SWNOVELS
Chapter 110: Plant-based Pharmaceuticals (3)
There was a gene named BRCA. It was one of the most famous genes in the world of genetics. There were two types of BRCA that existed in the body: BRCA1, which existed on the seventeenth chromosome, and BRCA2, which existed on the thirteenth chromosome. The reason why they were famous was because they were cancer inhibiting genes.
Human DNA was continuously destroyed by ultraviolet rays, chemicals, and naturally occurring reactive oxygen species in the body. Because cells with destroyed DNA died, there was a mechanism in the cell to repair damaged DNA to prevent death, and the BRCA gene was one of the genes that repaired DNA damage. But if there was a mutation in the BRCA gene and it could not function properly, the cell would be left with damaged DNA and just die. However, there were some unlucky cases where the DNA would repair itself in a slightly misaligned shape with BRCA. Then, those cells would turn into cancer cells.
“... As such, there is a high chance that cells with broken BRCA will become cancer cells,” Young-Joon said.
The members of the Diagnostic Device Department were taking notes in their notebooks while listening to Young-Joon’s presentation.
Young-Joon continued with his lecture.
“The probability of cancer occurrence changes depending on where the mutation is in the BRCA gene, but women who have a mutation in BRCA have a fifty percent chance of getting breast cancer and a fifteen percent chance of getting ovarian cancer. In Angelina Jolie’s case, there was an eighty-seven percent chance of her getting breast cancer and a fifty percent chance of ovarian cancer. Ultimately, she got surgery to remove her breasts, ovaries, and fallopian tubes.”
“Are you going to begin BRCA gene testing services with this diagnostic project?” Song Yu-Ra asked.
“That’s right.” Young-Joon nodded.
“As you all probably know, according to WHO statistics, four hundred fifty-eight thousand people die of breast cancer each year. If we can recognize the risk of developing it by genetic testing, it will help us control the incidence of cancer.”
“...”
“What I want is for people to receive our services and test genes like BRCA, and I want people with a high chance of developing it to receive preventative surgeries or check frequently with the diagnostic kit. The survival rate will increase dramatically if it is diagnosed early and they receive treatment right away.”
Young-Joon handed out documents to the department members.
“There are twenty-four famous gene mutations in the data provided. This data includes three BRCA mutants. From now on, we will start a business that diagnoses twenty-four of these target mutations.”
The scientists looked over the documents and checked the list of mutations.
—P53
—KRAS
—EGFR
They were all famous ones like BRCA, and they were genes that controlled the apoptosis signal of cells or growth signals. And everyone knew that these twenty-four targets weren’t all of them. Young-Joon began a huge Genome Project, and it was to discover new targets; he was trying to find indicators of cancer that the scientific community did not know yet, but were as important as the BRCA mutation. If the mutation of an unknown gene A was only found in lymphoma patients, it could be called a sign of lymphoma, couldn’t it? A huge genome project that decoded the DNA of one hundred million people. The big data to be obtained from it may be able to read all cancerous species that occurred in the human body.
“...”
Song Yu-Ra’s hands trembled in shock.
There were a lot of changes that happened to the disease treatment market after Young-Joon began induced pluripotent stem cells. Now, a lot of developed countries were building next-generation hospitals and investing in stem cell technicians. The treatments and cures that were in clinical trials right now were soon going to become products and pour out.
Additionally, a major structural reform was happening in the disease prediction market.
“You are the best technicians at DNA analysis, and there are two hundred of Illemina’s DNA analysis machines here, the best equipment in the world. Let’s begin the genetic testing business as early as next week,” Young-Joon said.
* * *
The Anticancer Drug Research Department and the Plant-based Pharmaceuticals Research Department were both in shock. It had already been a week, but their shock seemed to not go away. “How did he do it...?” Kin Hyun-Seok mumbled.
Young-Joon had succeeded in producing Alimap from plant cells; it really worked.
“Seriously, this makes no sense. What do you think?” Kim Joo-Yeon asked like she was dumbfounded.
“We tried to express animal genes in plant cells for ten years, but we have never succeeded once,” Jang Jin-Ho replied.
“But the director did it in one month?”
“Yes...”
“...”
Young-Joon picked out around a dozen locations from the hundreds of millions of target locations in the tobacco plant, as if he knew it all and it was obvious to him to manipulate them. After he cut them and stuck them together with genetic scissors, he put the new genes in the chloroplast. Then, all of a sudden, Alimap began coming out of the leaves. It was like looking at AlphaGo put together a one hundred thousand-piece puzzle in ten minutes; no matter what piece he picked up, he put it into the right location as soon as he picked it up.
“Can a human be like that?”
“...”
Click.
“Oh, you were using the conference room. I thought it was empty.”
“No, we’re done now. We were just leaving,” Jang Jin-Ho said as he got up. “You can use it, direc... Hup.”
The end of his sentence was stopped by bewilderment. It was because a guest was standing behind Young-Joon. It was Yoon Dae-Sung, the CEO of A-Gen.
“Sir!”
Surprised, the employees all greeted him.
“They are the scientists who were responsible for and drove the expression of Alimap in plant cells. A word of encouragement, please.”
Young-Joon introduced them to Yoon Dae-Sung.
