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“Mr. Cross, clearing the inventory regardless of price can move it quickly, but I estimate we can only recover around two hundred to two hundred fifty million.”
Adrian’s expression did not change.
“I know. Do it anyway. Over the next two weeks, the factory will undergo a full refit and prepare to manufacture a new drug.”
Two hundred million was not much compared with Umbrella’s debt, but it was enough to cover the early production costs for the HIV/AIDS cure.
With the formula provided by the system, he did not need to operate like an ordinary pharmaceutical company.
The next steps were animal trials, clinical testing, regulatory paperwork, and the supporting procedures needed for market approval.
What else was there to say?
The hardest part had been skipped.
“A new drug?”
“Did the technical department finish its research?”
“Come on, people. The technical department developed a new drug and didn’t tell us?”
“No. The blood-sugar medication is still some distance from success.”
When the head of technical development answered, everyone in the room looked back at Adrian in confusion.
If the technical department had not succeeded, what new drug was he talking about?
“This is a drug I began researching years ago,” Adrian said.
“It is complete, and it is more than enough to bring Umbrella back to life.”
As he spoke, he inserted a USB drive into the computer.
A concise introduction to an HIV/AIDS cure appeared on the screens in front of them.
Everyone froze at the first glance.
An HIV/AIDS cure.
AIDS, the disease caused by HIV, was one of the world’s most feared medical conditions.
To most people, it was incurable.
Treatable, perhaps, but not something medicine had truly solved.
Now he was saying Umbrella’s next product would be a cure.
“HIV/AIDS is supposed to be incurable.”
“But if we can really produce a cure, or even a truly effective treatment, the company will come back from the dead.”
They wanted to believe him, but reason told them it should be impossible.
Doubt crept into their eyes before they could hide it.
Even Evelyn, who trusted him more than most, wavered for a moment.
It was hard to blame them.
Top pharmaceutical and medical teams around the world had thrown themselves at HIV/AIDS for years.
Even then, the best they had produced were drugs that could help patients live longer, not a definitive cure.
Compared with those giants, the company lagged behind in almost every respect.
Worse, this alleged cure had not used company resources at all.
“I know you don’t believe me,” Adrian said calmly.
“But we don’t have much time. From this point on, we move on every front at once.”
“Legal will handle trademark registration, patent applications, and the paperwork needed to support technical development.”
“Don’t worry, Mr. Cross,” the head of legal said.
“I’ll complete it as quickly as possible.”
He nodded, then looked to production.
“Manager Carter, I will give you drawings and requirements later. You are responsible for completing the production-line refit within two weeks.”
“Understood. I will do everything I can.” Carter nodded quickly, then hesitated.
“But Mr. Cross, the drug has not been tested yet. Can we really start production directly?”
“Testing and production will proceed at the same time,” Adrian said.
He turned to the sales department.
“While you sell the existing inventory, purchase twenty chimpanzees and identify volunteers willing to participate in clinical trials.”
Only then did the managers realize how thoroughly he had thought this through.
He was not following the normal sequence.
By the time the trials were complete, the warehouses would hold a large stock of the new medicine.
Selling immediately would save an enormous amount of time.
But if anything went wrong during testing, the losses would be just as enormous.
“Mr. Cross,” Dr.
Elias Hart said, “are you certain the formula and all supporting data are complete?”
Dr.
Hart was part of the laboratory staff and had spent most of his life in research.
He was rigorous, responsible, and had solved many technical problems for Umbrella without ever acting arrogant about it.
Adrian’s father had worked hard to bring him into the company, and he knew the older scientist well.
“Don’t worry, Dr. Hart. The data are complete. We’ll discuss the details shortly. We can produce samples before the chimpanzees arrive.”
Dr.
Hart’s eyes widened slightly.
He understood Adrian well enough to know that if he said it that plainly, he had absolute confidence.
“In that case, I will not ask further.” The older scientist nodded.
He looked around the room.
“Any other questions?”
The managers discussed a few remaining details, and the meeting ended.
Everyone returned to their posts at once.
The coming days would be busy.
Even so, anticipation filled them.
An HIV/AIDS cure.
They could imagine the day, not far off, when the name Umbrella would spread across the world.
After the meeting, he took Evelyn and Dr.
Hart directly to the laboratory.
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