Forty-eight hours had passed since the WHO declared an emergency. In the special treatment ward of Brest University Hospital, fifteen patients had been registered in the fucoidan treatment registry and were receiving intensive care.
After finishing his morning rounds, Taeho checked the treatment progress at the nurses’ station. Overall, things looked hopeful. Thirteen patients were showing clear improvement. But two remained exceptions.
“Bed 6, Professor Robert, and Bed 9, Dr. Maria.”
Taeho muttered as he looked over the charts.
“Forty-eight hours in, and there’s almost no improvement in their inflammatory markers.”
He recalled the conditions of the two patients he had confirmed a little earlier with Bio Vision.
Professor Robert’s nose and sinuses were swollen red, and overactivated immune cells were raging throughout his entire body. It was a vicious cycle in which, every time the medication tried to suppress the inflammation, an even stronger allergic reaction occurred instead.
Dr. Maria’s case was more complicated. Not only her nose, but her entire digestive tract had been sensitized by chronic food allergies. Her histamine receptors had become extremely sensitive, triggering new allergic reactions each time an anti-inflammatory was administered.
‘Immune overactivation and anti-inflammatory treatment are canceling each other out. I have to break this vicious cycle.’
Just then, an agitated voice came from the corridor.
“Is this treatment really working?”
Professor Robert’s wife was clinging to a nurse. The rims of her eyes were red.
“My husband has been the same for two days! You said all the other patients are getting better!”
Dr. Maria’s husband also raised his voice beside her.
“Why is only my wife not responding? Isn’t something wrong?”
Taeho slowly approached them.
“I fully understand how worried you must be.”
“Dr. Kang!”
Professor Robert’s wife grabbed Taeho’s arm, tears welling in her eyes.
“Why is only my husband not recovering? Everyone else is getting better like that.”
“We’re looking for a solution. Please wait just a little longer.”
After reassuring the guardians, Taeho headed straight for the pharmacy.
***
It was past ten at night, but the lights were still on in the pharmacy. From inside came the quiet murmur of two voices.
“If we increase the concentration any further, the mucosal irritation will be too severe.”
“No, if we make it sustained-release, then actually…”
Taeho opened the door and entered.
Pharmacist Sophie Marcel and Seong Gihwan were sitting side by side, looking at the computer screen. Their heads were close together, as if they had been old friends for years.
“Ah, Dr. Kang.”
Sophie looked up and greeted him.
“Have you been researching all night?”
“Dr. Seong came two hours ago. He said we should solve the non-responder problem together.”
Sophie, her face slightly flushed, answered quickly.
Taeho nodded. He had been certain that Gihwan would be working on a countermeasure.
Gihwan pointed at the computer screen and spoke.
“If you look here, the key is retention time. Immunologically, fucoidan has to remain in contact for at least thirty minutes to act on dendritic cells.”
“That’s why I changed the design to a sustained-release suppository. I added a hydrogel matrix and even a chitosan coating.”
Sophie nodded.
Taeho said,
“But it was less effective in patients with allergies.”
“That was exactly the issue, so we added a small amount of antihistamine. We also included the IL-10-inducing peptide Dr. Seong suggested.”
“Good. Very well done, Sophie.”
When Gihwan grinned, Sophie smiled shyly as well.
“I never knew turning immunological theory into an actual formulation could be this much fun.”
Taeho looked back and forth between the two in admiration.
Gihwan was normally so shy around strangers that he struggled even to greet them properly, and Sophie had never been able to meet Taeho’s eyes when speaking to him.
But the two of them were showing perfect partnership within their fields of expertise. Perhaps they were well matched?
This kind of atmosphere helped the work proceed efficiently.
Taeho smiled and asked,
“Then when will the new formulation be ready?”
Gihwan and Sophie looked at each other at the same time.
“About an hour?”
“An hour should be enough.”
When Gihwan said that, Sophie agreed.
As the two focused on the screen again,
Taeho quietly stepped back. At this moment, leaving it to those two was the best choice.
Sophie said to Gihwan in a small voice,
“Thank you, Dr. Seong. I couldn’t have done it this quickly on my own.”
“Same here. Theory alone has its limits.”
Gihwan turned his head and answered with a warm gaze.
The two continued their work in perfect harmony.
***
Early the next morning.
Taeho headed to the beds of the non-responder patients. In his hands were the new sustained-release suppositories and improved nasal gel that Sophie had carefully prepared throughout the night.
Taeho calmly gave instructions to the nurses.
“We’ll monitor at ten-minute intervals. Measure blood pressure, pulse, temperature, and oxygen saturation precisely, and check inflammatory markers every thirty minutes.”
Standing in front of Professor Robert’s bed, Taeho explained gently.
“Professor, we’ll administer the new formulation after allergy pretreatment.”
Robert’s wife, standing by the bed, asked in an anxious voice,
“Will it really work this time?”
“I’ll do my best.”
When Taeho answered sincerely, Robert’s wife nodded and took a step back.
After finishing antihistamine pretreatment, Taeho administered the new sustained-release suppository. At the same time, he applied the improved nasal gel.
The nurses held their breath as they stared at the monitors.
Ten minutes later.