“Great work, everyone. Thanks to you, we are able to produce Alimap very cheaply. Honestly, I don’t know if this is good for the company, but... Hahaha.”
Yoon Dae-Sung laughed awkwardly.
“Hahaha.”
Young-Joon laughed with him and let him into the conference room.
“T-Then we’ll be on our way.”
The members of the Anticancer Drug Research Department and the Plant-based Pharmaceuticals Research Department bowed to Young-Joon and Yoon Dae-Sung, then quickly ran outside. Young-Joon closed the door and sat across from Yoon Dae-Sung.
“Mr. CEO, there was a plan to build a large GMP facility in Pyeongtaek, right?”
Young-Joon got straight to the point.
“There was.”
“What if we set that up as a plant-based production facility?”
“And mass-produce Alimap from there?”
“Yes. I am thinking of taking all biodrugs to a plant-based production system from now on. The possibility of contamination is low, and the amount of production is much higher. In particular, antibody types that were previously produced using eggs will be produced more efficiently if they are made from plants,” Young-Joon said. “As you probably know, producing biodrugs based on plants will be the new trend in drug production because we succeeded in producing Alimap from plants. To be ahead in this field, we need a huge GMP plant-based production facility.”
Yoon Dae-Sung already knew that Young-Joon would propose this. As such, he was not that surprised at this request. However, he was worried about something else.
“But Doctor Ryu, will it be okay to reduce drug prices this sharply? I think we might be destroying our livelihood with our own hands.”
“We could be. However, we need to adapt and change our livelihood if science advances. We can’t take swords to a battlefield when tanks have been developed, right?” Young-Joon said.
“...”
Yoon Dae-Sung closed his eyes and thought. After a moment of silence, Young-Joon spoke.
“And there is something I would like your help with.”
“My help?”
“The genetic testing business and cheap treatments might pressure insurance companies.”
“Probably.”
“I am also working with the legal team and preparing a response. But I need your help in this process.”
“Hm.”
Yoon Dae-Sung’s worries about their livelihood disappeared completely from his mind. This project was not being done by A-Bio; they were participating in this business by lending Illemina’s equipment, and it was Lab One of A-Gen who was in charge of the project. This meant that if insurance companies attacked this business, they would not only be shaking up Young-Joon, but Yoon Dae-Sung as well.
‘What a shrewd man...’
Yoon Dae-Sung clicked his tongue in his head. Young-Joon, who was eating away at A-Gen’s shares and at odds with Yoon Dae-Sung, was now trying to throw Yoon Dae-Sung in front of him as a shield
“How can I help?”
However, Yoon Dae-Sung couldn’t ignore him, as this project was being done by the Anticancer Drug Research Department and the Diagnostic Device Research Department, the two most well-known and high-performing departments among all the research departments at A-Gen.
Plus, Yoon Dae-Sung didn’t dislike Young-Joon. Even if they were going to end up fighting for the management rights to A-Gen, it bothered him that other people were attacking Young-Joon right now.
“I will support you fully if it is something I can help you with.”
* * *
A new board meeting was held.
“CEO Ryu... is moving faster than we thought,” Baek Joong-Hyun, the executive vice president, said cautiously as he glanced at Lim Gil-Won in guilt.
Lim Gil-Won felt like his head was going to explode from stress as he listened to his frustrating voice.
‘He’s moving faster than we expected? Is he kidding? How can he say something like that when he knows the number of drugs that Ryu Young-Joon put into clinical trials in a year?’
Young-Joon’s research was completely different from other scientists. Lim Gil-Won evaluated him as more of a trend of advancement or a social phenomenon, such as the Bio Revolution or the Fourth Industrial Revolution, rather than an individual concept of a genius scientist.
‘We could have ridden this wave well if these old gits listened to me earlier.’
Lim Gil-Won sighed.
“Um... It is a little late, but do you have any good ideas, Director Lim?” Baek Joong-Hyuk asked.
“Not anymore. I kept giving reports of this since Doctor Ryu Young-Joon came up with a cure for glaucoma. We should have dealt with it from then,” Lim Gil-Won replied as he pushed down his irritation.
“... What if we challenge the credibility of genetic testing and do media play?”
“We cannot do that!” Lim Gil-Won screamed in shock. “The credibility of genetic testing! That’s a scientific problem! That is something that can be calculated with experiments and be in papers!”
‘Is this grandpa crazy? I know that he is old-fashioned, but he wants to go into that monster’s home ground and fight?’
“We will end up like the HIV opposition, one hundred percent. We will be completely destroyed if he proves it in front of everyone’s eyes with a crazy, unimaginable experiment. And Ryu Young-Joon is someone who is capable of doing that.”
“... Is he?”
Baek Joong-Hyuk scratched his head.
“Phew...” Lim Gil-Won sighed. “What if we just give up on keeping him in check? Let’s actually get close to him, learn about his genetic testing business and support it. Then, we can develop a new insurance product based on that.”
“Develop a new insurance product?” contemporary romance
“We’ll design an insurance product that fits the generation of genetic testing. I don’t know what it will look like but...”
“Let’s do this,” Hwang Jun-Young, the CEO, said. “Let’s do what Director Lim said, and on the other side, let’s put pressure on the government to illegalize and regulate genetic testing because it violates the Personal Information and Privacy Act.”