I sat back a bit in the chair. “Are you offering to tell me, Mom?”
“I can try. Wade has many moving parts. No one person is an expert in all things. I work as the conduit between our research team and the executive personnel.”
“You’re saying when it comes to the research, of all the executives, you have the most and up-to-date data?”
“I’m not a scientist. I don’t understand the way cholinesterase inhibitors work. I know they do. I also know that the recent development approved by the FDA reduces amyloid beta plaque in the brain.”
Damn, she was trying to out-talk me, using verbiage she thought I wouldn’t understand.
Fortunately, I’d spent days reading reports, writing notes, and trying to assimilate what it all meant. I only understood enough to scratch the surface, but I could go tit-for-tat if that was her game.
I sat straighter. “Wade’s research isn’t on either of those mechanisms for treatment. Our research is focused on the early detection of amyloid beta. The hypothesis for Wade’s trials is based on the data indicating that the accumulation of Aβ in the brain begins much earlier than previously thought, possibly decades. The pharmacological compound Wade is researching is focused on the early removal of the peptides and amino acids from the interstitial fluid before they begin to accumulate.”
Mom sat back. “Yes, the competition’s newly approved drug is designed for use after the diagnosis. Ours could potentially stop the accumulation before severe damage is done.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry I’ve underestimated you.” She pressed her lips together, inhaled, and sat forward, leaning her arms on her desk. “This was supposed to go to you. It’s what Father wanted.”
“This? Supposed to go…?”
“Wade Pharmaceutical. You see, our testing has hit a roadblock. When undiagnosed patients are treated and subsequently do not develop the symptoms of Alzheimer’s, it’s difficult to prove that they would have suffered the progressive disease without treatment. Our mice trials showed great promise. The number of affected mice that developed the Aβ plaque is significantly less in mice that were treated with our compound. We have the documentation. However, as you realize, our compound is preventative in nature, not restorative.”
“What about putting more money into the drugs Wade already makes?”
“Most have gone to generic.”
“Why not create the generic ourselves?”
“It may be too late.”
I took a deep breath. “If it’s too late and Wade is losing value, why are there two SPACs interested in holding shares?”
Mom’s blue eyes widened. “I don’t know anything about that. Your father and Marlin are responsible for that aspect of the company.”
I stood and walked the width of Mom’s office. “Do you want to sell Wade?”
“Of course not. Wanting is different from reality. It may be our only hope.”
“Did Van’s interest help or hurt your plans?”
“Well, dear, he helped. He gave us time. The thing is that sixty days won’t be enough. I’m afraid that Wade should entertain the idea of a sale or merger.”
“What about your house?”
“What about it?”
“You used it as collateral.”
Mom sucked in a breath. “That wasn’t in the information you were given.”
“No, because I’d need to go back two years not twenty months to recover that information. Mom, did you agree to use your home because you thought it was Wade’s only chance or because there’s a problem with Grandfather’s will, and if that problem became common knowledge, having the house and Wade intertwined might slow the process.”
She sat taller. “I’m sure you’re capable of learning these details; however, I have to wonder what role Mr.…Donovan” —she corrected— “played. What does a man with his wealth care about this little company?” She stood. “I’ve spent my life, Gregg his, my father his, and my grandfather, to make Wade more and bigger. And where has it gotten us? We’re on the verge of losing everything.”
More.
Bigger.
My eyes opened to the reality that envy was a common river that ran deep. Even those people I believed to be satisfied weren’t. Everyone strived for the next ring.
“Mom, I want Wade to succeed in its own right. We don’t have to become a household name like Johnson and Johnson, Abbott, or even Roche. It’s all right to be in competition with only ourself.”