Chapter Summaries

Academician Qi asked Wei Kang and Three Purities to develop a drug to slow the Alzheimer’s disease of a revered aerospace academician whose illness had halted a vital national project. Wei Kang agreed to pursue the research despite its early stage, and Academician Qi left encouraged by Sanqing’s capabilities.

• Academician Qi gave Wei Kang the medical record of an elderly aerospace academician with worsening Alzheimer’s disease and explained how the illness had stopped his important project and driven him toward despair.
• Wei Kang told Academician Qi that Three Purities had only just begun Alzheimer’s drug research and had no results, but promised the company would do everything it could.
• Academician Qi said the patient and his family were willing to let him join a drug trial from its earliest stages, and Wei Kang agreed to try to develop a treatment quickly.
• Wei Kang asked whether the patient had tried Green Sunshine’s Alginate Glycosylation Capsule, and Academician Qi said it had caused few side effects but showed little effect.
• Academician Qi toured Sanqing’s laboratories and production plants, praised its working environment and employee benefits, and left expressing confidence in its Alzheimer’s research.

Wei Kang coordinated his team’s research into an Alzheimer’s drug and searched abandoned prescriptions for a useful side effect. He found a compound that inhibited gamma-secretase and asked the system to extract that effect and generate a new drug.

• Wei Kang asked Chen Yiqing, Wenren Long, and Tang Que to assess the Alzheimer’s drug project, and Chen warned that developing and testing a new drug could take years.
• Chen Yiqing explained the project’s focus on gamma-secretase inhibitors and described past failures targeting beta-amyloid.
• Wei Kang assigned Tang Que to help Chen analyze protein targets and said Wenren Long could run molecular simulations.
• Wei Kang searched abandoned prescriptions for side effects relevant to Alzheimer’s treatment but found nothing useful among drugs for brain and nerve disorders.
• Wei Kang found an abandoned acne drug whose trace component inhibited gamma-secretase and asked the system to extract the effect and generate a new drug.

Wei Kang gave his three researchers the molecular structure of a γ-secretase inhibitor and asked them to reverse-engineer its synthesis while studying the principles behind Three Purities’ drug molecules. A month later, the team had synthesized the new drug in the laboratory.

• Wei Kang displayed the γ-secretase inhibitor molecule and asked Chen Yiqing, Wenren Long, and Tang Que to find a synthetic route.
• Chen Yiqing raised concerns about crossing the blood-brain barrier and the need for thorough safety and toxicology tests.
• Wei Kang gave the researchers access to Three Purities’ prescriptions and tasked them with studying the molecules’ underlying principles.
• The researchers used retrosynthetic analysis to work backward from the target molecule and design a synthesis route.
• A month later, the team synthesized the new drug in the laboratory.

Chen Yiqing, Wenren Long, Tang Que, and Wei Kang synthesized and tested a γ-secretase inhibitor that improved symptoms in early-stage Alzheimer's patients but could not reverse advanced disease. Academician Qi rushed to tell Old Man Xie's family that the drug could help him, just as they had given up hope.

• Chen Yiqing, Wenren Long, Tang Que, and the other researchers finished synthesizing and optimizing the γ-secretase inhibitor after reverse-engineering its production.
• Chen Yiqing outlined animal safety tests and the clinical trial stages needed before the drug could be approved.
• Wei Kang reviewed the results and found that the medicine reduced amyloid proteins and improved early-stage patients' symptoms, but could only delay Alzheimer's progression.
• Wei Kang told Academician Qi that the new drug was ready, and Academician Qi hurried to the sanatorium to see Old Man Xie.
• At the sanatorium, Old Man Xie confused the present with the past and remained unable to work, while the doctor warned his family that his condition could only be delayed.
• A voice called out to Old Man Xie's family, announcing that his illness could be cured.

Academician Qi brought Old Man Xie to Kun City for a clinical trial of Sanqing’s new Alzheimer’s drug, and Old Man Xie’s memory and health improved markedly. After half a month, doctors concluded that continued treatment could restore him to normal, and the hospital prepared to discharge him while pursuing further trials with Sanqing.

• Academician Qi told Old Man Xie’s family that Sanqing had developed a promising Alzheimer’s drug and brought Old Man Xie to Kun City First People’s Hospital for treatment.
• Old Man Xie began the clinical trial, and the next day Academician Qi noticed that he remembered the visit and was less confused.
• After three days, doctors found that Old Man Xie’s amyloid levels and brain plaques had decreased while his cognition and mental state had improved.
• Over the following days, Old Man Xie regained more clarity and repeatedly asked to return to work.
• After half a month, doctors determined that continued medication could restore Old Man Xie to normal, discussed contacting Three Purities about further trials, and switched him to oral medication before discharge.

