Johnson Space Center, 35 kilometers southeast of Clear Lake, Houston, Texas.
When Johannesson got off the plane, it was already past ten o'clock in the evening. A special car from the space center took him from the airport to a hotel near the Space City. He rested for the night. At seven o'clock in the morning, Johannessen hurried to Johnson Space without having breakfast.
Center Building 1.
At this time, the space city is empty, with only some security guards on night watch. The staff go to work at ten o'clock, and tourists can only enter at ten o'clock. In the entire Building 1 of the Johnson Space Center, there is only one office with lights on. p>
Dr. Collins is already waiting at the door downstairs. He is the leader of the medical team at NASA's Johnson Space Center, and Johnathan is a specially appointed expert on their medical team.
After showing his ID to the security guard who was vigilant and completing the necessary security inspection procedures, Collins took Johannesson to the medical team's office.
"I didn't expect you to arrive last night. I'm very sorry. It must have delayed you a lot. Would you like some coffee?" Collins apologized and asked if he wanted coffee.
Johannesson refuses coffee. He has no interest in coffee or any beverage other than boiled water.
When he was an undergraduate student in biology at Harvard University, not to mention coffee, smoking and drinking were commonplace.
After successfully graduating from his undergraduate degree in four years, he was successfully admitted to Harvard Medical School. From then on, he gave up smoking, alcohol and all beverages, including coffee.
"I'm sorry, I always forget that you only drink mineral water." Collins went to the water dispenser and poured a glass of boiling water for Johannesson.
Johannessen didn't have time to chat and went straight to the point: "Is Steven feeling unwell at the moment?"
"Yesterday at the ground control center, I completed a call with him. He didn't feel any discomfort and his heart rate remained at around 52 beats/min. We were very nervous and couldn't find the reason." Collins sat down.
"Although the microgravity of the space station will bring about many puzzling physical abnormalities, some of the problems we have encountered have not been solved yet, but Steven's abnormality makes me a little uneasy. We need more experts
, cardiovascular medicine, respiratory medicine, neurology, endocrinology, thoracic surgery, etc., we need to have a complete discussion." Johannessen didn't know why he was so nervous this time.
"They will all come, and they can be here at four o'clock in the afternoon at the latest. Dr. Eugene, a cardiovascular physician at Johns Hopkins, has the first flight this morning, leaving at six o'clock. He should be here before nine o'clock." Collins will be specially hired.
Experts have been invited.
Although Steven does not have any physical discomfort, he must pay attention to the slowing of his heart rate. Some issues are beyond the capabilities of their medical team and must be discussed by the top experts in the country.
There are still twenty days until Steven has been on the International Space Station for six months. At that time, he will return to the ground and a new expedition team member will replace him.
"You also think the question is not simple?" Johannessen smiled.
Collins frowned: "Heart problems, even the slightest sign of trouble, I think are big problems. Before we figure out the cause, we dare not use atropine to increase the heart rate rashly. It is meaningless. He is not feeling unwell at the moment, but who can
It can ensure that bigger problems will not follow immediately."
On the International Space Station, atropine is a common medicine in the medical kit.
"Why did I come all night? Because I was worried that the problem might be inside the skull - the brain stem! Although the probability is extremely low, I still want to remind you." Johannessen took a deep sip of water.
"When he was on the ground, there were never any problems with his physical examination, no problems whatsoever." Collins felt that the possibility of intracranial disease was too small.
"Medical equipment can never be 100% reliable. There are many reasons for a slow heart rate. I wish I didn't worry too much. If Steven only had a temporary performance in a microgravity environment and it would not affect his return, that would be best, but in any case
One ---." Johannessen never consoles himself. Even if there is a one in ten thousand chance, he should take it seriously and not take chances. This is the quality of a doctor.
"If so, can he expect to return to the ground? Our current communication is only private and informal and will not be recorded."
"I don't know the cause now, so it's hard for me to judge, but if it's an intracranial aneurysm or something like that, I'm afraid he won't be able to return. The impact of the fall when he returns will kill him."
"No, no, no, this is too scary. If it's an aneurysm, the artery will explode and rupture on the way back." Collins' heart was beating rapidly.
