Chapter 191: Micro-dust (7)

“Atmox funded He Jiankui’s genetic engineering research?” Young-Joon asked.

—If you look at what Yoon Bo-Hyun said while being investigated, he transferred five hundred million won to Atmox as funding for He Jiankui.

Park Joo-Hyuk said.

—And Atmox gave He Jiankui two billion won as funding.

“What? Why? Just because the CEO is friends with He Jiankui?”

—So it’s a bit complicated, and I don’t have a clear picture of it yet. I’m just saying that’s what it looks like.

Park Joo-Hyuk said.

—A-Gen had a small company in China in the past, and it was a paper company. They separated the ownership to make it look like an unrelated company and didn’t even run it. I think it was used to launder money that they got from the U.S. military for the anthracis research.

“So?”

—That company is basically Atmox.

“What? I thought it was a ghost company?” Young-Joon asked, surprised.

—It was at first, but they couldn’t keep it. After they got some money from developing the anthrax weapon, they probably wanted to get rid of the ghost company and cut ties to it because it’s a weakness. So, Yoon Dae-Sung sold the whole ghost company to some rich Chinese guy for dirt cheap. Someone named Wang Wei.

Park Joo-Hyuk said.

—It was a ghost company, but they had records of doing research with A-Gen on paper, so it was probably better than starting from scratch in terms of getting investments and stuff. I don’t know the details. Anyway, that ghost company is what became Atmox.

“...”

—Then, Atmox began growing as an independent pharmaceutical company and became a promising small business after developing Glaxoviroc, a CCR5 blocker.

“But why did they fund He Jiankui’s research all of a sudden?”

—Atmox had something to gain from that research, you know that? He Jiankui didn’t start his CCR5 research

after

discovering that Glaxoviroc could fail. Mimi and the HIV-infected baby, the result of Glaxoviroc’s failure, were only born two months apart from each other.

“Then... Wait,” Young-Joon paused.

Everything was making sense in his head. All the events, which seemed like individual happenings, were all falling into place.

He Jiankui wanted to do genetic engineering, but it was clear that he would be internationally condemned. As such, he needed to choose a gene target that was safe and justified. The safest was CCR5, which was already reported to have natural mutations and was being used by Young-Joon in stem cell treatment. There was enough evidence to claim that it was safe.

However, He Jiankui still needed an excuse to do the genetic engineering; he needed the justification to create a fetus by modification instead of curing HIV in the patient.

‘The failing of Glaxoviroc.’

The fact that HIV could be inherited from the mother to the child, and the clinical failure of the drug that was known to stop that provided enough justification.

‘The mother would have to wait too long to be cured of HIV because it was expensive and there were too many people waiting. Glaxoviroc also failed, so the only thing left to do was to modify the fetus’ genes.’

To have this justification, He Jiankui needed Glaxoviroc to clinically fail.

‘But why would Atmox, who owns Glaxoviroc, fund that research? They are funding He Jiankui while destroying their own livelihood?’

“No...”

Chills ran down Young-Joon’s spine.

𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

“It’s not what I think it is, right?”

—What are you thinking?

“Is Glaxoviroc Atmox’s only source of revenue?”

—Yeah.

“...”

—Atmox is one of the companies in danger of closing down because of your research.

Park Joo-Hyuk said.

—You drastically reduced the unit price of the HIV treatment, developed an HIV vaccine, and created a stem cell treatment that cures AIDS. You’re also doing a project to eradicate HIV, which is pretty successful. Atmox, a small business that lives off of Glaxoviroc, probably felt threatened.

Park Joo-Hyuk said.

—We don’t even have to go as far as eradicating the virus, since Cas9 alone can get rid of Glaxoviroc. Even prior to Cas9, it was established that transplanting hematopoietic cells with inactivated CCR5 could cure AIDS.

“So Atmox already predicted Glaxoviroc’s demise from the moment Cas9 appeared?”

—Of course. Atmox’s quarterly revenue has been plummeting after the HIV eradication project started. Their revenue is one-fifth of what it was last year. They’re drowning right now, and Glaxoviroc will disappear in a few years.

Park Joo-Hyuk said.

—Atmox decided to risk their company to find their next source of revenue, and that happened to be genetic engineering. It’s something that everyone knows about, and it’s clear that this will have huge added value, but people are too scared to jump into it yet.

“And they’re working with CCR5, so they will still have something to gain even if the genetically modified baby fails?”

—Yeah. They could say that they modified CCR5 and the baby ended up in bad shape. They could stir the pot, saying CCR5 modification is dangerous and A-Bio should stop administering the AIDS cure.

“...”

—But that’s the lesser of two evils. A huge pharmaceutical company like Schumatix almost got destroyed with the glaucoma treatment, right? A small business like Atmox probably doesn’t want to take you head-on.

Park Joo-Hyuk said.

—That’s why they are putting He Jiankui, a GSC scientist, as their fighter. They’re making this into an academic battle instead of a corporate battle. And the best scenario is for that genetically modified baby to grow healthily and thrive. This will usher in the era of embryonic genetic engineering, at which He Jiankui will join Atmox. Then, Atmox will receive tons of funding from the government and wealthy Chinese people. If they do a good job, this company that’s on the verge of shutting down can be revived and become one of China’s most promising ventures.

“And that’s why they purposely changed the dosage of Glaxoviroc?” Young-Joon asked. “And the reason the preclinical study is bullshit is because it was just a formality. Atmox has something to gain whether it succeeds or fails...”

