Super Genius DNA-Chapter 44: A Player of Life (6)
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Chapter 44: A Player of Life (6)
Scientist Shin Young-Yeon of the Stem Cells Department partied away her Friday night at a club. She felt like all the stress she got from preparing for the clinical trials was going away. But her stamina ran out quickly.
โI was totally fine even when I stayed up the whole night in my twenties.โ
At one oโclock in the morning, she barely left the club and got a nearby taxi.
โHello!โ
She spoke in a tipsy voice, and her tongue was twisted. Climbing into the backseat and holding onto her bag, she said, โCan you go to Kunyoung Apartment in front of Sindorim stati... Huh?โ
She noticed someone was in the passengerโs seat.
โIโm sorry. I thought it was empty. I must have been mistaken.โ
As Shin Young-Yeon was getting out of the car, the taxi driver said, โMaโam, this is an empty car. The person sitting in the front seat is my wife.โ
The driver was an old man who looked like he was in his seventies. The wrinkles on his face werenโt just a product of time, but hardship.
โMy wife has Alzheimerโs, and Iโm taking her around with me because there is no one to take care of her at home. You can get off if youโre uncomfortable, but I will drive you home if itโs alright.โ
โOh... Itโs fine.โ
โAlright. Then should I head to Kunyoung Apartment in Sindorim?โ
โYes, please.โ
As Shin Young-Yeon sat diagonally from the passengerโs seat, she could see the old woman sitting there. She had age spots over her face, and she was a little chubby. She was wrapped up in a thick coat her husband had put on her.
On the way home, the taxi driver continuously spoke to his wife and completely dismissed Shin Young-Yeon's presence.
โHoney, look outside the window. This is the Han River. Can you recognize it? We came here with our little Dong-Il and played,โ the driver said as they passed Yanghwa Bridge.
The grandma did not respond.
โItโs pretty, right?โ
โ...โ
โBut I should have hung up the laundry before I came out. It should be done now.โ
โ...โ
โCan you do it for me when we get home? Iโll do the dishes.โ
โNo,โ The grandma replied in a sassy voice.
โNo? Hahaha. Then do you want to do the dishes?โ
โ...โ
โAre you hot right now? Youโre sweating.โ
The driver wiped the grandmaโs cheek with his right arm.
โIโll unwrap your clothes a little later after we drop off our customer. Just wait a little bit.โ
โ...โ
The car stopped at a red light. In the meantime, the taxi driver played the National Singing Contest from YouTube on his phone.
โDo you want to watch this?โ He handed her his phone.
โNo.โ The grandma turned away cheekily.
โHaha.โ The driver laughed like he was a little embarrassed.
โItโs just like when we started dating. She was so picky when we first met. I went through a lot to make her happy,โ the taxi driver said as he glanced at Shin Young-Yeon through the rearview mirror.
โStill, those were good times...โ
The light turned green, and he stepped on the accelerator.
A little while later, the taxi arrived in front of Kunyoung Apartment.
โYou can let me off here.โ
As Shin Young-Yeon paid with her card, she pulled out a business card from her bag.
โUm...โ
She handed them the business card.
โIโm a scientist working in the Stem Cells Department at A-Gen, and weโre preparing a clinical trial for Alzheimerโs treatment.โ
โClinical trials?โ
โYes. Please give me a call if you are interested. Although, the patient has to do the clinical trial suitability test, so not everyone can do it even if they volunteer, but...โ
โIf itโs A-Gen, is it being done by Doctor Ryu?โ
โYes,โ Shin Young-Yeon replied. To be honest, she had never met a huge star like Young-Joon because she was the lowest rung on the ladder, but he was still the manager of this project.
โActually, I was also thinking of participating in A-Genโs clinical trials as well. And Doctor Ryu Young-Joon is famous as well.โ
The taxi driver smiled, but for some reason, it felt like he was squeezing it out with all his strength.
โThank you for the business card. Weโll call you next time.โ
* * *
On Monday morning, Young-Joon was having a one-on-one meeting with Yoon Dae-Sung, the CEO, in his office.
โWe succeeded in developing an Alzheimerโs cure. We confirmed results in mice experiments with confidence, and I sent a manuscript to the Science editor,โ Young-Joon said.
