The JP Morgan Healthcare Conference, attended by over 500 companies from around the world, was a globally renowned event that showcased the trends of the global bioindustry at a glance.
The enthusiasm from the press was intense, and the exchange of information among participating companies was lively.
And within all that, the subtle game of nerves being played was fiercely competitive, even if not always obvious.
“Han Sung Pharmaceuticals is meeting with the companies we’ve met right after we do?”
“Yes. At this point, they’re blatantly following only the companies we talk to.”
“So, what are they doing at those meetings? It’s not like we’re pushing for anything specific; we’re just meeting to raise awareness for the company. Yet, they still follow us? Strange people.”
“I don’t think they’re following us with any real agenda. It’s just, even the companies we had a positive conversation with look at us differently at the next meeting… Honestly, it doesn’t feel good.”
“They must be coming in after us and badmouthing us. It’s the usual story.”
It was a common tactic to sabotage a competitor.
Even if you take a hit of 10, if it deals a blow of 100 to your opponent, the intention was clear.
“We’ve spent a week just walking around, and the staff morale has really dropped. With no tangible results, it’s even more draining.”
“It’s all right. Tell everyone they’re doing well. There may not be any visible achievements right now, but they’re doing just fine. Maybe they don’t yet realize how important it is to get our company’s name out there. Just watch. The seeds we’re planting now will surely bear fruit and return to us.”
Unlike Park Jin-hyuk’s calm demeanor, the staff of DS Pharmaceuticals who attended the conference were frustrated by their lack of results.
Some even suggested that instead of just wandering around handing out pamphlets and introducing the company, it would be better to at least land a contract or two.
But whenever that happened, Park Jin-hyuk comforted the staff. It wasn’t until the conference drew to a close that the employees understood what Park Jin-hyuk meant.
Han Sung Pharmaceuticals had followed DS Pharmaceuticals around and spread bad rumors, but that was only temporary.
The fact that DS Pharmaceuticals wasn’t aggressively pushing for contracts actually helped create a favorable impression.
“Sir, it’s about time for our appointment with Pfizer.”
“All right, let’s go. Where’s President Kyung?”
“He’s already arrived at the meeting spot. He sounded really excited over the phone—maybe because he’s meeting old colleagues from his former company.”
“I bet. Meeting old coworkers at a place where you spent so much of your career—it’s bound to be special.”
Pfizer, with its headquarters in the US, was a global pharmaceutical giant.
With annual revenues of around $50 billion—a staggering 60 trillion won in our currency, just from pharmaceuticals—they were on a different level.
On top of that, with their patents on new drugs, a distribution network spanning the globe, and business rights, they had overwhelming dominance in the pharmaceutical sector.
When Pfizer heard positive stories about DS Pharmaceuticals and that Kyung Dae-yong was their president, they reached out to him first.
Kyung Dae-yong, who felt awkward asking old colleagues for favors, was surprised to receive a call from Pfizer, even though he hadn’t contacted them first.
Park Jin-hyuk smiled at Kyung Dae-yong holding his phone, saying that this was the charm of sales—sales wasn’t just about asking for favors.
Seeing Park Jin-hyuk’s words and actions, and the results that followed, Kyung Dae-yong began to see him in a new light.
The restaurant in San Francisco where they were to meet wasn’t exactly fancy.
“This is it.”
“Here? It’s so modest.”
“Seems they’re not into pomp and circumstance.”
Standing outside an ordinary street-side café, Park Jin-hyuk and Kim Joon-woo waited.
Back home, the location for such a meeting would affect the weight of the conversation, but it didn’t seem to matter to people from other countries.
“Or maybe they’re not even thinking of agreeing to our request… Let’s go in. We’ll find out inside.”
Park Jin-hyuk and Kim Joon-woo opened the door and entered. A staff member approached.
When Kim Joon-woo gave Kyung Dae-yong’s name, the staff led them inside.
There, Kyung Dae-yong was already happily chatting with Pfizer staff.
After a brief round of greetings and handshakes, Park Jin-hyuk sat down.
