Colorful used Baijiu bottles lined up forming part of a wall at the entrance of a house in the Mentougou district of suburban Beijing. Photo: VCG
Qinghai Spring Medicinal Resources Technology Co, a Chinese health products company recently made famous for selling the most expensive baijiu (white spirit) in China, has drawn netizens’ attention to its collaboration with two Nobel Prize winners, including Ferid Murad, whose research was led to the development of Viagra.
Qinghai Spring earned some fame for selling its Tinghua Baijiu at 58,600 yuan ($8,671.91) a bottle, the most expensive spirit on the Chinese mainland market, and announced on Thursday that it was hiring two Nobel Prize winners — Ferid Murad, who is responsible for his study of saltpetre is known oxide and biochemist and biophysicist Arieh Warshel – as the best scientists of the company.
Murad’s study led to the creation of Viagra, the famous erectile dysfunction drug that works by increasing the effects of nitric oxide in the blood vessels of the penis.
In his capacity as Qinghai Spring’s top scientist, Murad would advise the company on future experiments on nitric oxide, cyclic guanosine monophosphate and alcohol research, the company said.
Warshel, who received the 2013 Nobel Prize for “the development of multiscale models for complex chemical systems”, is tasked with infusing scientific knowledge into the company’s product and technology development, including improving product taste.
As the news simmered on Chinese social media over the weekend, some netizens questioned whether the company’s hiring move was a marketing stunt.
China has a huge liquor industry and a deep drinking culture. New data from the China Alcoholic Drinks Association last week showed that the country’s baijiu distilleries sold 603.34 billion yuan worth of baijiu in 2021 and made a profit of 170.19 billion yuan, an increase of 18.6 percent or 32.95 percent compared to the previous year.
Leading brands such as Kweichow Moutai Co have a market capitalization of over 2.4 trillion yuan, ranking among the top companies among the 4,500 companies listed on the A-share market.
Qinghai Spring’s market capitalization was 7.76 billion yuan on Friday, as the company’s stock fell by the daily limit of 10 percent to 13.22 yuan a share.
However, there are also voices supporting the handshake between Nobel Prize winners and domestic spirits makers in what appears to be a national first.
Domestic financial news portal yicai.com, citing unnamed experts, reported that there was a growing trend for consumer companies to integrate more elements of health and science.
In addition to Baijiu, Qinghai Spring also produces and sells Chinese Caterpillar Mushroom (Ophiocordyceps sinensis) and Chinese Herbal Tea.
