Multinational Giants React to the News

After hearing Wei Kang's terms, Dr. Andre of Pfizer's first reaction was that Wei Kang had gone mad.

His second reaction, however, was a faint sense of delight. If the prerequisite for cooperating with Sanqing Pharmaceutical was discarded drug formulas, then who could compare to the world's number-one pharmaceutical company?

Overall, this condition favored multinational giants and was extremely advantageous for Pfizer.

Previously, he had been worried that Sanqing would focus on the domestic market, cooperate with major domestic pharmaceutical companies, and treat overseas markets as merely an afterthought.

But now, the prospects for cooperation looked highly promising. They had to discuss it thoroughly with headquarters and secure this partnership—preferably with an exclusive cooperation agreement.

Although Pfizer itself had formidable strength in targeted cancer drugs and several best-selling anti-cancer medications, there were many types of cancer, and for many of them, Pfizer's drugs were unable to provide the right treatment.

If they could bring the Broad-Spectrum Anti-Cancer Drug under their wing and combine the two approaches, using targeted drugs where applicable and broad-spectrum drugs for everything else, they would inevitably capture as much market share as possible.

They had always coveted the market occupied by Merck's Keytruda. Unfortunately, only Roche had developed a new Broad-Spectrum Anti-Cancer Drug, posing some threat, yet it still could not shake Keytruda's dominant position.

Now, an opportunity had been placed right before them. Pfizer would never let it slip away.

As for the possibility of Sanqing developing overseas markets on its own, he dismissed it without a second thought.

As everyone knew, in the overseas pharmaceutical sector, US FDA certification was the world's highest testing standard. Only products that passed all 143 key monitoring checkpoints after human use, with continuous monitoring of 20,000 to 30,000 people over three to seven years, would receive FDA certification.

Many international manufacturers regarded obtaining FDA certification as the highest honor and guarantee of product quality.

FDA certification was also famously stringent, especially for pharmaceuticals. Without the assistance of a domestic US company, it was extremely difficult for foreign drugs to obtain certification. Once FDA certification was secured, however, other overseas markets would open up completely as well.

Pfizer Inc. possessed powerful connections and immense capabilities. It was not difficult for drugs imported under its name to receive FDA certification, which could greatly accelerate the overseas launch process. With certain maneuvering and special government approval, it was even possible to shorten the entire process from three to five years to half a year.

After considering it carefully, Andre felt that his side held a major advantage. As long as their terms were no worse than those offered by other multinational pharmaceutical companies, this partnership was practically theirs for the taking.

He immediately relaxed. Before attending the dinner, he had already instructed his assistant to send all the clinical trial reports to headquarters. Now, all he had to do was wait for a response and then do his best to persuade headquarters.

The other multinational pharmaceutical companies were equally confident, believing their chances were far greater than those of domestic pharmaceutical companies.

Aside from Pfizer and Merck, which had sent senior executives, the other multinational pharmaceutical companies had only dispatched their domestic representatives. They still needed to report back as quickly as possible, so time was tight.

"All right, I've finished stating my conditions. One week from now, Sanqing Pharmaceutical will officially hold its bidding conference in Kun City."

"If you are interested in cooperating, please come with your most sincere proposals. I very much look forward to welcoming you all again. Thank you!"

After Wei Kang finished speaking, he did not mention the matter again. Instead, he fulfilled his duties as host and warmly entertained the guests.

The guests raised their cups and drank together, and the banquet ended with both hosts and guests thoroughly enjoying themselves. They then went their separate ways.

Ten minutes later, Andre sat in the car on his way back and dialed a number in the United States.

******

At Johnson & Johnson's US headquarters, the chairman swiftly convened an emergency meeting.

"This is a clinical trial data report. It includes Phase I, Phase II, and Phase III results, and it is extremely detailed. There is also video footage, all of which has been translated into English."

"This is a Broad-Spectrum Anti-Cancer Drug newly announced by an Eastern pharmaceutical company. We need to send people over immediately and strive to secure an exclusive cooperation agreement for this formula!"

