Chapter 35: The 10 Million Mission
"Ah? This..." This question stumped Xu Cang. He touched his nose with a guilty conscience and stammered, "My mother's attending physician mentioned it unintentionally. My mother has kidney problems, and the commonly used immunosuppressants can't work. I heard that the new drug you are developing has little damage to the kidneys, so I came here to try my luck."
The middle-aged man in front of him was Liu Jinxin, the head of Yuanye Pharmaceutical and the chief technician of the new drug Rapamycin. However, his demeanor and appearance were somewhat different from the technical master in Xu Cang's impression. If it weren't for the work badge on his chest, Xu Cang's first impression of him was that he was a completely sloppy drunkard.
"Did the doctor say that?" Liu Jinxin stroked his chin and curled his lips, but he didn't dwell on the question too much. Although rapamycin has not been made public, there have been some partial exchanges with peers before, so it is normal for the news of the new drug to be leaked. The pharmaceutical industry is very small, and the slightest movement cannot be concealed .
Liu Jinxin scratched his neck, looking like a guy who really was hungover and still not sober. He said impatiently, "Theoretically, our new drug is much less nephrotoxic. Let's put it this way, how long can your mother hold on?"
When Xu Cang heard that there was a chance, his eyes lit up: "It should be able to last more than a year, at most two years."
If he used all the money, Xu Cang felt that he could give his mother another year of life, but the price would be very high.
“More than a year?” Liu Jinxin smacked his lips. “To be honest with you, our research and development work will stop in three months.”
"What did you say?" Xu Cang's pupils shrank, and he stepped across Liu Jinxin's desk: "Why stop? Is there any result from the new drug?"
Liu Jinxin smiled bitterly and waved his hands: "If there was a result, would I be in such a state now? We are out of money. Our money can only last for another three months. After three months, all work will stop until I raise money and then start again."
"No money!" Even though Xu Cang had expected this, he was still unwilling to accept this result. For a project like new drug development that burns money, it is easy for a small company like Yuanye Pharmaceutical to have funding problems.
It seems that Liu Jinxin has not always been so sloppy. I guess he is in this state because of the financial problems during this period.
Xu Cang leaned on the desk, one hand supporting his forehead, his heart was in turmoil, and a deep sense of powerlessness came over him. Liu Jinxin did not disturb Xu Cang, just quietly waiting for Xu Cang to accept the current situation. Xu Cang's current look was no different from when he learned that the capital chain was broken not long ago.
After a long while, Xu Cang finally calmed down a bit. He took several deep breaths before asking seriously, "If there is sufficient funding, how long will it take to complete the research and development?"
"If there were no funding issues, it would only take a little over a year, and we would have already entered the final stages of work." Liu Jinxin did not hide anything about this.
Xu Cang's heart tightened. The development progress of the new drug actually just caught up with the deadline for his mother's surgery. If the development progress could not catch up, Xu Cang would be better off, because it was God's will . But if it was obvious that the drug could be developed, but the progress was delayed by funding and led to his mother's death, Xu Cang felt that this would be a shadow on his life.
"Then you haven't thought about introducing external capital. Why are you so obsessed with raising money on your own?" Xu Cang asked, "This should be a good investment project. It shouldn't be difficult to attract investment."
Liu Jinxin, who had been in a good mood towards Xu Cang, suddenly turned cold upon hearing this. He rapped his knuckles heavily on the desk: "You don't look like the kind of young person who knows nothing. You should understand that once capital comes in, many things are not up to me to decide. Capital wants profit, but I want to develop a medicine that ordinary people can use. Profit is not my top priority. Do you think I should still attract investment?"
"But now you don't even have the funds for research and development, what's the point of persisting?"
Snapped!
Liu Jinxin's voice suddenly became high-pitched: "Boy, I let you in because you came here to save your mother. I didn't let you preach to me. Rather than letting this drug become a tool to exploit the people in the future, I would rather wait a few more years."
Liu Jinxin's deafening voice fell into Xu Cang's ears, shocking him. He knew that people like Liu Jinxin had certain ideals, and his words had violated his ideals.
Judging from later experience, Liu Jinxin did practice what he said and waited for two more years, but he never allowed external capital to intervene.
"Sorry, I got a little excited." Liu Jinxin wiped his face vigorously with his palm, then waved his hand: "You know the situation, I can't do anything, you can go."
However, Xu Cang did not move at all. He thought for a moment and asked in a very serious tone: "How big is the funding gap for the final work of new drug development?"
"About 10 or 20 million!" Liu Jinxin said casually.
Considering the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on developing new drugs, 10 or 20 million is really just enough to finish the project.
Soon, Liu Jinxin seemed to realize something and looked at Xu Cang who was thinking carefully: "What are you thinking about?"
"If I can come up with this money, would you be willing to accept it?" Xu Cang said solemnly.
Liu Jinxin was stunned for a moment: "What did you say?"
"I mean, if I can come up with this money, would you be willing to accept it?" Xu Cang's eyes were full of sincerity: "I don't care about the profit, and I won't interfere with your dreams. I just want to save my mother."
Liu Jinxin stood there in a daze: "You kid..."
After leaving the gate of Yuanye Pharmaceutical, Xu Cang slightly raised his head and faced the scorching sun. After a long time, thousands of words turned into a sigh. In the end, Liu Jinxin agreed to Xu Cang's proposal, but the question was where would the money come from?
More than 10 million! If you weigh it, even if you sell it at the price of a bear paw, you still can't get more than 10 million!
"Life is so hard!" Xu Cang sat down on a big rock by the roadside, and kept lamenting how hard life was. Thinking of the experiences of the reborn protagonists in movies, TV shows, and novels, how could he become like this?
Suddenly, Xu Cang's cell phone rang. He took it out and saw that the note was Lu Jinghua. He composed himself and answered the call.
"Xu Cang, are you done?" Lu Jinghua asked as he came up, sounding a little anxious.
"Yeah, I just finished it. What's the matter, Mr. Lu?"
"When you're done, come over to the company, to my office." Lu Jinghua lowered his voice for some reason: "The representative of Chunxia Travel is waiting for you, come over now, quickly!"
