“How is our half-year report card?”
Park Jin-hyuk asked for DS Pharmaceutical’s performance review.
As if he had been preparing for this question, Kim Jun-woo immediately handed over the projected results for DS Pharmaceutical and its subsidiaries.
“I’ve brought the estimated half-year performance for subsidiaries like Pharmaceuticals and Biologics. We aimed for the most positive outlook, but even this will likely be insufficient. There is word that the actual results might be even better than our predictions.”
“Is that so?”
Park Jin-hyuk accepted the report with a smile.
As Kim Jun-woo said, the results compared to the same period last year and the previous quarter were remarkable.
“DS Pharmaceutical… the projected operating profit is 120 billion won, and Biologics… could be even higher? This is already quite a good level.”
Park Jin-hyuk looked up at Kim Jun-woo. Kim Jun-woo nodded in response to his gaze.
“I was very surprised too. I brought this after checking several times, but it is certain to be even better.”
“I expected it to be good… but 150 billion won for the half-year, and it might be higher? With a net profit of 100 billion won? Hahaha. Is this really for a half-year? This is an A+ grade even for an annual performance, but for it to be even better for a half-year is very encouraging.”
Park Jin-hyuk could not hold back his laughter.
He had expected good results because the factory operation rate was close to 90% and production had been maximized through factory expansion, but the results were significantly exceeding expectations.
At this level, it surpassed the annual performance of most top-tier listed companies. He thought the market would never expect a company that had recently been worried about its survival to produce such results.
“This is despite the funds spent on new factory construction. If it weren’t for that, the results would have been even better.”
“In just half a year, the duck that couldn’t fly has become a swan.”
“The production of Pittaflu at the beginning of the year was a big help in maximizing profits. And as the Paris Flu subsided and the demand for Pittaflu decreased, Novo’s Tatulumide went into full production, accurately filling the gap.”
“It seems my plan worked out well.”
“Yes. If we had increased Pittaflu production as requested by the former DS executives who have now stepped down, we would have spent a lot of time on line changes, and we wouldn’t have achieved these results.”
“Yeah, I figured as much. People who plan factory lines from their desks are like that. If something seems to be going well, they have a habit of going all-in. You have to put those guys on the factory line once for them to come to their senses.”
During his time under Yu Jeong-geol, Park Jin-hyuk did not want to be a salesman who blindly brought in work without knowing anything. He visited factories whenever he had time and communicated extensively with the factory manager and the production line workers. He had realized through much trial and error that simply bringing in work was not everything.
Looking back after gaining a new life, Park Jin-hyuk could see that the path he had walked as a salesman was not wrong.
“Come to think of it, I was a pretty decent salesman…”
“Pardon?”
“Nothing. Let’s go.”
Park Jin-hyuk stood up from his seat and headed to the meeting room. DS Pharmaceutical executives were already seated and waiting for him. Park Jin-hyuk greeted them with a nod and took his seat. Once he was settled, the meeting began.
The topic for the past month had been new drug development. With Gyeong Dae-yong leading the charge and Park Jin-hyuk supporting him, they poured all their energy into finding a new path for DS Pharmaceutical through drug development.
However, the development was not progressing easily.
“We’re going to need a little more time,” the Research Director in charge of the DS Pharmaceutical research center said with difficulty.
Once they realized Park Jin-hyuk’s intent, the research center worked with full force. However, since they lacked proper research personnel and were a research center that had never produced significant results, achieving concrete outcomes in a short period seemed overwhelming.
Park Jin-hyuk understood this well enough, so he nodded at the Research Director’s words and asked, “How much time do you need?”
“Three years… no, I think we need at least 2 years.”
The Research Director was sweating in front of Park Jin-hyuk. Hearing a longer timeframe than he had expected, Park Jin-hyuk turned to Gyeong Dae-yong.
“What do you think?”
“The Research Director is right. I’ve been observing the research center closely, and the reality is that the situation is not good with our current technology.”
“Is that so?”
Park Jin-hyuk twirled a pen in his hand as he listened to Gyeong Dae-yong. He stared silently at the Research Director.
‘The value isn’t bad…’
The Research Director’s value did not reach Park Jin-hyuk’s 10-billion-won threshold, but it was not below the 100-million-won mark that signified incompetence.
‘2 billion won… I guess that’s ambiguous.’
He didn’t know the value of directors at other research centers, but he thought 2 billion won was decent. However, he confirmed that someone with a value of 2 billion won could not change the overall flow.
“Two years is too late.”
“Executive Director, in fact, even that was an optimistic estimate from the Research Director.”
“Two years is optimistic?”
“Yes. New drug development is not an area that can be solved with passion alone. Moreover, our technology is… very weak.”
“Then speak honestly. President Gyeong, you’ve managed a research center for a global pharmaceutical company, so I trust you can judge accurately. Realistically, how much technology do we have?”
Gyeong Dae-yong lowered his head briefly under the gaze of Park Jin-hyuk and the other executives. He seemed to be in deep thought at Park Jin-hyuk’s request for the truth. However, his hesitation did not last long. It was not a problem that could be solved by hiding the truth or inflating their capabilities.
After a moment of contemplation, Gyeong Dae-yong looked at the executives and Park Jin-hyuk.
“Compared to other major pharmaceutical companies, I believe the technological gap is at least 10 years, or perhaps it has widened to a distance that cannot be caught.”
Park Jin-hyuk stopped twirling the pen. Realizing the situation was more serious than he had thought, he understood why Gyeong Dae-yong had hesitated. As a heavy silence fell over the meeting room, the Research Director felt as though he were being choked.
“I will do my best. I will risk my life to narrow the gap,” the Research Director said, fidgeting as if he were a criminal.
Park Jin-hyuk laughed at the sight. “It’s not your fault. I’ve realized just how loosely DS Pharmaceutical has been operating.”