Old Man Xie returned to the aerospace launch center and reflected on the newly launched space station and China’s future exploration plans. Meanwhile, Three Purities’ Alzheimer’s drug trial advanced, and a paper on its treatment appeared in Nature.

• Old Man Xie returned to the aerospace center, where Fang Heng and the staff welcomed him and praised his leadership of the space station project.
• Old Man Xie viewed the station on a screen, celebrated its coming orbital assembly, and imagined China’s future missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
• Fang Heng reported the year’s launch schedule, including a manned spacecraft mission and upcoming launches of cargo spacecraft and two experimental modules.
• The Kun City First People's Hospital neurology experts agreed with Three Purities to join the drug’s Phase II trial and prepare an academic paper.
• A month later, a paper on curing early Alzheimer's disease with γ-secretase inhibitors appeared in Nature and spread worldwide.

Sanqing’s new Alzheimer’s drug drew worldwide attention, while Pfizer executives questioned its early clinical results and whether Chen Yiqing had taken technology from his former employer. The chapter ended with Pfizer’s CEO arranging an anonymous leak to provoke media scrutiny of Sanqing.

• Media outlets and online commenters celebrated Sanqing’s new drug, though some noted that it had only been tested on early-stage patients for a month.
• At Pfizer headquarters, executives reviewed the drug’s published clinical results and disputed whether the limited data proved it worked.
• Andre confirmed that the data was genuine and reminded the board that Sanqing had previously brought Pfizer major profits.
• Pfizer’s CEO revealed that Chen Yiqing had once worked on Pfizer’s neurodegenerative disease team and suggested the new drug might use stolen technology.
• Andre urged the executives not to accuse Sanqing without evidence, since it was a strategic partner and Pfizer might seek licensing cooperation.
• Pfizer’s CEO proposed anonymously leaking the suspicion to the media, and the executives agreed to keep the plan secret.

Three Purities expanded clinical trials for its Alzheimer’s drug and received fast-track support as patients rallied behind it. The drug’s growing popularity was thrown into crisis when Fox News accused Chen Yiqing of stealing Pfizer’s technology.

• Experts criticized the drug’s limited clinical data and short treatment period, while patients argued that restoring memory mattered despite possible risks.
• Three Purities arranged Phase II trials at hospitals in Sea City and Capital City, increasing enrollment to five hundred patients at each location, with plans for Phase III trials involving over one thousand.
• Old Man Xie and Old Man Qi recommended the drug to higher-ups, helping it receive a fast-track approval channel.
• Fox News reported that Chen Yiqing had taken Pfizer’s sealed research and patents after leaving the company, citing former colleagues who said Pfizer’s project had neared a breakthrough.
• The report pushed Three Purities’ drug into a worldwide scandal over whether its development was original or based on stolen technology.

After Fox News accused Three Purities of stealing Pfizer’s technology, Wei Kang decided to counter the allegations by suspending overseas trials and launch applications while publishing clinical evidence. His announcement angered Pfizer’s Andre and set off an uproar across the domestic internet.

• Wei Kang and Chen Yiqing discussed the accusations, and Wei Kang decided Three Purities would refute them and focus on clinical-trial results.
• Three Purities announced it was suspending overseas clinical trials and launch applications until the damage to its reputation was resolved, while promising to publish clinical data and patient records.
• Andre called Wei Kang to discuss cooperation, but Wei Kang told him the overseas suspension would remain until Fox News apologized.
• Andre reacted furiously after the call, while Wei Kang remained unconcerned about losing access to the Eagle Country market.
• Three Purities’ announcement caused a huge uproar across the domestic internet.

After Sanqing refused to sell its Alzheimer’s drug to Eagle Country and demanded an apology, Chinese public support surged while Fox News Network plotted to discredit the drug by scrutinizing its trial data. The backlash drew Biogen into the controversy when media outlets compared Sanqing’s treatment with Biogen’s Adulhelm, leaving Biogen’s CEO stunned.

• Chinese netizens and media rallied behind Sanqing after its announcement, while critics who doubted its resolve were shouted down.
• Blanche ordered Fox News Network staff to analyze Sanqing’s published clinical-trial data and expose any risks to damage the drug’s reputation.
• Fox News Network discovered that Sanqing had also published comparative data on Biogen’s Adulhelm and decided to use the comparison for coverage.
• Interest in the comparison surged among Eagle Country patients and families, and Blanche celebrated Fox News Network’s rising website traffic.
• Domestic media invited pharmaceutical experts to explain Sanqing’s data and compare its drug with Biogen’s treatment, which was seeking approval in China.
• Biogen’s chief executive officer was dumbfounded as news coverage focused on the company’s drug.

