Chapter 122: Research and Development of New Drugs
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
In the pharmaceutical department’s meeting room of the Qu Group.
In front of the round table, the group’s shareholders, directors, and Qu Zhen, who was in charge of pharmaceutics, were all waiting in silence. The silence broke when Qu Xiao opened the door and entered. Qu Xiao naturally sat at the main seat and spread her hands to signal everyone to express their opinions.
Half an hour ago, Qu Xiao received a call from the Qu Group’s special assistant. In a hurried and nervous tone, she said something had happened at the company!
Qu Xiao was so scared that she did not dare to delay. She rushed to the group at top speed, only to find that the situation was much calmer than she had imagined. Before taking the elevator to the meeting room, Qu Xiao was faintly worried that the shareholders and Qu Zhen would fight and tear the ceiling apart.
When the shareholders heard Qu Xiao’s words, they immediately slammed the table and roared, “Our group has always sought stability, but Qu Zhen wants to develop new drugs.”
“The research and development of a new drug require many human resources, financial resources, and even the energy of everyone in the pharmaceutical department. No one can guarantee if it will succeed in the end. Even if the new drug were developed, will it pass the checks and be used in clinical trials?”
“Even if it passes the clinical trials, will the market buy it? Will our investment capital be returned?”
“Don’t we need to consider all of this? Miss Qu has returned from abroad and is unclear about the domestic market regulation and environment. I advised her to reconsider, but she used her identity as the head of the pharmaceutical department to put pressure on me!”
“Isn’t the pharmaceutical department under the jurisdiction of the Qu Group’s board of directors?”
The middle-aged shareholder finished speaking in one breath, his face flushed from holding it in.
Qu Xiao motioned for the special assistant to pour him a cup of tea so that he could calm down a little and not pass out in the meeting room.
Qu Zhen’s jet-black hair was draped over her shoulders as she sat quietly across her.
The employees outside the room looked for excuses to deliberately pass by the meeting room in an attempt to peek through the gaps of the shutters to see what was happening inside. There were even more daring ones hiding in a corner, wanting to eavesdrop on the contents of the meeting.
The staff group chat of the Qu Group was very lively. Everyone was discussing and guessing the most likely outcome.
[CEO Qu and Qu Zhen don’t have a good relationship. She definitely won’t agree and support Qu Zhen.]
[Even if the company’s shareholders are all on Qu Zhen’s side, CEO Qu will probably think of ways to suppress them. I heard that CEO Qu agreed to let Qu Zhen report to the pharmaceutical department because she wanted to deliberately torture her and make her do the most tiring work. Then, she would pin all the blame on Qu Zhen. ]
[Don’t talk nonsense. I think CEO Qu is a good person.]
[Since CEO Qu took office, our company’s welfare and treatment have improved a lot. People from other companies are all envious of me!]
The messages in the group chat kept popping up. However, Qu Xiao seriously scanned the submitted research and development report on the new drug in the meeting room.
She stared at Qu Zhen indifferently. “You want to develop an affordable drug to treat acute diseases?”
“That’s right. After returning to China, I went to the hospital for a field trip. I found that many low-income families that encountered sudden accidents and events had no choice but to give up their lives because they couldn’t afford the high surgery costs and the subsequent drug costs.”
“The Qu Group is an enterprise with empathy. I believe you will agree with my decision.”
Qu Zhen looked at Qu Xiao with her clearly defined eyes. The two sisters spoke across the table, causing the shareholders and directors around them to feel somewhat surprised.
They had all witnessed how ruthless Qu Xiao was toward Mr. Qu. Why did her attitude become gentler when it came to Qu Zhen? Could it be that Qu Xiao only wanted to punish the people who had once hurt her and did not want to implicate other innocent people?
“In your budget, developing a new drug will take at least half a year, but the human resources and financial resources expended will take two years to recover before making profits. This is not beneficial to the company’s development in the long run.” Qu Xiao maintained the attitude of a capitalist callously. The shareholders and directors all nodded in agreement. But Qu Xiao suddenly said with a twist, “You said that the Qu Group is a company with empathy.”
“When your father was in power, I wasn’t sure, but the Qu Group now will do its best to help everyone who needs help.”
“Try to give back some warmth to society.”
Qu Xiao raised her hand, and the special assistant immediately knew to pass her a pen and seal.
“Three months. If you can develop a new drug in three months, I will fully support you to participate in the clinical trial, and you will be fully in charge of following up.”
Qu Xiao raised three fingers and smiled gently as she asked, “How is it? Can you complete the task?”
Qu Zhen looked at her seal, stained with red ink, and curled the corners of her lips into a bright smile. “Of course.”
Thud! Qu Xiao stamped heavily and used her voting right as the board chairman and CEO to launch the research and development project of the new drug.
The shareholders and directors walked out of the meeting room with their heads lowered in frustration. No one had expected such an outcome.
“Who said that their relationship is very tense? From what I see, they seem like biological sisters!”
“In the future, don’t always think of going to the pharmaceutical department to give Qu Zhen a hard time and curry favor with CEO Qu. It looks like we’ve all thought wrongly!”
The shareholders and directors whispered among themselves. Qu Zhen and Qu Xiao, who stayed behind in the meeting room, looked at each other and smiled.
Qu Zhen nodded and said, “Thank you.”