They sipped simple tea and ate light snacks, chatting as they went.
Even though the conversation wasn’t perfectly smooth, Park Jin-hyuk kept things natural, as if meeting old friends, even with an interpreter involved.
The Pfizer staff, who’d initially seen Park Jin-hyuk as just a young companion of Kyung Dae-yong, realized he was the star of the meeting and began speaking with him more.
After a while, as the conversation flowed, they finally said what Park Jin-hyuk had been hoping to hear.
“As it happens, Pfizer is planning to launch a new rheumatoid arthritis treatment in Korea through Pfizer Korea. Our own production facilities are fully booked, so we’re looking for a contract manufacturing organization. After talking with President Kyung and sensing the sincerity in our conversations with you, we’re considering requesting production from BioLogics.”
“See? I told you—foreigners aren’t that different.”
Park Jin-hyuk smiled at Kyung Dae-yong, who grinned back, visibly delighted and a bit regretful that he hadn’t reached out to Pfizer first.
“But they said there’s a condition.”
“A condition?”
“Yes.”
The cheerful mood was short-lived.
The word “condition” immediately wiped the smile from Kyung Dae-yong’s face.
“What is it? Why the long face?”
“It’s just that…”
“Don’t worry, just say it. If you hesitate, they’ll get the wrong idea.”
Park Jin-hyuk gestured at the Pfizer staff and signaled to Kim Joon-woo.
Kim Joon-woo, with a resigned look, explained Pfizer’s words.
“They said they can’t trust CMO operations in Korea. A company audit and verification process are a given… and they want to see actual performance.”
“That’s it?”
While Kim Joon-woo explained and Kyung Dae-yong looked troubled, Park Jin-hyuk remained unbothered.
“I thought it was something serious. That’s only natural.”
Park Jin-hyuk reached out for a handshake with the Pfizer staff.
“Thank you. Thank you. Kim, translate exactly as I say. Ask them if we can formalize what they just said in writing. If we show performance, that means we’ll be handling production for the upcoming rheumatoid arthritis treatment. I want to get that on paper.”
Kim Joon-woo relayed Park Jin-hyuk’s words, and the Pfizer staff nodded while shaking hands.
Seeing their positive response, Park Jin-hyuk spoke up before Kim Joon-woo could interpret further.
“Tell them to wait. We’ll deliver results. Tell them not to even consider producing elsewhere.”
Kim Joon-woo interpreted, and the Pfizer staff responded with smiles.
Park Jin-hyuk confidently addressed the Pfizer staff.
They replied that they’d be happy to meet with the working-level team as soon as tomorrow to formalize the discussions in writing.
Satisfied with their conversation, Park Jin-hyuk and the Pfizer staff parted, promising to meet again.
Kyung Dae-yong, who returned after seeing off the Pfizer staff, spoke anxiously to Park Jin-hyuk.
“Sir, why are you trying to formalize this in writing? I think they were just being polite.”
“Exactly. Since it seemed like they were just being polite, putting it in writing ensures they can’t back out later.”
“What do you mean?”
Despite Kyung Dae-yong’s confusion, Park Jin-hyuk remained relaxed and brought up another topic.
“By the way, what positions do the people who came today hold in Pfizer? Are they high enough that the main office will listen if they say we should produce for them?”
Park Jin-hyuk held up a business card labeled “Vice President.”
He knew that while “Vice President” was equivalent to “Busa-jang” in Korea, abroad it was a term for executive officers other than the CEO.
“…They probably have enough clout. After all, this is just for the Korean market, not the global one.”
“Is that so? Then that’s good enough.”
“What do you mean…!”
Seeing Kyung Dae-yong’s bewilderment, Park Jin-hyuk laughed and spoke.
“I know. They know we have no track record, and this was their way of turning us down without any hard feelings.”
Park Jin-hyuk looked at Kyung Dae-yong.
“So we just formalize it, then build our track record and bring it to them. Besides, they made sure to leave the door open just enough that, if we do show results and insist on a contract, they can actually follow through. This is good. Let’s get results and go back to them. If we sign a production contract with Pfizer and put it on a nameplate, sales will get a lot easier.”
