Working Together to Accelerate Clinical Trials

Wei Kang stood by the window, watching the three men leave the company. The corners of his mouth rose involuntarily, and he felt delighted inside.

His tacit understanding with Old Sun was still as strong as ever. Thanks to his assist, a few words had shattered those men's psychological defenses. Otherwise, the price of buying back their shares would never have been so low, nor would the process have gone so smoothly.

Maybe it was because he usually kept out of worldly affairs and focused solely on research that he had so successfully established the persona of a naïve, stubborn, and easy-to-bully fool.

The house in Sea City's suburbs had gone up in price, but when he bought it back then, it had been dirt cheap. Getting back 20% of the company's shares in exchange for it was no loss.

However, once news of the new drug's success got out in the future, with those people's temperaments, they would definitely come back to make a scene. He had to guard against that and make some preparations.

While he was secretly gloating, Old Sun beside him seemed hesitant to speak. He looked as though he had a bellyful of words but did not know where to begin.

In the end, he sighed and said, "Xiao Kang, the share withdrawal is a done deal, so I won't say much more about it. But should you reconsider the acquisition? Leave yourself a way out."

Warmth rose in Wei Kang's heart. Old Sun truly cared about him and had his best interests at heart.

He wanted to tell Old Sun that the new drug research had succeeded and share this joy with him. He opened his mouth, then swallowed the words again.

If Old Sun learned that the trial had succeeded, he would not be able to keep his late-stage liver cancer a secret. He did not want Old Sun to worry about him again.

After thinking it over, he felt he could reveal a little good news for now, so Old Sun would not spend every day frowning. He said solemnly, "Uncle Sun, don't worry too much. Actually, I have some good news to tell you."

"A recently developed improved anti-cancer drug has been progressing rapidly. I estimate that we should get results soon. Once clinical trials begin after a while, it can bring the company back to life."

The wrinkles on Old Sun's face immediately relaxed like a blooming chrysanthemum. He asked in disbelief, "Xiao Kang, you're not just trying to comfort me, are you? Is it true? That's wonderful."

Wei Kang nodded. "It's true. But after what happened today, don't spread the news around yet. We'll announce it once it reaches Phase III."

Old Sun clapped his hands. "Exactly. You're the clever one. If those old bastards learn this news, they'll definitely regret it."

The way he looked at Wei Kang also became more gratified. He praised, "President Wei has truly matured. Three days apart, and you're already a new man."

He then fell into thought. "In that case, everything must prioritize the clinical trials. We need to squeeze out the funding first. How about this? We delay payment to the suppliers for now. We've never defaulted before, but we have no choice this time. Besides, we're just following industry practice."

"There are also several receivables that have been overdue for a long time. I'll go on a business trip and swallow my pride to collect them. They're all old acquaintances, so they should give me some face. As for President Zhang, I'll visit him personally and have a proper talk with him. We should be able to renew the loan, and when it matures, we'll just pay the interest..."

"Uncle Sun, thank you for your hard work." Seeing the gray at Old Sun's temples, Wei Kang felt deeply moved. He nodded heavily. "I'll contact Zhang Bo at the CRO. The clinical trials must be accelerated. Once the results are out, we won't have to fear a lack of funding."

"We also need to thoroughly reorganize the company. In the past, too many useless freeloaders were shoved in through connections. This is a good chance to lay people off. Fire them all and keep the diligent ones who actually work."

"Alright. Since you have that drive, of course I support you. I'll make you a personnel list later."

The two exchanged a smile. Their mutual understanding needed no words.

Wei Kang returned to his office, sat down in his chair, and called Zhang Bo, the person in charge of the CRO company they had worked with for years.

CRO companies, also known as contract research organizations for drug development, were a crucial part of the pharmaceutical R&D industry chain. They played a significant role in shortening pharmaceutical development cycles and reducing R&D costs. For the same R&D project, CRO companies generally required around 20% to 30% less time than pharmaceutical companies conducting the work themselves.

Furthermore, labor costs accounted for more than one-third of the expenses in typical new drug development. The salaries of CRO R&D personnel were on average 20% to 30% lower than those of R&D personnel at large pharmaceutical companies, which could greatly reduce pharmaceutical companies' R&D costs.

Because new drug development required enormous investment, had an extremely low success rate, and took a very long time, more and more pharmaceutical companies had adopted the CRO model to improve efficiency, lower R&D costs, and control risks, outsourcing part or all of their new drug development operations.

To say nothing else, authoritative data released in 2018 showed that the return on investment for new drug development had fallen to 1.9%, a historic low.

This showed just how perilous new drug development truly was. No wonder most pharmaceutical companies bought expired patents to manufacture generic drugs, while even slightly ambitious ones focused their efforts on improved drugs. Those willing to develop new drugs were the fearless warriors of the pharmaceutical industry.

Of course, CRO companies also helped with approval applications, locating trial participants, and other services, providing a complete one-stop package.

The one Wei Kang had chosen was highly professional. They had worked together for years and had always been satisfied.

"General Manager Zhang, are you busy? Is it convenient to take a call?"

"Ha ha, Young President Wei. Of course it is. How have things been on your end lately? Do you have a new drug ready for clinical trials?"

"General Manager Zhang, we have a New Anti-Cancer Drug—an improved drug—and we need to conduct additional Phase II trials. We need to finish them as soon as possible, then proceed with Phase III. That won't be a problem, right?"

Zhang Bo froze. "Huh? An anti-cancer drug? You really developed one?"

"Of course it's real."

Zhang Bo instantly stood up. "That's fucking amazing, President Wei. If this succeeds, it'll be a blockbuster. I need the Phase I data report, especially the toxicology tests. You're at the company, right? I'll come get the materials now."

Before long, Zhang Bo drove over and received the data Wei Kang had prepared.

"This was a respiratory anti-inflammatory drug that was previously abandoned? You later changed the treatment direction?"

"The main ingredient hasn't changed, and you only added some common auxiliary drug components, yet the effect changed this drastically?"

Common auxiliary drug components were generally considered to have no pharmacological effect, so the Phase I clinical data could still be used. Now, only a Phase II clinical trial was needed.

Phase I trials tested safety and tolerability in humans. Phase II tested safety and preliminary efficacy, while Phase III generally expanded the sample size based on the Phase II trials.

Phases I and II did not require much sample data, so they could be completed quickly.

Still, Zhang Bo had been in this industry for a long time and had never seen a pharmaceutical company's drug change so drastically after shifting its research direction.

But Viagra, the legendary first-generation wonder drug, instantly came to mind.

Well, it was not entirely unacceptable. After all, Viagra had set the precedent. Even a heart medication could become a miraculous aphrodisiac, so an anti-inflammatory drug becoming an anti-cancer drug seemed even more plausible.

He became energized, flipping through the data and nodding repeatedly.

"Don't worry. The Phase I data is extremely complete. I'll get you into Phase II today and deliver the data report within a week."