stjorthotic Chapter 786: Zhang Gaolei's Reminder
Chapter 786: Zhang Gaolei's Reminder
Huang Xiaochuan smiled faintly: "Just illusory numbers."
Zhang Gaolei understood perfectly. It was indeed the case. As long as he didn't cash out, reduce his holdings, or sell the listed company's shares, the rise in stock price was just an illusory number to him.
If it were any other shrewd person in this situation, they would rack their brains trying to make a quick buck. But this person doesn't care to do that at all, not even considering how large their businesses are.
Indeed, Huang Xiaochuan had no intention of doing anything when his company's stock price rose, which is why he was so nonchalant about it.
Getting back to the main point, Huang Xiaochuan asked Zhang Gaolei, "Does HR want you to be the middleman?"
Zhang Gaolei snapped his fingers: "You guessed right, that's exactly it!"
Huang Xiaochuan glanced at Zhang Gaolei and asked, "I bet they also promised you HR stock options after the deal is done?"
"Hahaha! That's right! Just like that, simple and straightforward, they just threw money at me." Zhang Gaolei looked overjoyed.
"What are the conditions?" Although he said that, Huang Xiaochuan knew that to get these benefits, he would have to pay real money.
Zhang Gaolei calmly finished his tea before saying, "HR President Fred wants to meet with you through me. If I can facilitate the cooperation between Kerui and HR or assist them in acquiring shares in Kerui, I will receive 100,000 shares of HR stock as a gift. I checked, and HR stock is a blue-chip stock on the NYSE, currently priced at $2726."
"Tch!" Huang Xiaochuan scoffed upon hearing the number.
He refilled Zhang Gaolei's teacup with tea: "I thought I was going to give you more? Turns out this is all?"
"Hey, what's wrong with this little bit? Even a mosquito's leg is still meat!" Zhang Gaolei deliberately pretended to be a meticulous person.
Huang Xiaochuan scoffed, "Oh! So you know it's just a mosquito's leg?"
Zhang Gaolei laughed and said, "Just take it as a joke! It's been a long time since I've encountered something this funny."
He then asked curiously, "Is that medicine really that powerful?"
Huang Xiaochuan replied truthfully, "You know, I don't really understand these things either, but based on the current experimental data, this drug does have a good effect on some blood tumors. As for the final effect, we'll have to wait and see the final experimental data results."
Zhang Gaolei didn't believe it: "The investment and pharmaceutical industries are buzzing about it now. That drug must be really effective for it to be so effective. When I heard about it, I even went to check the information. Wow, I was shocked by what I found."
He swallowed hard and continued, "More than a million new cases of hematologic malignancies are diagnosed worldwide every year. According to the latest data, the number of hematologic malignancies patients has now reached tens of millions! My goodness! If this drug can really cure these people, you will have done a great service! You should be the one to make that money."
Huang Xiaochuan smiled but didn't say anything.
Seeing that he remained silent, Zhang Gaolei pressed on, "Could you tell me how much it cost to develop this drug?"
Huang Xiaochuan didn't hide anything from this question, saying, "More than three billion US dollars in total!"
Zhang Gaolei exclaimed in surprise, "Wow! That much money? That's enough for me to build a new 8-inch 90-nanometer wafer fab!"
Zhang Gaolei is right. In 2006, the total investment for building a new wafer fab with advanced manufacturing processes that could produce chips from 013 micrometers to 90 nanometers would be between US$1.5 billion and US$2.5 billion. KRB01 spent more than US$3 billion in total, which is enough to build a modern wafer fab!
Zhang Gaolei then thought of another possibility, his eyes widening: "Wow, so much R&D investment? How much will this drug cost when it hits the market?"
This is indeed a problem. Huang Xiaochuan hasn't considered this yet, since the drug hasn't completed its trials. The sales price will be determined based on cost and dosage when it's approved for market launch.
Huang Xiaochuan rolled his eyes at Zhang Gaolei: "Can you stop being so dramatic? This drug is still at least four or five years away from being on the market. Besides, if there is a large market demand, the research and development costs will naturally be reduced."
Unfortunately, Huang Xiaochuan underestimated the potential of this drug. Because of the high efficacy and low toxicity of KRB01 in the early stages of Phase I clinical trials, relevant domestic departments and regulatory agencies are studying ways to expedite the approval process for Phase II clinical trials.
Because this is the first original drug developed by China for the treatment of hematological malignancies, with complete independent intellectual property rights, and with such perfect treatment effects, how could we not take the initiative to push it forward?
In other words, there is a high probability that this drug will be launched on the market ahead of schedule and sold within the medical system, but Huang Xiaochuan was unaware of this at the time.
Zhang Gaolei came purely out of curiosity. He had no intention of lobbying on behalf of HR; he just wanted to find out if the news was true.
Seeing that it was almost time, Zhang Gaolei stood up and straightened his clothes: "Alright! I have a ton of things to do, I'm off!"
Huang Xiaochuan knew Zhang Gaolei was quite busy lately, with the new 90-nanometer 8-inch wafers just entering trial production and many things needing his attention, so he didn't try to keep him: "Okay, I'll see you off!"
When they reached the elevator, Zhang Gaolei didn't let Huang Xiaochuan see him off. Before entering the elevator, Zhang Gaolei reminded him, "Let me tell you, you'd better not let Xie Xinyue go abroad for a while, in case she doesn't come back. You should understand what I mean, right?"
Upon hearing this, Huang Xiaochuan suddenly realized with a start, "Damn it! How could I have forgotten such an important thing?" He didn't even have time to thank Zhang Gaolei for the reminder; he immediately strode back to his office and told Gao Song, "Contact General Manager Xie and Cao Charlie of Kerui immediately, and be quick!"
Fortunately, they were able to contact the two of them quickly. At Huang Xiaochuan's request, Xie Xinyue was not allowed to go abroad for the time being. Data collection and clinical trial observation were handed over to others. She herself could only travel between Shanghai and Hong Kong, and Cao Charlie was in charge of supervision.
A week later, after various tentative requests for contact were politely declined, the counterattack from competitors and those who coveted the company began, and it came much faster than expected.
We should start with what they do best: academia and public opinion.
Several of the world's top medical journals published a number of expert commentaries, raising academic questions about the data from the phase I clinical trial of krb01.
These commentaries all share a common thread: while appearing objective, they implicitly raise questions such as whether patient selection criteria were rigorous, whether data monitoring was transparent and open, and whether short-term data could represent long-term treatment outcomes.
Newspapers and media were even more direct, pointing out that Kerui Pharmaceuticals' R&D data might involve falsification, and even listing a large number of cases involving Chinese people in this regard, trying to lead the general public to doubt its authenticity.
Following this, unnamed sources from relevant regulatory authorities in Europe and the United States began to express concern about the clinical trial protocol of krb01, suggesting that some regulatory agencies in Europe and the United States would conduct more rigorous reviews of it.
Meanwhile, competitors are still trying to create difficulties for Kerui Pharmaceuticals in its subsequent clinical trials and future market access in Europe and the United States.