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Seeing him throw the proposal away, Evelyn smiled despite herself.
She understood the value of the HIV/AIDS cure very well.
Calling it a trillion-dollar asset would not be an exaggeration.
Of course he would not sell it cheap.
“As for cooperation,” Adrian said after thinking for a moment, “if it involves sales, let the sales department negotiate. For anything else, filter it first. I will look at only what truly needs my decision.”
Evelyn nodded.
After hesitating briefly, she said, “Mr. Cross, there is one more thing I wanted to confirm about the HIV/AIDS cure.”
“What is it?” Adrian asked casually.
“Do we really not need to apply for a patent? Without one, confidentiality…”
“Confidentiality?” Adrian smiled.
“The drug we produce contains a genetic lock. No one can crack it. A patent only protects a formula for twenty years, and you know exactly what we would have to submit when applying for one.”
Evelyn fell silent for a moment, but still gave her opinion.
“I do not understand the genetic lock, but with a patent, we would at least have a legal advantage. If another company cracked the relevant technology, we could sue.”
“Applying for a patent means handing over the technology we control,” Adrian said plainly.
“I do not trust twenty years of legal protection enough to expose a formula with this kind of value. Besides, I am confident no one will crack the A-Virus for decades. Even if someone develops a similar virus, we will already have newer technology by then.”
A patent was protection bought through disclosure.
But they held technology decades ahead of the current era.
Why would he disclose it?
Evelyn went quiet.
If Adrian could say that, then he had some kind of guarantee.
“How do you want to price it?”
Adrian thought for a moment before answering.
“Set the public-insurance price floor at one hundred thousand.”
He was certain the National Health Insurance Department would organize a negotiation team soon.
Umbrella held the absolute market advantage and did not need access to public insurance to survive.
Even so, a visible concession still made sense.
A clear concession here would make it much easier for Umbrella’s future conventional drugs to seize market share.
Adrian wanted a pharmaceutical empire.
The national insurance market was indispensable.
This would also help Umbrella on multiple fronts.
As for the cost, he only had to set the standard list price high enough and let the insurance talks land at one hundred thousand.
“Are you planning to set the regular price at three hundred thousand?” Evelyn asked, startled.
“Wrong. Seven hundred thousand.”
Adrian smiled.
“Standard price, seven hundred thousand. Public-insurance price, one hundred thousand. That gives them a visible concession, and it gives us a reasonable basis to raise the price overseas.”
“Seven hundred thousand?” Evelyn was shocked.
“Our cost…”
“Ignore the cost,” Adrian cut in.
“So what if our production cost is low? The research cost is high enough. Ordinary HIV medication starts at two thousand a box, and even generics can run three hundred. Patients have to take those forever. We cure them with one dose. This is already cheap.”
So what if the manufacturing cost was low?
Of course, it was better if people did not learn that the packaging cost more than the treatment itself.
“Besides,” Adrian said coldly, “if Spinraza can sell for seven hundred thousand, why can’t my HIV/AIDS cure sell for seven hundred thousand?”
“Even so, a hundred thousand is still more than many people can accept,” Evelyn said, unable to hide her reluctance.
“There are hundreds of thousands of people living with HIV/AIDS across the country, and many of them cannot afford that.”
“And? Umbrella is not a charity. We need enormous funding to develop. People have to take responsibility for their own behavior. Think about how most cases happen.”
Evelyn had no answer.
It was harsh, but from Adrian’s position, using one hundred thousand to save a life was already far below the value of the cure.
After they discussed a few more details, Evelyn left to handle her work.
Adrian locked the office door behind her.
The system interface appeared before his eyes.
[System]
Milestone Achieved: First drug officially entered public view
Reward: One Draw
Prompt: Draw now?
The prompt had appeared when the hospital officially announced that all twenty volunteers had been cured.
The sudden notification had surprised him.
He had not expected the system to be this generous.
He had delayed the draw because his schedule was packed.
“Draw now.”
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