues were allowed to transfer 696 samples, contained in 696 bottles to Vietnam in order to prepare for further study by the Faculty of Organic Chemistry - Chemistry Center Fito - Bulgarian Academy of Science, customs made difficulties to them. Dr. Tram said, “At that time, in order to distinguish them easily, I put substances found in 696 small colorful bottles, packed them, and then transported to Vietnam. In spite of having the confirmation letter of Bulgarian Academy of Science, I was not allowed to take the container out of Bulgaria. Bulgarian Academy of Science had to intervene to solve the problem. Thinking that everything would go smoothly then, but when the plane landed at Noi Bai Airport, I had to struggle with procedures, professional dogs sniffed out several times but did not define what substances were so the customs kept all my container.” At that time, the Ministry of Health and the Bulgarian Academy of Science had to send official dispatches and directly confirm that Dr. Tram’s sample bottles were solely brought “for research without stimulating effect and commercial purpose”. However, it took two weeks after the “exhibits” were released.

As a result, due to keeping in the warehouse for too long with unsuitable temperature, many sample bottles was damaged, then taken into Phytopharma warehouse to keep as keepsakes. Those “keepsakes” were causing significant damage to Dr. Tram’s research. Therefore, although 5 years past, she still decided to keep them.