"We will put forward the best possible proposal. We absolutely cannot let Pfizer or any other company get it."

******

At Bayer AG, a group of directors was also holding a meeting and reviewing the materials.

"The efficacy is truly remarkable. If all of this is real, then we must secure it. That way, we can create another miracle drug comparable to Aspirin."

Aspirin was Bayer AG's century-old miracle drug and had long been favored by doctors and patients. It had been in use for over a hundred years and, together with Penicillin and Valium, was regarded as one of the three classic drugs in the history of medicine. To this day, it remained the world's most widely used antipyretic, analgesic, and anti-inflammatory drug.

Global sales of Aspirin reached hundreds of millions of dollars every year, while worldwide production amounted to as much as fifty thousand tons. Someone had estimated that if all of it were made into 500-milligram tablets, there would be 100 billion pills. Laid end to end, they would stretch for one million kilometers—enough to circle the Earth twenty-five times.

Bayer AG did not disclose Aspirin's sales figures separately. However, the industry estimated that its share of sales was far from low. In the domestic market alone, annual sales reached two billion yuan, with its market share remaining above 90% for years.

Aspirin had been Bayer's evergreen bestseller for a century, and no other drug had yet reached that status.

If they could secure this drug, then with their powerful sales capabilities, they had a chance to create another industry legend.

"Good. Dr. Muller, take the private jet to the distant East immediately, to this city called Kun, and convey our sincerity. Personnel from our Eastern branch have already gone ahead to make contact. We must ensure that this company is satisfied with our terms. The board grants you full authority."

At the same time, Novartis, GSK, Bristol Myers Squibb, AbbVie, Sanofi, and other top-ten pharmaceutical companies worldwide—as well as even some ranked in the teens—all dispatched global representatives to Kun City.

As for the lower-ranked multinational pharmaceutical companies, they looked at the competitors ahead of them and knew that even if they went, they would have no chance. They simply could not offer terms comparable to those of the top ten giants, so they completely abandoned any thought of joining the fray.

In just a few days, Sanqing Pharmaceutical had not only risen to prominence in the domestic pharmaceutical industry but had also made a name for itself among international peers.

The name of Sanqing Pharmaceutical's Broad-Spectrum Anti-Cancer Drug had now become known throughout the global pharmaceutical industry.

All pharmaceutical professionals were awaiting Sanqing's bidding conference a week later. It was bound to become a grand gathering of elite figures from the world's leading pharmaceutical companies.

Wei Kang did not feel much of the undercurrents surging through the pharmaceutical industry.

After the press conference ended, he returned to the company with Sun Chengren.

Old Sun's face was glowing, and he looked utterly jubilant.

Wei Kang smiled and advised, "Uncle Sun, you've had so much to drink. Don't go back to the company this afternoon. Take half a day off and go home for a good rest."

Old Sun burped loudly, his breath heavy with alcohol, and nodded. "All right. I'm really overjoyed today. A long-cherished wish has finally been fulfilled. I must get thoroughly drunk."

"Did you see General Manager Wu's expression? Hahaha, I've known General Manager Wu for decades. Today, I finally got the better of him. That felt absolutely wonderful!"

"And those foreigners, looking all respectful and obedient. If they didn't need something from us, they wouldn't give us a pleasant look at all. Heh heh."

Old Sun laughed heartily, as though he had completely expelled years of pent-up resentment from his heart. The expression on his entire face had relaxed considerably, and he no longer looked like a perpetually worried little old man.

"Still, Xiao Kang, even though we've managed to pull through and the bank has agreed to continue lending to us, the cancer drug hasn't gone on the market yet. Our funds still aren't all that abundant."

He suddenly asked with some concern, "Isn't it a bit wasteful for you to collect discarded drug formulas everywhere like this? We could have asked for better conditions."

Thanks to boss Caicai0 for the 1,500 donation.