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

Water Pharmaceuticals Headquarters.

The autumn scenery outside the window was bleak, but in the top-floor conference room of the Water headquarters, the atmosphere was as lively as midsummer.

In front of the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, Victor Corleone is shaking hands with the CEO of RxPlus, the third largest pharmacy chain in the United States.

RxPlus' CEO beamed, "This is a great moment. Through this acquisition, we will perfectly combine Vought's innovative medicines with RxPlus' nationwide network. We will provide patients with more convenient and efficient services."

Victor smiled at the camera, but his eyes revealed a hint of coldness.

"It's not just about services," he corrected, "it's about the ecosystem. We're going to redefine what healthcare is."

There was thunderous applause.

But behind that applause lies the trembling of the entire industry.

This acquisition means that Water Pharmaceuticals is no longer just a pharmaceutical company. It now has manufacturing capabilities (Water Pharmaceuticals), sales capabilities (RxPlus's 4000 stores), and is even starting to venture into the prescription side (RxPlus's PBM pharmacy benefit management business).

It forms a closed loop.

A perfect monopoly loop that no competitor can penetrate.

...

Three days later, Washington, D.C., Department of Justice Antitrust Division.

"This is insane!"

Sarah Kennedy, a senior investigator with the Antitrust Division, slammed the documents on the table. "Walter Pharmaceuticals is blatantly establishing a trust! If they control RxPlus, they can kick competitors' drugs off the shelves or manipulate drug prices through PBMs! This is a serious violation of the Sherman Act!"

Her boss, a bureau chief with gray hair, rubbed his tired eyes.

"Sarah, calm down."

"How can I stay calm? Look at these figures!" Sarah pointed to the document. "After Fen-Phen was discontinued, Water already held 90% of the weight-loss drug market share. Now they're going to take over the distribution channels? This is practically Rockefeller's standard oil regeneration!"

"I know," the director sighed, "but you have to understand, the situation is very complicated right now."

"What's the situation?"

"The market vacuum created by the Fen-Phen crisis has led to a huge public health panic." The director produced a memo from the White House, stating that "at this sensitive time, we need a strong market leader to stabilize the situation. Vought's vertical integration is seen as a key measure to 'improve drug distribution efficiency and ensure patient medication safety.'"

"That's an excuse!" Sarah exclaimed angrily. "Walt is profiting from this crisis!"

"Maybe," the director said, putting his glasses back on. "But more importantly, someone is endorsing them."

"Who?"

FDA.

...

A week later, on Capitol Hill, an antitrust hearing was held.

Victor sat calmly in the hearing box. To his left was Saul, and to his right were several high-profile Washington lobbyists.

Opposite him stood Sarah Kennedy and several senators who were skeptical of the case.

"Mr. Corleone."

Sarah asked sharply, "Through this acquisition, Water Pharmaceuticals will have absolute power to manipulate the market. How can you guarantee that you won't use this power to squeeze out competitors or raise drug prices?"

Victor smiled slightly and adjusted the microphone.

"Ms. Kennedy, you used the word 'manipulation.' But I prefer to call it 'optimization.'"

"During the Fen-Phen crisis, millions of patients panicked because they couldn't get safe medication. Why? Because there were too many intermediaries, a lack of transparency, and inefficient distribution. By merging with RxPlus, we can deliver medication directly to patients. We've reduced intermediaries, lowered costs, and most importantly, ensured that every bottle of medication is traceable and every patient's medication is monitored."

"Isn't this for the public good?"

"That's a sophistry about monopoly!" Sarah retorted. "Your so-called surveillance means forcing patients to take only your medication!"

"If they won't take our medicine, are we supposed to make them take poison that will rot their hearts?" Victor retorted, his tone turning stern. "Or, are we supposed to make them buy those counterfeit drugs with unknown ingredients on the black market?"

A commotion broke out in the hearing room.

"And," Victor continued, "I think the FDA is the most qualified to speak on the necessity of this."

He turned to look at the audience seats.

David Rossi stood up. He was wearing a dark blue suit with a gleaming American flag badge on his chest.

"Mr. Chairman, members of Congress," David Rossi's voice was steady and firm, "the FDA supports this acquisition. Following the Fen-Phen incident, we realized that a fragmented market structure is detrimental to regulation. We need a large, responsible company like Vought to help us build a more robust drug safety monitoring network."

"Walter has pledged to share patient data with RxPlus, which will greatly enhance the FDA's ability to warn of drug side effects. This is exactly the 'pharmacovarian system' we've been dreaming of."

"Therefore, from a public health perspective, this acquisition is not only harmless, but also necessary."

David Rossi's words were a final, decisive verdict.

Sarah Kennedy slumped into her chair. She looked at David Rossi, then at Victor. She suddenly realized that this was not a fair hearing at all.

This is a meticulously choreographed play.

All the characters, from the regulators to the regulated, are reading the same script.

...

In November 1998, the merger was officially approved.

Vought Pharmaceuticals' stock price surged 15% that day, pushing its market capitalization past the $100 billion mark.

Victor stood on the rooftop of the RxPlus headquarters, overlooking the city below.

"How's it going, boss?" Barry stood behind him, rubbing his hands excitedly. "We're not just selling drugs now, we're running hospitals, and we're even writing laws."

"It feels..." Victor took a deep breath of the cold autumn air, "It feels like walking a tightrope."

"A steel wire?" Barry paused, taken aback. "We're so stable right now, who could possibly bring us down?"

"It's not that anyone pushed us down," Victor said, looking at the Capitol dome in the distance. "It's that we ourselves were too heavy."

He turned around and looked at Barry.

"When something becomes too big to fail, it becomes everyone's target. Sarah Kennedy was just the first. There will be more investigators, more prosecutors, watching us like vultures, waiting for us to reveal even the slightest flaw."

"So what should we do?"

"We need a new shell," Victor said, narrowing his eyes. "A shell that can isolate the risks while keeping the profits."

"Like a lizard losing its tail."

He took out his phone and dialed Saul's number.

"Sol, I want to divest the Apollo business."

"But boss, Apollo is our money-printing machine now!" Barry asked, puzzled.

"Because it's a money-printing machine, it's also a time bomb," Victor said coldly. "The reports of those psychological side effects are increasing, and although David has been suppressing them, the truth will eventually come out. When the bomb explodes, I want to make sure it only blows up this tail, not the whole of Walter."

He looked down at the bustling traffic below.

In this vast business empire, nothing lasts forever. Except greed.

"And I've found the next money-printing machine. A safer, more discreet, and... happier money-printing machine than Apollo."

The wind blew across the rooftop, swirling up a few withered leaves.

Winter is coming. But for Victor, it's just the beginning of another spring.