The reason why rare disease treatment drugs are so expensive is quite simple.
Out of 10,000 new drug candidates, only one can actually be used as a new drug. It’s like finding a needle in a haystack.
That brutal probability of 1 in 10,000 inflates all the costs that pharmaceutical companies must bear by 10,000 times.
Thus, unless you are a large corporation that can afford to invest massive amounts of cash, you wouldn’t even dare to touch the pharmaceutical field.
So then, what exactly is Bio-Akashic, which was acquired at an estimated company value of $520 million or 870 billion won during its merger?
The multiple sclerosis treatment drug, ‘Persizumab’, made a surprising debut as a dream treatment that can be used for all types of conditions, including relapsing-remitting, primary progressive, secondary progressive, and progressive-relapsing.
If there hadn’t been a price cap, it would have generated at least 10 trillion won in revenue within a year.
Baek Ho-chan, the former CEO of Bio-Akashic, explained the secret to success to the KBS documentary crew as follows.
“I was just lucky.”
It was indeed a rather hollow response to the ears of the listeners.
“We had only researched and conducted clinical trials on 10 new drug candidates.”
That’s right, there was already an answer among those 10.
The reason they could succeed with such low costs?
Because they broke the 0.1% chance.
On the other hand, the reporters asked.
“How could you believe in such a low probability to start a business and make investments?”
“For example, let’s suppose you’re at the final poker championship in Las Vegas. Everything is riding on the last bet. It’s either a jackpot or a bust. Meanwhile, the world’s best poker player keeps whispering for you to go all-in. Did that person see this hand as having a 0.1% chance? No, it might have looked like 10, 30, or maybe over 50% to them.”
“Is that poker player…?”
Baek Ho-chan, who had been leaning back on a one-person sofa, sat up straight.
Clasping his hands together, he leaned forward.
“It was an immense fortune to meet Na-me. No, it was a once-in-a-lifetime luck that would never come again. But they say if one person monopolizes luck, they will surely face great misfortune. That’s why we set the treatment drug price at $3,000. To share this luck with as many people as possible.”
That decision was imbued with Na-me’s will.
She didn’t receive 200 billion won.
“In fact, she only got 200 billion won…! Where is NoName now?”
The next destination for the KBS documentary crew was decided.
It was the multiple sclerosis clinic at Korea University Hospital.
*
“The Persizumab treatment will be administered as an intravenous injection once a month. Besides the treatment for alleviating the disease, additional symptom treatments may be needed, so the hospital might also offer physical therapy, muscle relaxants like Botox, and medications to alleviate the patient’s fatigue and depression. If needed, cognitive rehabilitation for cognitive dysfunction can also be done. It may be hard to resolve everything with 10 million won, but we hope our small donations can help, even a little.”
“Thank you…! Really, thank you!”
“This is immensely helpful! Of course, it is. Sniff… Thank you, Na-me!”
She explained briefly about the new treatment and expressed the intent to support low-income families with rare diseases.
She handed over the microphone to Professor Yoon, the Korea University neurologist.
“Good job, Na-me.”
“Oh no, it’s not my money.”
“It would be money that wouldn’t have been raised without you.”
“Is that so?”
I couldn’t adapt to this awkward feeling.
So I could only give a sheepish smile.
I got off the podium and shook hands with the families once.
“Who are we to deserve this money…”
It was the voice of a 90-year-old grandmother who had a son rendered paralyzed by illness.
I firmly grasped the wrinkled hand of the grandmother and added strength to my words.
“Every life is equally precious. I hope you accept this money, and that you and your son can live happily for a long time.”
“Indeed… thank you.”
The last was a short-haired female middle school student wearing a scruffy gym uniform.
Her hair was all tangled, suggesting she had come right after gym class.
Something about the clothes felt oddly familiar.
She had brought her younger brother, who looked three or four years younger than her, to seek medical assistance at the hospital.
“Sis, do you go to Sea Star Middle School?”
“…!”
She avoided my gaze instead of answering.
I approached her excitedly.
“I went to Sea Star Elementary School for a bit back in the day, just for the first semester of 1st grade.”
“Oh, I see… I’m really grateful for the support for my mom’s surgery expenses…”
The middle school girl timidly turned her body away again.
