American Medicine God: Starting by Inheriting a Pharmaceutical Company and Selling Medicine

Rochester, Minnesota, Mayo Clinic Heart Center, one of the nation's premier cardiology conference rooms! The snow outside the window has finally melted, revealing the long-awaited green lawn.

"This is not normal."

The speaker was Dr. Heidi Connolly, a leading cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic. Pointing to the heart valves on the screen, she said, "Look at these white patches. This is fibrosis, like... someone poured a layer of glue into this young girl's heart."

"This is the 24th case this month," another doctor added. "None of them have a history of rheumatic heart disease, infective endocarditis, or even high blood pressure. Their only thing in common is..."

Dr. Connolly paused for a moment, then pulled a prescription from the folder.

"They are all taking diet pills."

"Fen-Phen," Dr. Connolly read the name, "Wyeth's flagship product."

"But how is that possible?" a young resident couldn't help but question. "Fen-Phen has been on the market for almost two years, the FDA approved it, and millions of people are taking it. If there were problems, why weren't they reported before?"

"Because no one had thought of this before," Dr. Connolly said calmly and firmly. "Moreover, this damage is cumulative. It's like a silent killer, lurking in bodies that crave thinness, until one day, the valves completely stiffen and the heart can no longer pump blood."

She glanced around at her colleagues.

"Gentlemen, we may be standing on the brink of a public health disaster. We need to release this data immediately. It will cause panic, but it can save lives."

Just then, there was a gentle knock on the conference room door.

The administrative secretary walked in, looking somewhat flustered: "Dr. Connolly, a... visitor wants to see you. He says he represents Walter Pharmaceuticals."

"Walter?" Connolly frowned. "We're discussing Wyeth's drugs. What are Walter's people doing here? Tell them to leave."

"He said he brought what you needed." The secretary hesitated for a moment, then handed over a business card.

The business card bore only one name: Saul Goodman, and a handwritten note: "The truth about those white patches."

......

Ten minutes later, in a corner of the hospital's coffee shop.

Saul Goodman was wearing an Italian suit, holding a cup of black coffee, and wearing an enigmatic smile.

"Dr. Connolly, I've long admired your name." Saul didn't rise, but merely gestured for him to stand. "In this world full of lies, there aren't many people like you who pursue the truth."

"I'll only give you five minutes," Connolly said coldly. "And I don't understand why Water Pharmaceuticals would be interested in a competitor's drug."

"Because the enemy of my enemy is my friend." Saul took a thick file folder from his briefcase and pushed it in front of Connolly. "Inside is a set of pathological slide data from our lab. Specifically, it was discovered by our chief scientist, Dr. Arthur Klein, in mouse experiments."

Connolly opened the file folder with a puzzled look.

A few minutes later, her pupils suddenly contracted.

"This...this is exactly what we've seen in our patients!" she exclaimed. "Valvular fibrosis caused by overactivation of 5-HT2B receptors...you knew about this all along?"

“Yes.” Thor nodded. “We discovered it months ago. That’s why our boss, Mr. Corleone, resolutely refused to copy Fen-Phen and instead invested heavily in developing the safer ‘Apollo’.”

"Then why didn't you announce it?" Connolly demanded angrily. "You knew this drug was killing people, yet you chose to remain silent?"

"Doctor, we're a pharmaceutical company, not a regulatory agency," Saul shrugged. "If we were to jump out and accuse Wyeth, the public would see it as cutthroat competition, a smear campaign. Nobody would believe us. But you're different."

Thor leaned forward and lowered his voice.

"You are an authority at the Mayo Clinic. Your word is law. If you were to expose this scandal, it would be a victory for science."

Connolly looked at the shrewd lawyer before her, a complex mix of emotions welling up inside her. She knew she was being used, but she couldn't refuse the evidence.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"We don't want anything," Saul laughed. "We're even willing to fund your research anonymously. We only have one small request."

"What?"

"quick."

Thor's smile vanished, and his eyes sharpened.

"Publish your paper as soon as possible. Ideally, in the New England Journal of Medicine. Let the whole world know what Fen-Phen is."

"As for 'Apollo'..." Thornton paused, "Our data also shows that it completely avoids the 5-HT2B receptor and is absolutely safe for the heart. If you could mention this comparison in your paper... of course, this is just a suggestion, after all, science is objective."

Connolly looked at the thick document, then at Saul.

She understood it was a deal. Walter provided the bullets, Mayo was responsible for firing the gun. The target was Wyeth.

“I will publish a paper.” Connolly put away the documents and stood up. “But I will not endorse anyone. I will tell the truth: Fen-Phen is poison. As for whether Apollo is the antidote, only time will tell.”

"That's enough." Saul raised his coffee cup. "Good luck, Doctor. You're doing a great thing."

Watching Connolly's hurried departure, Saul took out his phone and dialed Victor's number.

"Boss, the bait has been swallowed."

......

Washington, D.C., FDA headquarters, office of the commissioner.

David Rossi put down the phone. It was Victor calling.

He walked to the window and looked out at the bustling Constitution Avenue. The sun was shining brightly, but he felt a chill.

Once the Mayo Clinic's paper is published, it will be a nuclear bomb. Wyeth is finished. Fen-Phen is finished.

And he, as the regulator who approved these drugs for market, will also face a huge storm.

But he wasn't flustered. Because Victor had already written the script for him.

What he had to do was play the role of a "blinded, heartbroken reformer." He had to be more furious and more radical than anyone else in his purge of Wyeth.

In this way, he could absolve himself of his dereliction of duty and, incidentally... clear the final obstacle for "Apollo".

"Heart valves..." David Rossi muttered to himself, "This is a perfect target."

Compared to the invisible and intangible mental illusions, the bloody heart damage is obviously more visually impactful and more likely to trigger public panic.

As long as all the spotlights are on the heart, no one will notice those who are going crazy in the shadows.

He returned to his desk and opened a document that had already been drafted.

The document is titled: "Executive Order on the Immediate Recall of Fen-Phen and the Initiation of an Emergency Security Review".

The last line of the document contains a list of those who have been granted special exemptions.

There is only one name on the list: Apollo.

*Note: Upon review, no risk of valvular toxicity was found in this drug, and it is recommended that it continue to be marketed as an alternative therapy.

David Rossi picked up an expensive, custom-made Montblanc pen.

Of course, this pen was also a gift from Victor!