Three Purities’ AD Special Effect Drug’s clinical results overwhelmed Biogen’s Aduhelm, giving patients and families new hope while drawing intense public attention. Amy Jones followed the reports and resolved to seek the treatment, while Fox News’s Blanche learned his boss valued the publicity despite the coverage’s unexpected effect.

• The news compared Aduhelm’s troubled approval, safety concerns, and high cost with Three Purities’ AD Special Effect Drug.
• Amy Jones, a forty-two-year-old at risk of familial Alzheimer’s disease, researched Three Purities’ drug and became hopeful after reading its Nature paper and clinical data.
• Fox News reported strong Phase II results, including reduced amyloid deposits and an 89% reduction in decline on the iADRS measure, with only mild reported side effects.
• Amy contacted other AD patients, and patients across Eagle Country celebrated the drug and prepared to push for its market entry.
• Blanche worried that the report had backfired on his effort to damage Three Purities, but Boss Mo praised him for bringing Fox News enormous traffic and urged him to keep the story going.

Three Purities released a documentary showing ten Alzheimer’s patients recovering through its new drug’s Phase II trials, moving viewers around the world. The film sparked widespread hope and Chinese pride as the drug’s potential global impact became clear.

• Three Purities published a twenty-minute documentary following ten Alzheimer’s patients from before treatment through recovery and discharge.
• The film showed several patients rebuilding bonds with spouses and family members after treatment, including a wife recognizing her devoted husband and a sister urging her brother to return home.
• The ten recovered patients left the hospital with their families as the documentary ended.
• The documentary spread across the global internet, prompting viewers to reflect on Alzheimer’s disease and feel relief that Three Purities’ drug could treat it.
• Chinese netizens celebrated the drug as a major Chinese breakthrough and predicted that it would dominate the global Alzheimer’s treatment market.

After a documentary revealed Three Purities’ Alzheimer’s miracle drug, patients and powerful figures worldwide demanded access. Three Purities refused overseas trials until Fox News Network apologized, and a protest march was organized against the network.

• Bill saw news of the drug and urgently asked his family to take him to China for treatment.
• Patients, pharmaceutical companies, and medical institutions around the world reacted to the documentary and sought access to the drug or its research.
• Eagle Country patients petitioned the FDA after learning Three Purities had suspended overseas trials because of Fox News Network’s slander.
• Davis asked Pfizer’s Andre to persuade Three Purities to apply for clinical trials in Eagle Country.
• Andre urged Wei Kang to resume overseas plans, but Wei Kang cited the damage to Three Purities’ reputation and the need for further clinical testing.
• After Davis explained Three Purities’ position, petition spokesperson Amy organized a protest march against Fox News Network.

Fox News Network fired Blanche and apologized for fabricating claims about Sanqing, while public pressure grew for the drug’s overseas trials. Wei Kang learned he was a candidate for the National Top Science and Technology Award and decided to prioritize domestic Phase III trials before considering overseas launch.

• Boss Mo told Blanche to accept responsibility for Fox News Network’s false rumors, and Blanche left his office after agreeing to step down.
• Fox News Network apologized for claiming Sanqing had stolen Pfizer’s technology, prompting petitioners and Chinese netizens to celebrate and call for FDA trials.
• Wei Kang continued telling callers that Sanqing’s special effect drug needed further Clinical Trial before it was ready for patients.
• Gao Tuyu, Director Xie, and Academician Qi visited Sanqing and told Wei Kang he had become one of five candidates for the National Top Science and Technology Award.
• Wei Kang asked the visitors about foreign companies seeking FDA trials and approval, and Gao Tuyu advised him not to rush overseas launch before domestic trials were further along.
• Wei Kang agreed to conduct Phase III clinical trials domestically first and consider overseas plans later.

Three Purities announced that its Phase III Alzheimer's trials would focus on China, offering overseas patients limited slots through partner hospitals. After recovering with the drug, Bill urged powerful figures in Eagle Country to recognize Three Purities' importance and decide how to secure their future.

• Three Purities announced domestic Phase III trials and invited overseas patients to apply for limited slots at Chinese hospitals.
• Overseas patients condemned wealthy applicants, while elites offered investments, technology, and donations to seek access; friendly figures and distinguished scientists received visas and trial slots.
• Bill traveled to Haishi Ruiji Hospital, took the medicine, and steadily recovered from his early-stage Alzheimer's disease.
• Helen told Bill that Three Purities' achievements made it wiser to align with China, and Bill agreed that their long-standing friendship had paid off.
• After returning to Eagle Country fully recovered, Bill gathered prominent figures and called on them to decide how to respond to the fact that the technology they needed had emerged in China.