Now that I noticed, there was a vertical tear in the thigh of her gym pants.
If it tears more, her panties will show; I need to fix it with magic quickly.
As I reached my hand to her pants, the girl pulled her legs to the opposite side.
Looking up, her expression had crumpled as if it were already crumpled.
Did I make her angry by acting on my own? No, it was embarrassment.
I forced her leg back and released my mana.
[Creation: Olefin Resin]
[Cast: Heat Transfer – Conduction]
Chiiik-
A thin black film stuck tightly to the fabric as it received the overheated steam.
While mending her pants, I struck up a conversation with the middle school girl.
“What’s your name, sis?”
“So-hye, Jeong So-hye.”
“Do you feel embarrassed about being poor?”
“No…”
“To be honest, I felt a bit embarrassed. The way the kids looked at me was weird, people treated me lightly, I couldn’t even dream of having the padded jackets or phones that others took for granted, so sometimes I even blamed my parents. And I hated that part of myself even more.”
“You?”
“Uh… I’ve actually skipped the entire second semester of 1st grade without permission.”
“I didn’t see it at all. You also had tough times, huh.”
Jeong So-hye said in a heavy tone.
“When you face difficult situations, you have to love yourself more to overcome those hardships. The person you will be with for the rest of your life, until the end, is not the teacher, friends, or family, but yourself.”
“Yeah.”
“So I think it’s better to value yourself a little more. There’s at least nothing bad about it, right?”
I lightly patted the mended gym pants with my hand.
“Ouch…”
Jeong So-hye suddenly grimaced and stumbled.
She steadied herself and stood up straight, pretending nothing happened.
Suddenly, I felt a deep sense of discomfort.
“Hey, So-hye, could you leave your younger brother with my manager for a moment and come with me?”
“Why are you suddenly saying that—”
“Bo-reum Unni, take good care of this kid. I’ll be right back.”
I took Jeong So-hye’s hand and led her out of the meeting room to the emergency staircase.
Every so often, I resisted her attempts to pull away with my aura.
Bang-!
The thick iron door that is unique to hospitals slammed shut with a loud noise.
“What are you doing?!”
The girl’s scream echoed in the stairwell.
“Can you just show me your leg for a second?”
“… No. Why should I?”
“Why not?”
“It’s just no. Don’t worry about me.”
“If you don’t show me your leg now, you won’t receive any further medical assistance for your mother.”
“You… how could you… You promised us this help, and that can’t happen…!”
“That’s just my decision.”
The girl, who had been in a thoroughly submissive position, didn’t hold out for long.
Jeong So-hye swallowed hard, revealing embarrassed tears as she slowly rolled up her gym pants.
A carnival of red and blue.
A bruise, tinted bluish-green, filled her thigh down to her ankle.
A red burn blister had ugly yellow fluid crusting on it.
I lifted her pants slightly above the knee.
I noticed a cut on the thigh where her gym pants had ripped earlier, as if it had been sliced by a knife.
It was a scene that made one’s expression naturally grimace.
“Ugh… Huh…”
Tears like chicken dung spilled from the girl’s eyes.
Despite having just shouted loudly moments earlier, she didn’t make a sound while crying. No, she couldn’t.
At this age, girls are particularly sensitive.
I decided to stop further small talk and took out my wand from my pocket, gently rubbing her leg.
[Cast: Tissue Regeneration]
“Huh…! Sniffle Hah.”
“What happened to make you hurt like this?”
“It happened on the stairs…”
“Did you trip and accidentally hit a baseball bat or a piece of wood? Or did you trip and end up slicing it with a cutter knife?”
“Geez, you know everything, don’t you?”
“I’m just asking once. I thought maybe you wanted someone to ask too.”
“…”
Sigh How hurt must you have been, you little one… Are you okay now? Does it still hurt a lot?”
“It’s… okay.”
I took a bill out of my wallet and tucked it into her pocket.
“Be sure to get treated at the hospital today.”
Jeong So-hye put her hand in her pocket.
Rustle-
The sound of a bill crumpling.
It seems she is conflicted between wanting to decline and not being able to refuse.
The world is unfair, and misfortune is even more unfair.
Once misfortune strikes, all sorts of misfortunes come crashing down.
