Chapter 345: Chapter 345: Paper, Published

At Davis’s insistence, the editorial board decided to conduct a joint review of Li Xu’s paper.

The review began. They meticulously examined every aspect of the paper, including its research methodology, data analysis, and the derivation of its conclusions.

Thomas, though burning with anxiety, was powerless to stop it.

The minutes ticked by in the silent conference room.

When all the editors had finished their review, Davis spoke again. "Well, everyone, what are your thoughts on this paper?"

A senior editorial consultant was the first to speak. "Mr. Davis, I’ve read this paper thoroughly. Its research design is rigorous, the data is comprehensive, and the explanation of the molecular mechanism of action is particularly clear. The results of the clinical double-blind controlled trial are also highly persuasive. Personally, I believe this paper fully meets the publication standards of *Lancet*."

Another senior executive editor nodded in agreement. "Yes, I agree. Although it’s a traditional Chinese patent medicine, its scientific basis and clinical efficacy have been fully demonstrated. Given the current global Influenza A pandemic, the publication of this paper will have a positive impact on the global public health sector."

The other editors also expressed their agreement one by one.

While some were not very familiar with traditional Chinese medicine, they all possessed the professional academic literacy to objectively evaluate a paper’s merit.

In the face of such exhaustive data, Thomas’s so-called "flaws" seemed flimsy and weak.

In the end, thanks to Davis championing it against the opposition and the paper’s own solid quality, the editorial board voted to approve and publish Li Xu’s paper.

Thomas’s face was ashen.

This meant Jide Pharmaceutical’s containment strategy had failed.

After the meeting, a dejected Thomas returned to his office.

He collapsed into his chair and immediately picked up the phone to dial James’s number.

"James, the paper was approved. Davis personally vouched for it, and the editorial board passed it unanimously."

Thomas said, his voice devoid of energy.

After hearing this, James was clearly stunned for a few seconds before demanding loudly, "What? Approved? That traditional Chinese patent medicine from Dragon Country... is it actually effective?"

Now it was Thomas’s turn to be dumbfounded.

"What? You... you don’t know about the effects of Lianhua Suanzaoren Granules?"

Thomas was seething with rage.

’I’m putting my career on the line for Jide Pharmaceutical, even violating professional ethics, and my boss doesn’t even know a thing about the competitor’s strength?’

’This is the height of irony.’

James was made a little awkward by Thomas’s reaction.

He cleared his throat and explained, "Thomas, calm down. The intel I saw earlier said public opinion in Dragon Country was divided. I assumed it was just some domestic pharmaceutical companies in Dragon Country using exaggerated marketing to sell their product. I instinctively believed that a traditional Chinese medicine could never compare to our Tamiflu Granules, which we spent a fortune researching, so I didn’t pay much attention to its specific effects. I just thought it would dilute the market for Tamiflu Granules and affect our profits."

After hearing this, Thomas sighed weakly. He felt like a clown.

"James, according to the data in the paper, Lianhua Suanzaoren Granules are significantly superior to the placebo group in shortening the duration of Influenza A and reducing symptoms like fever and coughing. It also has a good safety profile, with no adverse reactions observed. In fact, on some key indicators, its effects are even better than Tamiflu Granules."

James was completely stunned.

’What?’

’It’s not just effective.’

’It’s better than Tamiflu Granules?’

’How is that possible?’

He had always believed that Tamiflu Granules was the one and only "Divine Medicine" for treating Influenza A, their greatest bargaining chip for monopolizing the Dragon Country market.

"Are you telling the truth?"

James was growing uneasy.

"The paper has detailed clinical data comparisons, James.

"The reason Davis championed it against all opposition and insisted on publishing the paper is because his own daughter saw no improvement after taking Tamiflu Granules, but recovered quickly after switching to Lianhua Suanzaoren Granules."

Thomas explained.

James fell silent. After a long moment, he finally said, "Thomas, I understand. You did a good job. This isn’t your fault."

"I’ll immediately send someone to find a way to get some Lianhua Suanzaoren Granules from Dragon Country. We need to study it, to completely figure out its ingredients and mechanism of action."

After hanging up, James’s expression was grim.

His plan, which he had thought was foolproof, now appeared to be full of holes.

Not only had their plan to suppress it failed, but it had allowed a traditional Chinese medicine to rise to prominence unexpectedly.

’If... if Dragon Country’s traditional medicine can really treat Influenza A...’

’Then Tamiflu Granules, which we spent a fortune researching, might not bring in those massive profits after all.’

’No...’

James thought of another possibility. ’If Dragon Country starts exporting it to America, not only will Tamiflu Granules fail to be profitable, it might even incur a loss.’

Even though the fire was roaring in the fireplace, warming the room, a chill ran down his spine.

...

As a top international medical journal, *Lancet* published a new issue every week.

Once the content for an issue was confirmed, it would be typeset, printed, and released as a digital version simultaneously with the utmost speed.

Given its exceptional scientific value and urgent real-world significance, the editorial board decided to prioritize the publication of Li Xu’s paper.

A week later, the latest issue of *Lancet* was released as scheduled.

...

「Guanghe District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Internal Medicine Department.」

As a regular hospital, there still weren’t many patients today.

Instead of scrolling through short videos on her phone as usual, Miaoli picked up the latest issue of a medical journal—the department’s subscription to *Lancet*.

Ordinarily, she didn’t read journals.

But Li Xu was becoming more and more formidable, and as his former classmate, Miaoli felt a sense of urgency.

So, she had started paying attention to medical journals to learn about cutting-edge medical knowledge. She didn’t want the gap between her and Li Xu to grow so wide that she’d be too embarrassed to even show her face at class reunions.

Sipping her tea, she idly flipped through the journal.

She started from the front page, and the abstruse English papers gave her a bit of a headache.

Then she flipped to the table of contents, and suddenly, a familiar name caught her eye—"Li Xu."

Miaoli’s eyes flew wide, and the teacup nearly slipped from her hand.

She thought she must be seeing things. She rubbed her eyes and looked again, carefully.

The paper’s title was printed in bold:

"Clinical Efficacy and Mechanism of Lianhua Suanzaoren Granules in the Treatment of Influenza A."

In the author section, the name was indeed "Li Xu."

"Li Xu?"

Miaoli gasped.

She was stunned.

’How is this possible???’

’This is a top-tier international journal.’

’Forget about me; back in school, many of our professors couldn’t even get a paper published in *Lancet*.’

’How did Li Xu do it?’

This was even more incredible to her than when she learned Li Xu was a credited author on the "Clearing Qi and Stabilizing Blood Formula" paper in *Dragon Country Virology*.

"Oh my god~"

’This is completely unbelievable!’

Miaoli exclaimed again and again.