Davis faced pressure from patients and wealthy elites to secure approval for Three Purities' AD Special Effect Drug in Eagle Country and decided to report the crisis to his superiors. As negotiations advanced, foreign countries offered trade and technology concessions in exchange for access to the drug.

• Davis received calls from wealthy elites and petitioners demanding that he push for the drug's clinical trials in Eagle Country.
• Patients and their families protested in Eagle Country and across Europa after learning their countries had not introduced the drug.
• Davis decided that the mounting pressure was too great to handle alone and prepared to report it to his superiors.
• Three Purities' representatives walked out during trade negotiations when the other side resisted their demands.
• The negotiations resumed more smoothly, and ASML Company agreed to sell China ten 3-nanometer and twenty 5-nanometer lithography machines with technical-service concessions.
• Gaul Country and Ri'er Man offered to share advanced industrial technologies in exchange for access to Three Purities' drug.

After China secured major technology-sharing agreements in exchange for Sanqing Pharmaceutical’s Alzheimer’s drug, Sanqing announced it would pursue overseas trials and sales independently. Wei Kang rejected Pfizer’s request to partner on the drug, leaving Andre and the company’s board in despair.

• Chinese media reported that negotiations had secured technology transfers and equipment deals in exchange for access to Sanqing’s Alzheimer’s drug, prompting national pride and celebration online.
• Sanqing announced that it would apply for overseas clinical trials and market approval for the AD Special Effect Drug.
• Andre contacted Wei Kang and asked Pfizer to partner with Sanqing on the new drug.
• Wei Kang told Andre that Sanqing would handle overseas approvals, subsidiaries, promotion, and sales itself because the drug was a strategic resource.
• Andre informed Pfizer’s board that Wei Kang had declined the partnership, and the room fell silent.

Sanqing chose to keep its Alzheimer’s disease drug rights and expand overseas independently, establishing an overseas subsidiary and recruiting industry professionals. Countries moved to expedite clinical trial approvals, while patients and families rushed to apply for Phase III trials.

• Wei Kang decided Sanqing would retain control of its AD Special Effect Drug and pursue overseas markets itself.
• The chapter explained the main routes for pharmaceutical companies to enter foreign markets and the importance of promotion, distribution, pharmacies, and hospitals.
• Sanqing announced that its overseas subsidiary had been established and began recruiting pharmaceutical professionals.
• Countries around the world announced plans to introduce Sanqing’s drug and expedited procedures to begin clinical trials.
• Patients and their families flocked to hospitals and research institutions to register for the Phase III trials.

Three Purities’ Alzheimer’s drug produced remarkable recoveries in patients around the world, while rival pharmaceutical companies reconsidered their research strategies. Amy secured a clinical-trial spot and recovered from early hereditary Alzheimer’s, but worried whether she could afford the drug long term.

• Mayo Clinic experts reported that Three Purities’ drug cleared amyloid deposits and restored many mild and moderate Alzheimer’s patients, while improving the condition of severe patients.
• A hospital director told Butler that his daughter had recovered and could be discharged, prompting Butler to reflect on the value of investing in health.
• Bayer and other pharmaceutical companies studied Three Purities’ drug and shifted their research plans to pursue different approaches to Alzheimer’s treatment.
• Amy learned she had secured a free clinical-trial spot after tests indicated early hereditary Alzheimer’s, and the drug soon returned her health indicators to normal.
• Amy left the clinical facility hopeful about her future but worried that she might not be able to afford the drug’s annual cost.

Sanqing announced that its Alzheimer’s special-effect drug would soon launch, prompting intense debate over affordability as patients and families awaited its price. The drug’s release day finally arrived, and Sanqing Pharmaceutical announced its price.

• Sanqing released Phase III clinical data for its Alzheimer’s drug and said it would go on sale in a month, sparking widespread speculation about its price.
• Hospitals, experts, and online commenters compared the drug’s expected cost with existing Alzheimer’s treatments and debated whether ordinary families could afford it.
• Zhao Li, a struggling security guard caring for his father with Alzheimer’s, decided he would buy the new medicine even if he had to borrow money or sell everything he owned.
• Families of Alzheimer’s patients across China followed the launch news anxiously as online arguments about the price grew more heated.
• Sanqing Pharmaceutical officially released its Alzheimer’s special-effect drug and announced its price.