Vincent Lord was a changed man. He radiated energy and happiness. After almost twenty years of scientific dedication to a single idea, of pursuing a dream which few other than himself believed in designing that drug to quench free radicals-the dream had at last come true. The decades of dedication were about to be rewarded. What was now feasible, needing only the completion of trials on animals and humans to satisfy the law's requirements, was a drug which would make other drugs, hitherto dangerous, beneficial and safe. Hexin W-Lord's provisional name for his creation had, so far, persisted-was being discussed avidly within the industry, although full details remained a Felding-Roth secret. Other pharmaceutical firms, which kept surveillance on patent filings and understood the implications of this one, were already letting their interest be known. As the head of a major competitive company expressed it in a telephone call to Celia, "Naturally we wish our own researchers had discovered what Dr. Lord appears to have done, but since they didn't, we want to be first in line when you people are ready to talk deals.”
Of equal interest was that the new drug would be usable in either of two ways. It could be included as an active ingredient when other drugs were formulated-that is, mixed in during manufacturing. Or it could be made up as a separate tablet, to be taken with other medication, Thus, Hexin W would be an "across-the-board" drug. Expressed another way, it was a drug-scientist's drug, to be used by developers of other pharmaceutical products, and marketed, not by one company, but by many. The other companies would operate under license, with royalties-presumably enormous-being paid to Felding-Roth. Among principal beneficiaries from Hexin W would be arthritis and cancer patients. Many strong potions for those conditions already existed, but were prescribed sparingly, or not at all, because of dangerous side effects. With Hexin W, those effects and dangers would be removed or markedly reduced. Vince Lord explained to Celia and several others during a sales planning session what would happen with arthritis. He used non-scientific language.
"Sufferers get inflammation in the joints which causes immobility and pain. It occurs when the disease condition generates free radicals which, in turn, attract leukocytes-white blood cells. The leukocytes. pile up, creating and worsening the inflammation. "But Hexin W.”
Lord continued, "stops free-radical production, so leukocytes are not attracted. Result-there is no inflammation, and pain disappears.”
The effect of Lord's statement was such that several of his listeners clapped their hands. He flushed with pleasure. Lesser ailments, he added, would also have new choices of treatment, because of Hexin W.
The big breakthrough with his research had come to Vince Lord some three months earlier. It marked a gloriously satisfying victory in a laborious, wearying process of trial and er-ror-a process frequently heartbreaking and strewn with repeated failures. The process itself was another measure of Lord's achievement because nowadays, by some, it was regarded as outdated. Expressed simply: the system developed new drugs from old drugs, making use of organic chemistry. Beginning with an existing active compound, the drug's chemistry was modified, then modified again... and again, and again, and again... if necessary to infinity. Always, the search was for a new effective drug, derived from the old, and with no, or low, toxicity. Looking back, Lord remembered how, two years ago, after trying nearly a thousand different compounds-all unsuccessful-he vowed he would never give up. A differing, newer approach-employed by Sir James Black, the distinguished developer of SmithKline's Tagamet-was to decide which biological disorder might be corrected pharmaceutically, then create a totally new drug. Martin Peat-Smith, at Harlow, was using genetic methods which were newer still. However, even the last two involved years of experimentation and could end in failure, though when they succeeded, revolutionary new drugs resulted. But Lord had decided the older method was more suited to his purpose and temperament and, by God!, he reminded himself, he had been right. What caused his more immediate happiness was the small army of specialists----chemists, biologists, physicians, clinical pharmacologists, physiologists, toxicologists, veterinarians, pathologists, and statisticians-who, at Felding-Roth, were working together, exercising their talents to bring Hexin W to its final form. Even so, because of a complex testing program in animals and humans, it would be another two years before an application for general use of Hexin W could be made to FDA. While not saying so aloud, Lord had been pleased to hear of the setback to Peat-Smith's Peptide 7 program. This, because a twoyear delay at Harlow meant Hexin W might now be on the market first. Lord's upbeat mood had even caused him to take an initiative in making peace with Celia. Soon after her return to the company, he went to her office. Offering congratulations on her new appointment, he told her, "I'm glad to see you back.”
"For that matter," Celia said, "congratulations to you. I've just read the report on Hexin W.”
"I expect it to be recognized as one of the major discoveries of the century," Lord acknowledged matter-of-factly. Even a certain mellowing with the passage of years had not dimmed his appreciation of his own worth. In his conversation with 'Celia, Lord did not choose to admit she had been right about Montayne, and himself wrong. His reasoning was that she had merely made a lucky, unscientific guess; therefore she deserved no more intellectual credit than did the holder of a winning lottery ticket. Despite the tentative rapport with Celia, he was relieved when, after Sam Hawthorne's death, she did not become president. That would have been too much to live with. For once, he thought, the board of directors had shown some sense. As the world entered the new year of 1978, Hexin W continued to be a strong center of hope at Felding-Roth.
The appointment of Preston O'Halloran as Felding-Roth president pro tem made little difference, if any, to Celia's responsibilities and day-by-day routine. The day after the special board meeting, O'Halloran had been open and frank with her. They met-just the two of them-in the president's office suite. The sight of a new tenant in quarters which until so recently had been occupied by Sam was a poignant reminder to Celia of her grief at Sam's death, which she still had difficulty accepting. Speaking carefully with his well-bred New England accent, the elderly O'Halloran said, "I would like you to know, Mrs. Jordan, that I was not one of those adamantly opposed to your becoming president. I'll be equally honest in admitting I did not support your candidacy, but would have gone along with a majority in your favor, had that been possible. I even went so far as to inform the other board members of that.”
"I'm interested to know you regard that as 'going far,' " Celia acknowledged, with a touch of acidity she could not resist. "Touch0" The old man smiled and she thought: at least he has a sense of humor. "All right, Mr. O'Halloran," she continued briskly, "so both of us know where we stand, and I appreciate that. What I need from you, in addition, are instructions on how you wish me to operate, and our division of duties.”
"My close friends call me Snow.”
Again a wry smile.”The name originates from a misspent youth when I did a great deal of skiing. I'd be glad to have you use it, and perhaps I may call you Celia.”
"Okay-you Snow, me Celia," Celia said.”Now let's lay out how we work.”
She knew she was being bitchy, but didn't care. "That's easy. I would like you to carry on exactly as you have until now-and I am aware that is with great competence and resourcefulness.”