Even if one wants to hold onto the hope that comes after misfortune, the nature of misfortune pushes people to the brink, leaving no room to raise their heads.
Misfortunes that act in a chain have inertia, making it often overwhelming for an individual to overcome.
Sometimes called fate, and sometimes destiny, I despised this situation immensely.
“Why didn’t you report it until it got this bad?”
“The kids said they wouldn’t let my mom and younger sibling go if I reported…”
*
To capture the historic moment when multiple sclerosis is conquered, the KBS documentary crew arrived at Korea University Hospital.
They could observe Na-me, who was chatting with patients until the evening.
Na-me quietly welcomed the reporters who cautiously requested an interview.
Somehow, the documentary ended up taking on a convergent structure.
All involved parties pointed to only one person, NoName.
They had countless questions for her, but for now, it was their duty to quietly watch and not disrupt her work.
In the eyes of a young child, dark circles had already settled in.
One reporter, concerned, asked her.
“Na-me, are you feeling okay? You look really tired right now.”
Na-me merely lifted one corner of her mouth.
“Oh really? I feel tired, for sure.”
“You must have had a busy day.”
“My body feels busy, so it feels like I’m living. Don’t you reporters have any questions? It’s a little quiet right now.”
“It could take a little while, and I hope that’s okay?”
“Sure. If it takes too long, I’ll cut it off myself.”
“How did you find the ingredient Persizumab from so many new drug candidates in one go?”
Na-me, unable to reveal the countless trials and errors she had undergone in her past life, had to provide an answer from an academic perspective.
And this was very simple for Na-me.
Predicting which stocks will rise in the future is incredibly challenging, but explaining why a stock rose in the past is something anyone can do.
Na-me had already excerpted information published in various academic journals to convincingly align her reasons for selecting the new drug candidates.
The producer, unaware of the background, felt an overwhelming awe for the genius.
To his eyes, Na-me was nothing short of superhuman.
In just a month, on top of mastering the entire medical curriculum, she had reached a level where she could perfectly understand the latest academic papers and compile new information.
“But, the theory is just theory. In the end, it can only be explained as pure luck.”
“I saw Na-me persuade them to sell the treatment at a very low price.”
“I don’t know. This price seems just right, not too low nor too high. After all, the research costs weren’t much. Isn’t profit calculated as total revenues minus total costs? I think the profits from Persizumab will still be sufficient.”
Another noteworthy point was that Na-me refused to be portrayed as a good person.
‘Is she on her 10th life or something…’
As Na-me moved around the room, the Q&A continued.
Na-me mentioned that she often spent time in the academy library.
Since it was well-equipped with academic databases, she used it to study what was needed at those times.
“Na-me, you live such a busy life…! What’s your schedule like from now on? Will you continue meeting patients tomorrow?”
Na-me rolled her eyes before looking up at the ceiling.
“When will the documentary you filmed today get aired, PD?”
“Today is Thursday, right? It should go on TV by Sunday night at the latest.”
“In that case, I hope you absolutely air what I’m saying now. It’s fine to mute my name.”
“Hm?”
“Students who are bullies from Sea Star Middle School, such as high schoolers OOO, Kim OOO, Seo OOO, Ya OOO, Jo OOO, report to the police by 3 PM on Monday or show up at Sephiron Academy’s main gate. If even one person doesn’t come, I’ll personally go find you with my seniors.”
*
Korea’s public broadcasting cannot haphazardly reveal the identities of individuals.
Then, would it be permissible to air Na-me’s statement without revealing the identities of the bullies?
That too seemed impossible.
There was still the possibility that the bullies could be innocent students. Issues with defamation to the school and the problem of doxing by netizens still lingered.
That was merely a theoretical issue, and the main reason was that the higher-ups would never allow it.
So, the producer tried a trick.
“What if we say NoName was a minor, so it’s okay…?”
By placing the responsibility on a young child, responsibility magically disappears.
Ironically, this was also a tactic frequently used by school bullies.
The producers handed the edited video to Na-me.
Na-me took it and posted it on her Instagram under the title “Documentary Cookie Cut.”
The KBS social media personnel timidly shared Na-me’s post, calling it a day.
This would surely conclude with just an apology letter of three pages. One thing was for sure—the view count would be guaranteed.
