‘You take it right,’ snorted Simmons. ‘His peers will nod sagely and pronounce the distinguished professor’s work to be extremely interesting.’
‘I hate to see you down like this.’
‘God, it’s ironic when you think about it. This is the sort of moment we’ve all been working towards for years. We could be on the very brink of a cure for cancer and we’re all at each other’s throats. Crazy.’
‘Let’s watch some shit television. It’ll take our minds off things.’
‘Look, Gavin,’ said Caroline. ‘I hate to say this, but maybe they’re right and maybe you are rushing things a bit? It doesn’t necessarily mean they’re dismissing the whole idea out of hand.’
They were talking at a table in Doctors. Gavin was rotating his beer glass constantly, in a nervous gesture which was beginning to annoy Caroline. She put her hand on his wrist to stop him.
‘You didn’t hear what Ehrman said.’
‘No, I didn’t — but if what Jack Martin says is true, about Valdevan being out of patent, Grumman Schalk are not in any position to have the final say anyway.’
‘Not on paper,’ agreed Gavin. ‘But he seemed pretty sure the other companies would toe the line, so it comes to the same thing in the end.’
‘A bit of publicity will soon put a stop to that.’
‘We’ll see.’
‘Cheer up, Gav. Nothing worthwhile ever comes easy, but when you publish your findings, the scientific and medical community will draw their own conclusions and start asking questions. A torrent of angry letters to the BMJ should help Valdevan make a comeback. And you could always canvass the support of the cancer charities.’
‘I think Frank’s pinning all his hopes on this BBC TV programme, but you’re right; it wouldn’t do any harm to have a backup plan.’
‘From what you’ve said, the main objections are that Valdevan didn’t work the first time around and polymyxin is toxic. The first is irrelevant — you were the one who showed them exactly why Valdevan didn’t work — and, in any case, you’re not trying to use it to kill tumour cells. The second is probably not valid because of the reduced dosage you’d be using. Actually, maybe it would be useful to demonstrate that?’
‘How?’
‘Ask for volunteers to take a reduced dosage of polymyxin, measure their blood levels to see if they’re achieving the level you need, and monitor them for side-effects.’
‘Why the hell didn’t I think of that?’ exclaimed Gavin. ‘It wouldn’t be like trying out a new drug, so none of the legal restrictions would apply. If no one showed any ill effects, it would scupper any objections along those lines. Brilliant!’
Caroline made an all-in-a-day’s-work gesture and asked, ‘What kind of reduced dosage are we talking about here?’
‘The sums say that a quarter of the normal dose should give a high enough level to kill off damaged tumour cells.’
‘That’s a big reduction, so there shouldn’t really be a problem. Want me to ask my classmates?’
‘That’d be brilliant. I’ll talk to Frank about this in the morning.’
On Thursday morning Frank Simmons was called to Graham Sutcliffe’s office. He was surprised to meet Jack Martin on the way and learn that he’d also been summonsed.
Sutcliffe seemed in a good mood when they entered, and Liz served up coffee with a knowing smile on her lips.
‘I’ve had a call from Grumman Schalk,’ said Sutcliffe, sitting back in his chair and making a steeple with his fingers. ‘It’s good news: nothing in black and white yet, but it seems we’re almost certain to get the block grant.’
‘Congratulations,’ echoed Martin and Simmons.
‘Congratulations to all of us, I think. This means a considerable expansion for our department and, as I mentioned at the outset, justification for the creation of two new personal chairs...’ Sutcliffe paused to give his words time to take effect. ‘I have decided that you two should be the members of staff to benefit from this. I take it neither of you would have any objection to becoming Professors Simmons and Martin?’
‘None at all,’ said Jack Martin.
‘I’d be honoured,’ said Simmons. ‘But I think I would still like your assurance that we will have the chance to debate the conditions attached to the Grumman Schalk award.’
‘You have it, Frank,’ smiled Sutcliffe. ‘All I ask is that you do not dig your heels in on a matter of principle and refuse to budge, without looking at things in the wider context. Consider the advantages as well as the disadvantages.’
Simmons nodded.
‘I must ask you to keep this under your hats for the moment, just until the paperwork appears and it all becomes official.’
‘Of course.’
‘That was a surprise,’ said Jack Martin as he and Simmons walked back along the corridor. ‘I thought we were in for some kind of bollocking.’
‘It’s the squeaky wheel that gets the grease,’ said Simmons.
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘He’s buying us off. We’re the only two to have raised any question about Grumman’s editorial control over what we publish in future. Now it’s a case of keep your mouths shut and you’ll both get personal chairs.’
Martin let out a long sigh. ‘I think that’s going a bit far, Frank. Graham’s right about viewing everything in context. The block grant money will make an enormous difference to this place, and we are probably the two most senior members of staff.’
‘Maybe.’
‘Heard anything back from Unived?’
‘Maybe tomorrow.’
Simmons closed the door of his office behind him a bit more roughly than he’d intended, but it reflected his mood. He’d just been told that he was about to be made a full professor and he felt bad. He was angry at feeling bad when he should be feeling good and thinking of celebration, but the suspicion that he was being bought off just wouldn’t go away. Maybe it was him? Maybe he expected too much of other people? Maybe this was just the way the world worked? This line of thought only evoked memories of Mary lecturing Gavin on the subject, which didn’t help. He was glad when a knock came at his door. He needed distraction.
Gavin told Simmons about Caroline’s suggestion.
‘Good idea. I don’t see anything wrong in principle,’ said Simmons. ‘Although we’ll probably have to pay for the polymyxin and to have the blood tests done. I think we should probably bring in the University Medical Centre on this. We’ll need them to administer the drug, and they’ll probably want disclaimers signed, but if the dose is to be a quarter of what patients have been given before, I don’t foresee any great difficulty. I’ll ask them if you like.’
‘Thanks, Frank. I’ll start asking around for volunteers.’
Seventeen
Frank Simmons took a call from John Chalmers at Unived at ten on Friday morning.
‘I’m afraid there’s been a slight hitch. Old College have deferred a decision.’
‘What on earth for?’ asked Simmons, his tone betraying the frustration he was welling up inside him.
‘They need clarification.’
‘Of what?’
‘Whether Valdevan is going to be available should the university fund a successful application for intellectual property rights.’
‘There’s no need to worry on that score. Over the past few days we’ve managed to establish that Jack Martin was quite correct in his suspicion that Valdevan is out of patent. Anyone can make it.’
‘Anyone with the facilities of a large pharmaceutical company, that is,’ said Chalmers.
‘Anyone who has an interest in treating cancer,’ snapped Simmons. ‘How long is this delay going to go on?’