International Giants Gather, General Manager Wu is Shocked

Sea City, Xinmei Pharmaceutical Group headquarters.

As one of the country's top ten pharmaceutical groups, Xinmei possessed multiple pharmaceutical patents and several best-selling drugs. Recently, it had caused an internet-wide sensation with its million-yuan Anti-Cancer Injection.

They also collaborated with top international pharmaceutical companies through arrangements such as patent technology exchanges, licensing, or acting as sales agents for each other's medicines.

Today, Chairman Wu Shiji sat in a spacious, brightly lit riverside conference room and signed a patent licensing agreement for cardiovascular medicine with Pfizer Inc.

Cardiovascular medicine was one of Pfizer's flagship products. After this new iteration of the drug launched in Eagle Country last year, its remarkable efficacy had won enormous market acclaim.

While introducing this drug, Xinmei also hoped to reach a series of collaborations with Pfizer in the field of anti-tumor medicine.

After all, Pfizer had an outstanding track record in targeted anti-cancer drugs, with targeted and immunotherapy drugs for lung cancer, blood cancers, and many other types of cancer under its name.

Meanwhile, Xinmei had recently developed a new drug for lymphoma and was actively expanding into overseas markets. Deeper cooperation with Pfizer, the number one pharmaceutical company in the world, was naturally imperative.

General Manager Wu signed the agreement with Dr. Andre, Pfizer's Asia-Pacific president, and they held in-depth discussions on cooperation involving anti-cancer drugs. Both sides were highly satisfied.

General Manager Wu decided to show the warmth of a host. "Dr. Andre, tonight, we won't go home until we're drunk."

Andre was a typical Westerner—tall, blond, and blue-eyed, with an enthusiastic smile always on his face.

Shaking General Manager Wu's hand, he spoke fluent Chinese. "Thank you very much for your hospitality, General Manager Wu. I look forward to our future cooperation."

"However," he then shook his head, a deeply regretful expression appearing on his face, "I'm going to Kun City nearby tomorrow for a local pharmaceutical company's press conference, so I need to head over there tonight."

At the mention of Kun City, General Manager Wu's expression stiffened. Forcing a smile, he asked, "Would that happen to be a pharmaceutical company called Sanqing?"

Andre nodded with a smile. "That's right. That company has announced that it developed a broad-spectrum anti-cancer drug. They say it takes effect in just three days, which is quite miraculous, and its side effects are extremely low. Apparently, they'll release the clinical trial data at tomorrow's press conference, so I'd like to take a look."

General Manager Wu was greatly startled. Sanqing Pharmaceutical's anti-cancer drug had actually drawn the attention of Pfizer's Asia-Pacific president?

Did Pfizer have some interest in this anti-cancer drug?

Without showing it, he looked at his assistant. "Sanqing Pharmaceutical's press conference is tomorrow?"

The assistant replied respectfully, "That's right, tomorrow morning. They even specifically sent us an invitation earlier."

General Manager Wu nodded to Andre. "All right, Dr. Andre. I happen to be attending as well. Why don't we go together?"

Andre said happily, "That would be wonderful. We can continue discussing our cooperation on the way."

He suddenly smiled meaningfully. "We might run into quite a few old friends at the venue tomorrow morning."

General Manager Wu was shocked. Could other pharmaceutical giants also be interested in Sanqing's anti-cancer drug?

Then a thought suddenly flashed through his mind. Andre had come all the way from the capital this time, and his timing was so close to the press conference. Could his primary target actually be Sanqing rather than the cooperation agreement with General Manager Wu?

Once he thought of it that way, all the joy of signing the agreement vanished completely. General Manager Wu felt awful.

So, he began probing indirectly for the other man's purpose in attending the press conference.

Unfortunately, Andre kept his lips sealed and refused to discuss Sanqing Pharmaceutical. He merely chatted with General Manager Wu about miscellaneous amusing stories of life in the country.

Having gained nothing, General Manager Wu could only give up.

At nine the next morning, General Manager Wu and Andre arrived early at Sanqing Pharmaceutical's headquarters.

The moment they reached the entrance, they saw that the parking lot was packed with cars. A long line stretched behind it, and even the roadsides near the gate were filled with parked vehicles.

The two got out with their assistants and registered at the entrance. As soon as they reached the administrative building, they saw Sun Chengren approaching with a beaming face.

"General Manager Wu, Dr. Andre, thank you both very much for coming. Please, this way."