“How are we going to build a track record?”
Kyung Dae-yong, who had been brimming with confidence moments ago, now looked dejected.
Park Jin-hyuk nudged Kyung Dae-yong’s side and spoke.
“This place is a goldmine. You’re telling me we can’t get at least one track record here? If we land even one, we’ll take it to Pfizer. So, President Kyung, make sure you’re involved in the paperwork tomorrow and don’t let them weasel out of it. Also, you did a great job setting up today’s meeting. Sales is all about connections in the end. So don’t be embarrassed to ask for favors from people you know. Just pay back any kindness you receive. The world isn’t so easy that you can refuse others’ favors and live all on your own.”
Patting Kyung Dae-yong on the shoulder, Park Jin-hyuk strode off ahead.
*****
For about two weeks during the conference, Park Jin-hyuk and the staff of DS Pharmaceuticals ran themselves ragged, doing their utmost to promote the company.
As a result, a few companies showed interest and asked about DS BioLogics—a small but meaningful achievement.
But that was it.
With no real track record, no company dared to entrust them with production.
Especially for bioproducts, known for their complexity, entrusting production to another factory seemed too risky.
Still, they felt satisfied that they’d made their presence known to companies around the world, and pushed toward the conference’s conclusion.
“Tomorrow the conference ends, and the day after we leave. I’d like to have a proper meal with the staff—can you make a reservation somewhere? Hotel food every day is getting old.”
“Yes, sir.”
As Park Jin-hyuk strolled through the conference hall, he gave the instruction to Kim Joon-woo.
Heading toward the DS Pharmaceuticals booth, he spotted a commotion there.
“What’s going on in front of our booth?”
When Park Jin-hyuk asked, Kim Joon-woo hurried off to check and returned to report.
“They’re from an Austrian company. They heard we offer contract manufacturing and want to place an order.”
A trio—two young men and one young woman—stood at the booth, bowing and pleading with the DS Pharmaceuticals staff.
But the staff, shaking their heads and waving their hands, firmly refused their desperate request.
Watching the scene from afar, Park Jin-hyuk asked Kim Joon-woo,
“If they’re asking for production, and we’re turning them down, then it must not be a paid order, right? Normally we’d have no reason to refuse, especially with the Pfizer situation in mind.”
“Yes, that’s right. They can’t pay right now—they say they’ll pay after they get FDA approval and secure investment.”
“So, not even after sales, but only if they get approval and investment?”
Hearing such an absurd proposal, Park Jin-hyuk looked at them again.
Judging by the timing, it seemed they hadn’t considered DS Pharmaceuticals at all and only came here after being rejected everywhere else.
Now, seeing even DS Pharmaceuticals refuse, they seemed to lose all hope and slumped down on the floor of the hall.
One of the women even burst into tears.
“Hey, you can’t do this here!”
With three young people sitting on the floor crying, it was natural for the whole hall to stare.
DS Pharmaceuticals’ booth was already a center of attention, filled with staff in a small space.
As the conference drew to a close, people sought entertainment in the familiar setting.
Amidst the commotion, more and more people began drifting toward DS Pharmaceuticals.
“What should we do?”
Kim Joon-woo, ready to spring into action, awaited Park Jin-hyuk’s orders.
“If they want production, are they just developers?”
Expecting an order to tidy things up, Kim Joon-woo instead turned to Park Jin-hyuk, who watched the young people’s actions with keen interest.
What caught Park Jin-hyuk’s eye wasn’t their actions—but the numbers floating above their heads.
[200 billion]
Above each of their heads floated the number 200 billion won.
At the conference, it wasn’t rare to see people with assets worth tens of billions, but seeing anyone valued at hundreds of billions was unheard of in over two weeks.
Yet these people, sitting on the floor crying, were showing precisely that.
“Arrange a meeting with them.”
Park Jin-hyuk decided he needed to talk to these people, who radiated such extraordinary value.
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