He nodded and crossed his arms.
“Fine. We know the problem… what is the solution? ‘Working hard’ or ‘doing your best’ isn’t a solution, you know? We need a clearer answer.”
Gyeong Dae-yong spoke cautiously.
“Actually, I thought about this a lot when I joined DS. Since we are a pharmaceutical company, I believe developing new drugs is our destiny. But you can’t get results in the short term. That’s why I wanted to expand the business with CMO and biosimilars first, and then start drug development with a long-term perspective once we have enough capital. Executive Director, why don’t we take a long-term view and keep challenging ourselves to narrow the gap even if we fail?”
The other executives also nodded. To achieve something right now, they were simply too lacking in strength. The gap was not a problem that could be narrowed overnight.
However, Park Jin-hyuk did not think that way. A 10-year gap was not a problem that would be solved just because 10 years passed. No matter how hard they tried to catch up, if they reduced the gap to five years after 10 years, it would be a miracle. Even if they spent another 10 years to finally catch up, 20 years would have passed.
While it wasn’t a problem for a massive conglomerate like DS to wait 20 years, it was impossible for a profit-driven corporate group to wait 20 years for a single company. Park Jin-hyuk decided that if they couldn’t see the leaders’ backs immediately, then wasting years trying to catch up was meaningless.
“Step-by-step is something that only happens in history books. ‘A gentleman’s revenge is not too late even after ten years’? The story of ‘lying on brushwood and tasting gall’? Those are stories of sharpening one’s skills for a long time to defeat an enemy, but do you think that works in this era? The investors who invested in us don’t have the patience to wait that long. And no company will invest while waiting for that.”
Gyeong Dae-yong could not argue with Park Jin-hyuk’s firm tone. The other executives in the room were also struck dumb. They knew well that no company would wait 5 years, let alone 10, if the company was only focused on investing.
Park Jin-hyuk looked around the room.
“We have to find a way. If we don’t have technology, we find people who do, or companies that do. We find them and make it ours to create technology that we lack. And we must proceed with clinical trials for at least three new drugs before this year is over.”
“Three drugs?”
“I’ve looked into it, and for the past 10 years, the FDA’s Phase I success rate has been over 60%. Phase II is 30%, and Phase III is slightly under 60%.”
The executives were speechless. They knew he wasn’t just a figurehead, but they didn’t expect him to know the specific success rates of each clinical trial phase.
“Right now, it will be hard to expect a drug to pass all clinical trials and hit the market. I know that sounds like a dream. But a drug that passes Phase II and goes to Phase III… I don’t think that’s impossible. If we keep putting out drugs that challenge Phase III, technology will accumulate, and a product that passes will eventually emerge, right?”
“Are you saying that commercializing and generating profit might not necessarily be the immediate goal?”
“No. If a profit-seeking company says generating profit isn’t the goal, that’s a lie. I’m not someone who throws around such lies to boost morale.”
The executive who had asked the question looked embarrassed. However, Park Jin-hyuk was not offended. In fact, he thought it was better to have someone raise questions when proceeding with something that everyone else viewed negatively.
Park Jin-hyuk looked at the executive.
“However, I want us to proceed very strategically. The goal is Phase III. We approach it with new drugs that will definitely pass Phase I, with the intention of passing Phase II. That’s why there are three. Since the success rate is 30%, if we do three, won’t we get one? I believe we can buy time by convincing investors and the parent company with those results.”
The executives nodded at his intent. However, Gyeong Dae-yong and the Research Director looked hesitant, as if they had something to say. Park Jin-hyuk did not miss their expressions.
“If you have something to say, speak up.”
“Preparing three within this year is one thing, but even if they’re ready, passing even one through Phase II is… still beyond our current capacity.”
Park Jin-hyuk stared silently at Gyeong Dae-yong. He could tell from the man’s expression how difficult it had been for him to say that. But this was not the kind of answer Park Jin-hyuk wanted. He slowly closed his eyes.
‘Should I change the plan?’
It was a moment of concern that the big picture he was drawing might not unfold properly.
Seeing Park Jin-hyuk close his eyes and look uncomfortable, everyone in the room held their breath and waited for him to open them. After some time passed, Park Jin-hyuk opened his eyes and spoke to Gyeong Dae-yong.
“President Gyeong, let’s talk privately for a moment.”
He felt it was uncomfortable to discuss this in front of so many people. He did not want to continue talking about DS’s lack of capability in a place where morale needed to be boosted.
After the meeting ended and everyone else had left, Park Jin-hyuk remained in the large conference room with Gyeong Dae-yong.
“Is our development capability really only at that level?”
“Executive Director, in truth, DS Pharmaceutical is a pharmaceutical company in name only; in reality, it’s no different from a life and health company.”
“A life and health company?”
“Yes. It was only after you arrived and we started making specialized medicines like Pittaflu that we gained the image of a pharmaceutical company. Before that, DS Pharmaceutical was a place that made and sold health supplements. Moreover, we haven’t successfully developed our own new drug in the past 20 years. That’s why I looked elsewhere instead of drug development.”
Gyeong Dae-yong looked distressed. He knew the direction Park Jin-hyuk was pursuing, but he felt sorry for throwing cold water on it. However, the truth was the truth. Since he could not speak of lies as facts, he told Park Jin-hyuk exactly how it was.
Gyeong Dae-yong watched Park Jin-hyuk, thinking the man might be disappointed by the harsh reality. But contrary to his expectations, Park Jin-hyuk’s will did not break.
“Let’s find a way. It’s too far to turn back just because it’s not a path. If it’s not a path, let’s put on wings and fly. We will make new drugs no matter what. Let’s proceed with that mindset.”
Park Jin-hyuk’s resolve remained unshaken.