โThatโs nice,โ Yoon Dae-Sung responded dryly. He was not in the least bit happy as he knew what Young-Joon would request now.
Young-Joon said, โThe Stem Cells Department and the Clinical Trial Management Center from headquarters are gathering participants right now.โ
โDo you think it will succeed in trials?โ Yoon Dae-Sung asked.
โIn my personal opinion, yes. One hundred percent.โ
Yoon Dae-Sung wiped his face with his hand multiple times as if this was causing him a headache.
โDirector Ryu, you are going to create an affiliate company with your Alzheimerโs treatment and become independent, right?โ Yoon Dae-Sung asked.
โYes. Also, I am going to transfer the shares A-Gen and the Life Creation Department has of the iPSCs to A-Bio. Of course, with the glaucoma treatment as well.โ
โ...โ
โAnd I need your support, sir. Thereโs a research ward that Lab One listed for sale, and I am considering buying it and setting up A-Bio there. Itโs fourteen billion won, but could you lower the price?โ
โBy how much?โ fre ewebno vel.com
โI heard that Lab One bought it for nine billion won. I will buy it for ten billion.โ
โI will deliver the message to Lab Director Kim Hyun-Taek.
โThank you. And I would like to take a few more things from A-Gen.โ
โWhat is it?โ
โFirst of all, please give us access to all of A-Genโs facilities.โ
Yoon Dae-Sung closed his eyes. It was time.
Young-Joon added, โA-Bio will not only use stem cell therapy for nerve differentiation but for growing artificial organs as well. In this process, I will need the Experiment Animal Resource Center and access to the Clinical Trial Management Center that I was using at A-Gen before. I will also need the help of the three-dimensional incubator and technicians.โ
โ...โ
โThe research that A-Bio will conduct in the future will absolutely require A-Genโs infrastructure. As such, I would like the same access rights as the other labs. Please allow me to pay a usage fee and use the entire main system.โ
This system was like the core of A-Genโs research and development. One of the biggest reasons that other pharmaceutical companies in the country could not match up to A-Gen was because they failed at setting up this system. It took an astronomical amount of money and a huge amount of time. It was the research support main system that had been built for sixty years, all the way from Yoon Dae-Sungโs fatherโs generation.
But Yoon Dae-Sung had no way to deny Young-Joonโs requests anymore.
โ... Alright,โ he replied.
โThank you.โ
โWhat is your next request?โ
โThere is a new probiotics product being developed in the Health Food Department at Lab Six. I am overseeing the development. Itโs a big project that we are collaborating with a venture company called Celligener, but I think there will be confusion in delivering the instructions for the company if I move to A-Bio.โ
Young-Joon added, โSo, I was thinking of moving it all to A-Bio. We donโt have to move the entire probiotics team, but just that one new product. Even if we do, weโll still study it at A-Gen like before since all the equipment is here.โ
โ...โ
Yoon Dae-Sung thought for a moment. He couldnโt understand why Young-Joon wanted it when it was nothing but probiotics. Of course, the healthcare industry was an important field and probiotics was an emerging item. But all he was taking was not the entire field, but just the pipeline of one new product. Then, it was true that there was less of an impact compared to stem cells. He was suspicious that Young-Joon was hiding something huge in that new probiotic drug.
Yoon Dae-Sung would have screamed in shock if he knew that it was a treatment for type 2 diabetes.
But Young-Joon did not tell anyone about that. Even Choi Myung-Joon and Song Ji-Hyun from Celligener who were both working on probiotics did not know.
โI will deliver the message to transfer the pipeline,โ Yoon Dae-Sung said.
โThank you. And furthermore, we will have to use A-Genโs GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) later. Please include A-Genโs manufacturing part along with the infrastructure and research development.โ
GMP was a set of rules created by the American FDA, and it was a guideline on how to produce drugs and medicine. If A-Gen was a sock company, the GMP would determine the quality of nylon, or how to care for polyester and things like that. A sock company would not be monitored that strictly, but for new drugs that would be given to the human body, evaluation was mandatory; they had to be manufactured in a facility that passed GMPโs due diligence.