“Blood pressure stable, pulse within normal range.”
There was hope mixed into the nurse’s voice.
Twenty minutes later.
“His temperature is starting to drop!”
Thirty minutes later, the first blood test results arrived.
“Inflammatory markers are decreasing!”
The nurse shouted in excitement.
An hour later, Professor Robert woke with clear consciousness. He tried to write something on the notepad beside his bed.
“Huh? There’s strength in my hand.”
Professor Robert’s voice was filled with surprise.
“Even this morning, I couldn’t even hold a cup properly…”
His muscle weakness and loss of motor control caused by viral encephalitis were recovering dramatically.
His wife covered her mouth with both hands and burst into tears.
“Honey. Are you really all right now?”
The same miracle was unfolding at Dr. Maria’s bed. Dr. Maria slowly sat up in bed and held her husband’s hand tightly.
“My memories are coming back. I couldn’t remember the past few days…”
She looked at her husband and smiled brightly. The memory impairment and cognitive decline caused by viral encephalitis were recovering rapidly.
“It’s been so long since my head felt this clear. It’s as if the fog has lifted.”
Her voice was full of unbelievable joy.
***
That afternoon, in the medical staff conference room.
When Taeho opened his laptop, five nurses, three doctors, as well as Gihwan and Sophie, quietly took their seats.
“I’ll report today’s treatment progress.”
Taeho connected the screen to the projector. A neatly organized spreadsheet of patient-specific data filled the wall.
“Of the fifteen patients, thirteen responded to the initial treatment, and the two non-responders have also begun to recover under the improved protocol.”
Professor Durand pushed up his glasses and examined the data carefully.
“An average improvement rate of seventy percent in inflammatory markers. That’s a sufficiently meaningful result.”
“The trickiest part was the timing of the allergy pretreatment. If it’s too early, the effect weakens; if it’s too late, hypersensitivity reactions occur.”
Taeho answered.
A young resident raised a hand.
“Couldn’t more complicated cases come in from now on?”
“Of course, unexpected problems will arise.”
Taeho answered realistically.
“When they do, we’ll have no choice but to conduct case studies and keep refining the protocol.”
One of the nurses looked worried.
“But Doctor, Global Pharmaco has been continuously pressuring the hospital.”
Professor Durand nodded with a heavy expression.
“In fact, the hospital board has also expressed concern. They say the entire medical staff could end up in trouble.”
Taeho fell into thought for a moment, then opened his mouth.
“Then we’ll have to manage the data even more thoroughly. Record every part of the treatment process without any gaps, and make sure the patient consent forms are perfect.”
He looked around at the attendees and added,
“All we can do is provide the best treatment possible. As for the rest, we’ll have to wait and see.”
Pierre, Durand’s assistant, reported with a dark expression.
“In fact, we received contact from the editorial board of Nature Medicine. They recommended that we refrain from submitting papers related to fucoidan for the time being.”
Taeho’s brow furrowed.
“What reason did they give?”
“They said the premature disclosure of an unverified treatment could create confusion in the medical community. Especially that using a marine extract for viral treatment is unscientific.”
Professor Durand let out a deep sigh. Over the past few days, he had received mountains of similar emails from major medical journals such as The Lancet, NEJM, and BMJ.
“The Lancet is the same, and NEJM has halted the review process entirely, saying further examination is needed.”
It was Global Pharmaco’s influence. They were pressuring the editorial boards of major medical journals.
Just then, Durand’s phone rang. After ending the call, his expression darkened even further.
“They say Lille University Hospital is withdrawing from the collaboration. Marseille Medical School will likely withdraw soon as well.”
“What’s the reason?”
“Funding issues, apparently. Global Pharmaco sent a notice saying they would reconsider support for institutions that participated in ‘unethical experimental research.’”
Taeho’s fist clenched on its own. While they had been devoting themselves to treating patients, the other side had been exerting pressure from every direction. Taeho studied Professor Durand’s darkened complexion.
“Professor.”
“I’ve lived as a doctor for forty years. I never thought that at this age, I would have to gamble everything.”
Professor Durand looked back at Taeho as he spoke.
“To be honest, I’m afraid. My reputation, my budget, my students’ futures—everything is at risk.”
Taeho understood Durand’s distress. For a single doctor to stand against a giant corporation meant putting everything he had on the line.
“But the patients come first. Professor Robert and Dr. Maria have recovered enough to resume their research, and… we can’t give up on something this miraculous.”
Professor Durand let out a sigh.
At that moment, the hospital administrator rushed in, gasping for breath.
“Professor! We have a serious problem!”
“What is it?”
Durand asked in surprise.
“Twelve professors affiliated with the Paris Medical School have issued a public statement. It says, ‘Brest University Hospital’s unverified treatment is threatening patient safety.’”
Taeho’s expression hardened.
“Who led it?”
“Professor René Bernard.”
A hologram appeared before Taeho’s eyes.
-Professor René Bernard has served as an advisor to Global Pharmaco for the past seven years.
The situation was growing more and more serious. Global Pharmaco was mobilizing all its influence within academia to apply pressure.
Taeho nodded.
“We can’t just sit still either.”