Sports Medicine Master System-Chapter 165 - 116: If There’s No Position, Just Create One

Chapter 165: Chapter 116: If There’s No Position, Just Create One

"I have no plans to conduct Phase III clinical trials."

Chen Yu gave Paulson a strange look and shook his head. "You shouldn’t be asking me this kind of question. That’s what large pharmaceutical companies do."

Phase III clinical trials, FDA certification, market release... that process easily takes over a decade and costs hundreds of millions of US dollars.

From the moment he started using Physical Fitness No.1, Chen Yu had never considered bringing it to market.

Besides, Chen Yu couldn’t figure it out. Wasn’t Paulson supposed to show up today to find fault with him? How did their conversation drift to whether Physical Fitness No.1 could undergo Phase III clinical trials?

The two of them were sitting at an outdoor café in the clinic’s recreation center.

Not far away, Tegart sat all by himself, anxiously watching them.

Paulson’s questions grew stranger. "Chen, don’t you want to bring your Physical Fitness No.1 to market? As long as it gets certified, you’ll earn enough wealth to last ten lifetimes."

Chen Yu picked up his coffee and took a sip.

’Something feels a little off.’

"Mr. Paulson, what exactly are you trying to say?" Chen Yu asked, setting down his coffee cup.

Paulson smiled faintly and stopped beating around the bush. "Dr. Chen, you should know that the federal government established an office for CAM. Practices like Acupuncture and bone-setting are being standardized as alternative medicine, and many states have already enacted laws regarding traditional Chinese medicine and Acupuncture."

Chen Yu nodded. He had heard about this from Carter.

Paulson said, somewhat mysteriously, "That means, just like Acupuncture and bone-setting, it’s also possible for Chinese herbal medicine to pass review and be marketed as a form of alternative medicine."

Chen Yu sat up straighter. He had a feeling he already knew what Paulson was about to say.

Sure enough, Paulson said with a smile, "According to our investigation, the formula you gave the Magic can increase stamina, eliminate fatigue, improve sleep, and promote intestinal digestion, which in turn leads to a certain degree of weight loss."

Chen Yu nodded.

The formula for Physical Fitness No.1 was primarily focused on replenishing qi and blood and regulating the body’s immune system.

Ultimately, it was about maintaining health.

When the body is healthy, one’s physical strength will naturally be abundant.

With improved digestion and better sleep, the body becomes healthier, which naturally has some weight-loss effects.

The effects were even better when combined with a certain amount of exercise.

The Suns had the data.

After taking Physical Fitness No.1, older players who were getting out of shape, like Dudley, saw a noticeable decrease in their body fat percentage.

Then there was Skiles’ assistant coach, Rex Chapman. After retiring, he had put on a lot of weight in his middle age. He measured it himself; since he started taking Physical Fitness No.1, he had lost about four kilograms.

Paulson continued, "Dr. Chen, I know a senior executive at the Eli Lilly Company. He’s very interested in the Physical Fitness No.1 you developed. He believes it could be marketed as a sports supplement, with its selling points being athletic support, fat reduction, and weight loss."

Chen Yu had a sudden realization.

’So it’s Eli Lilly.’

"Aren’t they primarily focused on diabetes?" Chen Yu said subconsciously, then immediately stopped himself.

A pharmaceutical giant like that would surely dabble in every field.

As a doctor, Chen Yu had plenty of contact with these pharmaceutical companies and understood how they operated.

These pharmaceutical companies were basically gambling. They get involved in many fields because no one knows which drug will pass Phase III trials, whether it will sell well after launch, or in which market it will become a hit.

Take Pfizer’s sildenafil, for example. It was developed to treat cardiovascular disease. During clinical trials, it was about to be declared a failure due to poor results, but then they suddenly discovered it had a significant effect on *that* other area. It was immediately rebranded and became a blockbuster for Pfizer.

Paulson smiled and laid out his analysis for Chen Yu. "Look, if we go the alternative medicine route, we can bypass the Phase III clinical trials and get it to market quickly. After launch, we’ll use fat reduction and weight loss as the main selling points. Plus, with big-name stars like Hill endorsing it, the market prospects will be exceptionally good."

"Chen, if you’re open to it, I can arrange for my friend to meet with you so you two can sit down and have a proper chat."

"You’re a doctor. You’ve spent so much effort developing this drug. Don’t you want to see it on the market, converted into US dollars? By the way, you don’t have to worry about this doping incident at all. We can step in and smooth things over."

Paulson glanced at Tegart in the distance, his face filled with disdain.

’Who the hell cares about an organization that isn’t even officially recognized by the federal government?’

Chen Yu picked up his coffee cup again, thinking silently.

Listening to all this, Chen Yu had only one feeling.

’Bullshit. It’s all bullshit.’

Paulson made it sound so easy, talking about bypassing Phase III trials and getting it to market quickly.

’For that one casual sentence to become a reality, God knows how many legal loopholes they’d have to exploit and how many people they’d have to bribe.’

The pharmaceutical industry, especially one where investments of hundreds of millions of US dollars could be wiped out by a single failure, was a murky business.

You could say the FDA had long since been infiltrated by pharmaceutical companies to an unknown degree.

Otherwise, Paulson wouldn’t have come specifically to act as a lobbyist.

But no matter how deep the infiltration, some bottom lines couldn’t be crossed. If they could, those pharmaceutical companies would have reached for the heavens long ago, daring to claim they could cure cancer.

