“I wouldn’t need twelve years,” Edward said. “And I wouldn’t need anywhere near two hundred million dollars to do it.”
“Obviously the shorter the development time and the less money needed means more equity we can keep for ourselves.”
“I understand,” Edward said. “Frankly I’m not interested in giving away much equity at all.”
“How much money do you think you would need?” Stanton asked.
“I’d have to set up a state-of-the-art lab,” Edward said, beginning to think out loud.
“What’s the matter with the lab you already have?” Stanton asked.
“The lab belongs to Harvard,” Edward said. “I have to get the Ultra project away from Harvard because of a participation agreement I signed when I accepted my position.”
“Is this going to cause us some problems?” Stanton asked.
“No, I don’t think so,” Edward said. “The agreement concerns discoveries made on company time using company equipment. I’ll argue that I discovered Ultra on my own time, which is technically correct although I’ve done the preliminary separation and synthesis on company time. Anyway, the bottom line is that I’m not afraid of some legal harassment. After all, Harvard doesn’t own me.”
“How about the development period?” Stanton asked. “How much shorter do you think you could make that?”
“A lot,” Edward said. “One of the things about Ultra that has impressed me is how unbelievably nontoxic it appears to be. I believe this fact alone will make FDA approval a breeze since characterizing specific toxicities is what takes so damn much time.”
“So you’re talking about getting FDA approval years sooner than the average,” Stanton said.
“Without doubt,” Edward said. “Animal studies will be accelerated if there’s no toxicity to worry about, and the clinical portion can be collapsed by combining phase II and phase III with the FDA’s expedited schedule.”
“The expedited plan is for drugs targeted for life-threatening diseases,” Kim said. From her experience in the SICU she knew something about experimental drug testing.
“If Ultra is as efficacious for depression as I think it will prove to be,” Edward said, “I’m confident we can make a case for it in relation to some serious illness.”
“What about western Europe and Asia?” Stanton asked. “FDA approval is not needed to market a drug in those areas.”
“Very true,” Edward said. “The USA is not the only pharmaceutical market.”
“I’ll tell you what,” Stanton said. “I can easily raise four to five million without having to give up more than a token amount of equity since most of it would come from my own resources. How does that sound?”
“It sounds fantastic,” Edward said. “When can you start?”
“Tomorrow,” Stanton said. “I’ll start raising the money and organizing the legal work to set up the corporation as well as to start the patent applications.”
“Do you know if we can patent the core of the molecule?” Edward asked. “I’d love the patent to cover any drug formulated with the core.”
“I don’t know, but I can find out,” Stanton said.
“While you’re seeing to the financial and legal aspects,” Edward said, “I’ll start the process of setting up the lab. The first question will be where to site it. I’d like to have it someplace handy because I’ll be spending a lot of time there.”
“Cambridge is a good location,” Stanton said.
“I want it away from Harvard,” Edward said.
“How about the Kendall Square area?” Stanton suggested. “It’s far enough away from Harvard and yet close enough to your apartment.”
Edward turned to Kim and their eyes met. Kim guessed what he was thinking so she nodded. It was a gesture imperceptible to the Lewises.
“Actually I’m moving out of Cambridge at the end of August,” Edward said. “I’m moving to Salem.”
“Edward is coming to live with me,” Kim said, knowing it would quickly get back to her mother. “I’m renovating the old house on the family compound.”
“That’s wonderful,” Candice said.
“You old rogue,” Stanton said as he reached across the table and gave Edward a light punch in the shoulder.
“For once in my life my personal life is going as well as my professional life,” Edward said.
“Why don’t we site the company somewhere on the North Shore?” Stanton suggested. “Hell, commercial rents up there must be a fraction of what they are in the city.”
“Stanton, you’ve just given me a great idea,” Edward said. He turned sideways to look at Kim. “What about that mill-turned-stables on the compound? It would make a perfect lab for this kind of project because of its isolation.”
“I don’t know,” Kim stammered. She’d been caught totally unawares by the suggestion.
“I’m talking about Omni renting the space from you and your brother,” Edward said, warming to the idea. “As you’ve mentioned, the compound is a burden. I’m sure some legitimate rent could be a real help.”
“It’s not a bad idea,” Stanton said. “The rent could be totally written off, so it would be tax free. Good suggestion, old sport.”
“What do you say?” Edward asked.
“I’d have to ask my brother,” Kim said.
“Of course,” Edward said. “When? I mean the sooner the better.”
Kim looked at her watch and calculated that it was about two-thirty in the morning in London, just about the time Brian would be getting down to work. “I could call him any evening,” Kim said. “I suppose I could even call him now.”
“That’s what I like to hear,” Stanton said. “Decisiveness.” He pulled his cellular phone from his pocket and pushed it across to Kim. “Omni will even pay for the call.”
Kim stood up.
“Where are you going?” Edward asked.
“I feel self-conscious calling my brother in front of everyone,” Kim said.
“Perfectly understandable,” Stanton said. “You go on into the ladies’ room.”
“I think I prefer to step outside,” Kim said.
After Kim had left the table Candice congratulated Edward on the progress of his relationship with Kim.
“We’ve been enjoying each other’s company,” Edward said.
“How much personnel would you need at the lab?” Stanton asked. “Hefty salaries can eat up capital like nothing else.”
“I’d keep the number to a minimum,” Edward said. “I’d need a biologist to handle the animal studies, an immunologist for the cellular studies, a crystallographer, a molecular modeler, a biophysicist for nuclear magnetic resonance, a pharmacologist, plus myself and Eleanor.”
“Jesus Christ!” Stanton exclaimed. “What the hell do you think you are creating, a university?”
“I assure you this is a minimum for the kind of work we’ll be doing,” Edward said calmly.
“Why Eleanor?”
“She’s my assistant,” Edward said. “She’s the person I work with the closest, and she’s crucial to the project.”
“When can you start to assemble this team?” Stanton asked.
“As soon as you have the money,” Edward said. “We’ll have to have first-class people, so they won’t come cheap. I’ll be enticing them away from coveted academic appointments and lucrative positions in private industry.”
“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of,” Stanton said. “Many new biomedical companies go belly-up from a hemorrhage of capital from overly generous salaries.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Edward said. “When can you have money available for me to draw on?”
“I can have a million available by the beginning of the week,” Stanton said.
The first courses of their dinner arrived. Since Candice and Stanton were having hot appetizers, Edward insisted they start. But no sooner had they picked up their forks when Kim returned. She sat down and handed Stanton his phone.