General Manager Wu and Old Sun had known each other for many years, and they were the kind of acquaintances who were rivals. Seeing him now immediately reminded Wu of the overwhelming online criticism Xinmei had received, and resentment rose in his heart. He said in a sarcastic tone, "Old Wei raised himself a fine son. Of course I had to come take a good look. Heh heh."

Old Sun smiled faintly and pretended not to hear him.

Andre was enthusiastic toward everyone. He took the initiative to shake hands with Old Sun and exchanged pleasantries for quite some time before entering the hall with General Manager Wu.

General Manager Wu surveyed the hall. It had been decorated grandly, with banners, flowers, and everything else in place. Rows of chairs had been set out, and quite a few people were already seated.

At the far end of the hall stood a raised stage. Numerous cameras were set up in front of it, while a group of media reporters clustered below the stage.

General Manager Wu narrowed his eyes and searched for acquaintances and industry peers.

Andre suddenly headed to the right, waving as he walked. "Dr. Schmitz, I didn't expect you to be here too. It's been so long."

The seats on the right were full, and there were quite a few foreigners with prominent noses and deep-set eyes among them. A middle-aged man with a thick beard and hair rose from the crowd and quickly walked over to Andre. The two embraced warmly.

Andre happily introduced him to General Manager Wu.

"My dear Wu, this is Merck's Global President of Oncology. We used to be colleagues, and I never would have expected him to come as well."

The foreigner had a large beard and thick glasses, giving him the air of a scholar. Smiling, he extended his hand. "Hello, General Manager Wu. Our company has a global pharmaceutical center in nearby Hangcheng. I recently came here on business and happened to hear about the emergence of a miraculous broad-spectrum anti-cancer drug, so I came to take a look."

After exchanging pleasantries with him for a moment, General Manager Wu suddenly recalled that Keytruda, the world's first broad-spectrum anti-cancer drug, was Merck's flagship product. Its sales had exceeded tens of billions of US dollars last year. It had already passed approval by the Drug Administration Bureau in the first half of the year and was now being fully launched and sold briskly in the domestic market.

He seemed to understand why these global pharmaceutical giants had come to take a look.

The anti-cancer drug market truly was an extraordinarily rich and tempting piece of cake. Every pharmaceutical giant watched it like a hungry wolf, greedily occupying every territory and unwilling to retreat even slightly—not to mention the enormous domestic market still waiting to be developed.

Generally speaking, there were many types of cancer. Most treatment drugs were targeted drugs or immunotherapy drugs, capable of treating only one specific type of cancer.

At present, targeted drugs could cover only a limited number of cancers. For the remaining cancers, patients could only try broad-spectrum anti-cancer drugs.

There were only three broad-spectrum anti-cancer drugs in the world: Merck's Keytruda, Roche's Entrectinib, and Larotrectinib.

Keytruda was Merck's blockbuster anti-cancer drug and had demonstrated encouraging efficacy across many cancers. Its most famous triumph was curing Carter, the former president of Eagle Country, who was in his nineties.

Keytruda had already entered the domestic market. The remaining two drugs were still sold only overseas for the time being due to their exorbitant prices. The latest news was that a Southeast Asian country had launched its first low-cost generic drug.

General Manager Wu couldn't help letting out a heh heh laugh. Turning to look into the distance, he indeed spotted people from Roche Pharmaceuticals.

Broad-spectrum anti-cancer drugs were far more widely applicable than targeted drugs. Every new release drew the attention of everyone in the pharmaceutical industry, and this time, Three Purities had developed the country's first broad-spectrum anti-cancer drug.

Clearly, this involved an enormous domestic market, immediately attracting a pack of wolves eager to pounce.

General Manager Wu looked around again. More and more familiar faces appeared—industry peers, media reporters, and doctors.

The more he looked, the more alarmed he became. Then, a stern-looking middle-aged man caught his eye. He vaguely recognized him as Director Xie from the Kun City Drug Administration Bureau.

Did they really take Three Purities so seriously? Even the higher authorities had been alerted.

A faint sourness rose in his heart. When New Beauty had held a press conference for its Anti-Cancer Injection last time, it hadn't drawn this many heavyweight guests.

Hmph, Little Wei, let's see whether you're truly capable or merely putting on a show.

If there's even the slightest mistake, let's see how you clean up this mess. Heh heh.

General Manager Wu muttered to himself, found his nameplate, and sat down.

Before long, the venue also fell silent.

Because the much-anticipated press conference for the New Anti-Cancer Drug had finally begun.