Normally, manufacturing facilities of new biodrugs went through the process of producing and purifying biomaterials in hundreds of liters of liquid culture media. In A-Genโs case, they had the biggest system in the world. It was unbelievable, but the GMP here had liquid culture media in tanks.
Employees walked through hundreds of incubators and tanks after changing into uniforms and sterilization. The biggest culture media tank was so big that it had a boat. People usually took a sterile wherry and crossed to the other side. It was unbelievable, but that was what they were doing because it was hard to go around since it was such a big tank.
Since it was so big and the capital they managed was astronomically high, A-Genโs GMP factory had as much independence as its own company.
And it was the facility that Young-Joon wanted the most from A-Gen.
โAlright. Is there anything more?โ
โThere was an early liver cancer treatment called Cellicure that Celligener sold to A-Gen about six months ago. I would like the rights of that drug to be transferred to me. I am thinking of developing it with Celligener at A-Bio.โ
โ...Alright.โ
Actually, the Cellicure case wasnโt even reported to Yoon Dae-Sung as it was taken care of by Ji Kwang-Man and Kim Hyun-Taek. But after Young-Joonโs fame skyrocketed, he had also heard about what had happened.
โThat is all. I was thinking that I would have to convince you, but you granted all my requests. Thank you.โ
โThat way, you will consider my situation when I exchange shares with you, Doctor Ryu.โ
โHaha, alright. I will try my best.โ
โSo, what do you have in mind for the ratio?โ
โLetโs exchange ten percent of shares in the companyโs name. The ratio will be one-to-one. A-Gen will take ten percent of A-Bio, and A-Bio will take ten percent of A-Gen.โ
โ...โ
Yoon Dae-Sung froze.
โDoctor Ryu.โ
โYes.โ
โYou invested twenty billion won into A-Bio, yes?โ
โYes.โ
โThe market capitalization of A-Gen is over two hundred trillion won.โ
โI am aware of that.โ
โBut one-to-one? Do you think that will be possible?โ
โThe government said they would invest in me. They are going to give me three hundred billion won with no strings attached in the name of a small and medium-sized business support policy.โ
โBut do you think that is comparable to the stock of a company worth two hundred trillion won?โ
โWe can talk about the shares later. Letโs just write a contract for transfer rights for ten percent and work out the details later. You can terminate the contract if you think the prices donโt match.โ
โWhat is the time limit?โ
โI just need one year. A-Bio will grow massively in that time. None of the shareholders will be able to criticize you for a one-to-one exchange.โ
Yoon Dae-Sung took a sip of his tea.
Young-Joon already had four percent. If A-Bio took ten percent of A-Genโs shares, it was the same thing as him having fourteen percent since he would own ninety percent of A-Bio.
On the other hand, it was difficult for Yoon Dae-Sung to do what he wanted with the ten percent of A-Bio that A-Gen would have as although he was the CEO, he and his family only held fourteen percent of A-Gen. As a result, the amount that Young-Joon would have in A-Gen was the same amount that the Yoon family held. Yoon Dae-Sung had a lot of friendly shares, but would that be maintained even after A-Bio grows?
โThe management rights are shaking.โ
Ji Kwang-Man moved hastily, but he was probably worried about this situation. He would have thought they would have no choice after the creation of A-Bio.
โJi Kwang-Man... Why didnโt you do a better job?โ
After the Ji Kwang-Man incident, all eyes were now on A-Gen. And they were putting the blame of Ji Kwang-manโs crimes on the Yoon family as well since they were part of the same management.
If Yoon Dae-Sung rejected Young-Joonโs one-to-one request? How would the publicโs anger and the condemnation of the shareholders on A-Gen change?
The stocks of A-Gen that plummeted after Ji Kwang-Manโs incident could be restored after the launch of A-Bio. Most of the small shareholders, SG Group, Berkshire, and others didnโt really have an interest in Yoon Dae-Sungโs management rights; it didnโt matter to them whether the CEO changed. They could actually like it more if Young-Joon took the job.
The moment Yoon Dae-Sung denied Young-Joonโs request to exchange shares, his management rights would disappear.
โI was mistaken.โ
The management rights were already partly out of reach now. He would just get one year of probation if he agreed to the exchange.