—If it fails, they’ll have an excuse to mess with CCR5 in He Jiankui’s research, and if they succeed, they’ll be able to use Glaxoviroc in a different way that’s much less burdensome on patients. They’ll be able to live off it for a little longer before HIV is fully eradicated.

“... Okay, Joo-Hyuk. I have something to ask you. Can you sue Atmox and He Jiankui?”

—Hey, I still have to tie up the loose ends from the A-Gen and A-Bio merger. Do you know how behind I am on paperwork?

Park Joo-Hyuk complained.

“You can do it, right?”

—Ugh... Fine. Send me an email.

* * *

He Jiankui was having a meeting with the ministers of the National Health Commission and the State Administration for Market Regulation[1].

He Jiankui, who was sipping his coffee, rhythmically tapped his finger on the table.

“The Public Security Bureau is scary. I almost got my head bashed in,” said He Jiankui.

“Stop making trouble,” said the minister of the SAMR.

“I didn’t cause trouble, sir. This is a major opportunity for China to seize the next phase of biology. The Anglo-Saxon region may have been the dominant force in medicine and biology, but that may not be the case in the future.”

“...”

“Gentlemen. There is one thing I am certain of, and it’s that Northeast Asia will become the hub of life science and medicine in the future. I am sure of this. It will happen even if we don’t do anything.”

“Because of Ryu Young-Joon?”

“That’s right. I met him in person this time, and he stopped a bioterrorist attack. Can you believe that? He stopped an anthrax gas attack by releasing a hot spring bacteria called Thermoplasma or something. He’s on another level, it’s ridiculous,” He Jiankui said. “We need to get along with Ryu Young-Joon and South Korea from now on. And we can’t let Ryu Young-Joon dominate South Korea alone.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“China can give Ryu Young-Joon a resource that the United States can’t.”

He Jiankui took out his notebook. Quickly scribbling on it, he said, “Look. America has huge organizations called the National Cancer Institute and the National Center for Biotechnology Information. You could say that the biological resources they have is all the knowledge that humanity has accumulated in the modern age, and they can offer that to Ryu Young-Joon. But China? What can we offer them?”

“...”

“We are the only superpower in the world that doesn’t have to be scared of ruffling America’s feathers, and along with our massive population...”

He Jiankui pointed at the minister of the SAMR.

“We have a dictatorship.”

The minister frowned, but He Jiankui smiled.

“Don’t be offended because I’m saying that it’s a strength. Imagine if the government in a country like the United States announced that they were going to do something like genetically engineer embryos. What do you think will happen? Christian organizations and all sorts of civic organizations would come out and protest, cause riots and throw Molotov cocktails. The opposing party would immediately condemn the government and criticize them. There will be a change in power, and the project will go up in smoke,” He Jiankui said. “But China can push for that. No matter how radical the project is, we can see it through. We can offer Doctor Ryu Young-Joon the experiment itself.” “Hm...”

“Doctor Ryu is very interested in developing artificial organs. Let’s help him with that in a way no one else can,” He Jiankui said. “Let’s do an experiment with the organs of death row inmates. Let’s let Doctor RYu know that China is the only place in the world where he can do experiments with human organs. All experiments need a comparison group, and the best comparison group to contrast the artificial organ’s effectiveness and performance would be none other than an actual human organ.”

“...”

“A trivial country like South Korea monopolizing a genius like him is a ridiculous luxury. It’s casting pearls before swine. China must have him. He is the stepping stone for humanity to advance to the next step,” He Jiankui said. “This is an opportunity for humanity, do you understand? Depending on how much current humanity supports Doctor Ryu, the lives of the next generation will change. He is

that

important, so of course China should use all its resources to nurture him. Science in China will progress immensely during that process as well.”

He Jiankui clenched his fists.

“The language of science will change from English to Chinese in the next twenty years. I just need you to have a little courage. Let’s be accomplices in the development of science together,” he said. “Because the advancement of science is always righteous.”

“I heard you had a proposal when you asked to see us today,” the health minister asked.

“Ah, right. I didn’t mention that. We need to implement a policy to reduce micro-dust emissions,” He Jiankui said.

“Micro-dust?”

“One of the things that Korea hates most about China is the micro-dust that we produce. Those trivial people think we are being a nuisance. Let us, the Chinese race, be kind and reduce it, and then we can work with Doctor Ryu. This is what I promised him.”

The minister of the SAMR scratched his head like this was a difficult request.

“You are definitely one of the best intellectuals in China, and quite a lot of the policies we’ve implemented with your advice have been successful,” the minister said. “But this proposal is a bit hard. A lot of new factories are being built in the eastern region right now.”

“In the eastern region?”

“Did you know that they have huge aluminum reserves? We’re implementing a lot of regulations to reduce micro-dust emissions, but this is bound to increase micro-dust.”

“You can’t.”

He Jiankui shook his hand, rejecting the idea.

“We can’t abandon Doctor Ryu to run a few factories,” he said. “Sir, think about this on a country-level.”

Knock knock knock!

Someone knocked on the conference room door. It was one of the entourage of the SAMR Minister.

“Sir,” they said. “Doctor Ryu Young-Joon is in China right now, and he wants to have a meeting.”

“We did it!” He Jiankui shouted happily. “He caught on, too. He figured out what we can offer him!”

“What does he want to see us for?” the minister asked.

“Um... He said he wants to discuss the Asian tiger mosquito eradication project that’s going to take place in the eastern region of China,” they said.

“Asian tiger mosquito?”

He Jiankui frowned.

“And he wants to discuss the punishment of Doctor He Jiankui.”

He Jiankui froze.

1. abbreviated as SAMR ☜