So, Chen Yu believed at most one-tenth of what Paulson said.

His plan would almost certainly fail.

Even with alternative medicine, as long as it’s sold as a drug, its safety would have to be verified.

But how do you verify traditional Chinese medicine?

Every component of a Western drug is transparent and controllable.

What about Chinese medicine? You can’t even guarantee the safety of the medicinal herbs. Take ginseng, for example. Forget about different batches; the composition of every single root could have subtle differences.

If you can’t even guarantee a uniform standard for the raw materials, how can you pass the subsequent clinical tests?

If it were really going to be sold on the market, the only possibility was as a dietary supplement.

In other words, as food.

’As long as it doesn’t kill you, it’s fine. If it does kill someone, you just recall the product and pay compensation.’

In fact, Chen Yu found this situation quite unfortunate.

Having learned so much about Chinese medicine from the system, Chen Yu had always felt it had many merits and definitely possessed therapeutic effects, but it just couldn’t gain mainstream acceptance.

However, Chen Yu was still tempted by Paulson’s proposal.

’Whether it succeeds or not, I don’t stand to lose anything.’

’If it really works out and makes a fortune, who’s going to argue with money?’

’It’s not like I’m trying to harm anyone. Physical Fitness No.1 is a health tonic. Look at its ingredients: ginseng, eucommia, cistanche, donkey-hide gelatin... you could say they’re all restorative supplements. The possibility of negative side effects is minuscule.’

So, Chen Yu wouldn’t have any psychological burden.

At worst, it was just a matter of how effective it was.

’You can say it helps with weight loss, but as for how much weight someone can actually lose, only God knows.’

Chen Yu wasn’t oblivious to the kind of crap American pharmaceutical companies pulled, like selling vitamins in various forms, adding a bit of starch, and daring to claim it could enhance beauty.

Not to mention, they were offering to solve his current problem.

"Alright."

Chen Yu nodded.

Paulson’s eyes lit up, and he quickly said, "Chen, you won’t regret this decision."

Chen Yu shook his head inwardly. ’There must be a lot of parasites like Paulson in the FDA.’

They agreed to be in touch later. Paulson couldn’t even be bothered with the formalities, saying he would issue a formal investigation report soon stating that there were no issues with Physical Fitness No.1.

Then there was Tegart.

Paulson said contemptuously, "Chen, don’t worry about him. I’ll take care of them."

’Doping? Who doesn’t do it?’

’All those bodybuilders, which one of them isn’t on steroids?’

’A bunch of American pharmaceutical companies rack their brains researching performance-enhancing drugs. That’s high-tech, a reflection of athletic prowess.’

’So as long as you can handle the anti-doping agency, who cares if you use them or not?’

And handling them was even simpler.

’Just give them money.’

’Tegart is so broke his eyes are green with envy. Why else would he be so fervent?’

With that, Paulson motioned for Chen Yu to stay put and got up to speak with Tegart.

Chen Yu couldn’t hear what the two of them said.

But Paulson only said a couple of sentences before Tegart’s face twisted in anger, and he started yelling something at Paulson.

Spittle flew onto Paulson’s face.

Paulson was clearly a seasoned old fox who could take a verbal lashing without flinching. He didn’t seem to care at all, said something else in return, and shut Tegart down so completely that the man became dejected, his face frighteningly dark.

"Taken care of."

Paulson walked back, chuckling.

Chen Yu shook his head to himself.

In the end, it was because Tegart’s anti-doping organization was a non-governmental one with little power, so he was easily handled by Paulson. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

However, a new idea suddenly struck Chen Yu.

’Even if this matter is resolved, it will still affect my reputation.’

’If I’m going to solve it, I should solve it properly.’

Thinking of this, Chen Yu stood up and walked over.

Tegart looked at Chen Yu resentfully but said nothing. He was so angry he couldn’t be bothered to speak to him.

"Wait here a moment."

Chen Yu turned and left.

A short while later, Chen Yu returned with a medicine bottle and placed it in front of Tegart.

"What’s this?" Tegart frowned.

Chen Yu said, "Didn’t you want a doping scandal? I can give you one."

Inside the bottle was the Zinc and Magnesium Power that Chen Yu had tested earlier.

Tegart was stunned, not quite understanding.

Chen Yu took out the test report again. "The drug inside is called Zinc and Magnesium Power. I’ve had it tested. It contains a brand-new steroid, which we’ve named Tetrahydrogestrinone."

"And this drug, as far as I know, isn’t just used by many European athletes; a lot of people are using it here in the United States, too. Most importantly, it’s produced by an American company called Victor Conte."

"You wanted a huge doping scandal, right? Try this one. You’ll definitely get results."

Tegart’s eyes lit up, and he reached out to grab the bottle.

Chen Yu put a hand on his to stop him.

"But, in exchange, I need you to seriously help me clear my name in this doping incident. And you also need to give me the title of ’Honorary Advisor’ to the anti-doping agency."

’What better way to prove I don’t use performance-enhancing drugs than to join the anti-doping agency itself?’

Besides, the American anti-doping agency is affiliated with the International Olympic Committee. Getting an honorary advisor title might be useful in the future.

Tegart was stunned for a moment and said blankly, "We don’t have that position."

"You don’t?" Chen Yu smiled. "Then just create one."