Johannessen shook his head: "If it was in the brain stem, the situation would be even more terrifying."
"No, how can a slow heart rate be a symptom of an intracranial aneurysm? It shouldn't be headache, dizziness, or some neurological symptoms. What is the basis for your judgment? He is a strong guy. Look at his records. There are countless
The first physical examination showed no problems, not even the slightest abnormal data. The last physical examination before launch, the head MRI cerebrovascular imaging, showed no problems, and the previous cerebral angiography also showed no problems."
"Of course, this is just my worst guess, and I hope it's not the case. Not long ago, I saw a case in China. A tumor in the brain stem showed symptoms of slowed heart rate and breathing. I have lingering fears, that's why I'm like this.
"Lenovo, maybe I'm too sensitive, you don't have to worry too much, I'm a neurosurgeon, so of course anyone will think there's something wrong with the brain." Johannessen didn't want to scare Collins, after all, there is currently no evidence.
There are many reasons for slowing down the heart rate, and I only considered one of them.
"I hope it's not. If it is, we will be helpless. Returning will lead to death. Not returning is waiting for death."
Collins looked out the window. The sun was getting brighter and brighter. He got up and turned off the lights in the office.
"How about we go have some breakfast? You haven't had breakfast in Space City for a long time, right?" Collins invited Johannesson.
Johannesson was also hungry: "I thought you only had mineral water for me."
---
At the question and answer session yesterday afternoon, everyone actively asked questions. Some people’s questions were very tricky, but they were easily resolved by Yang Ping.
Even Robert thought those tricky questions were excessive, but Yang Ping's answers left the questioner speechless.
"Today, continue to maintain the style of yesterday, just like that, Dr. Yang, if you remain humble, they will think that you are timid, scared, and lacking in knowledge and ability. You can only argue with them fiercely until they are speechless.
It's best to ridicule them a few more times, so that they can be convinced that Americans are different from Chinese, so there is no need to save face for them."
"How do you say it in Chinese terms?"
Robert turned to ask Lao Cheng.
Boss Cheng said: "Go to death!"
"Yes! Go to death!"
Robert told Yang Ping that when the lecture comes next, those guys who were still unsatisfied yesterday will definitely launch an attack and want to kill him.
From yesterday's meeting, when several guys continued to ask questions, we know that several guys are still unwilling to give up and will continue to bombard Dr. Yang today.
Yang Ping also thinks that Robert is right. If you keep your strength to these Americans, they will think you are not good. Even with this strength, fighting to death is the right way. Americans understand Americans. Yang Ping likes Robert very much.
Give him a thumbs up.
Robert was very happy when he saw Yang Ping's thumb.
The engineer from OrthoPediatricS followed behind: "Dr. Yang, can you take some time after class to talk about the patent transaction? Our company's negotiators have already arrived."
This engineer has been talking about cooperation with Yang Ping. It's not like Yang Ping doesn't have time to talk to him. He wants Huang Jiacai to come forward to talk about these trivial business matters. Huang Jiacai is a businessman and has a very good mind.
Huang Jiacai came back only at night yesterday, and Yang Ping made a power of attorney for Huang Jiacai, asking him to help negotiate the patent authorization.
Lao Cheng was the deputy in the negotiations. With Robert's help, Huang Jiacai found a translator, a lawyer who was good at intellectual property rights, and a complete negotiation team.
After the lecture, Dr. Yang had something else to do and there was no time for negotiation. Robert immediately said to the engineer: "Don't follow Dr. Yang. Talk to Dr. Yang's representative. This Mr. Huang, I have prepared a place for you."<
/p>
Robert found a meeting room in the hospital administrative area for them to negotiate, and then accompanied Yang Ping to the meeting room to give lectures.
"This is the power of attorney from Dr. Yang. He has given me full authority to negotiate." Huang Jiacai took out the power of attorney and showed it to the representative of OrthoPediatricS.
OrthoPediatricS has four representatives. In addition to engineers, there is also a vice president of the company, a lawyer from the legal department, and a specialist from the patent department.
With Huang Jiacai, it's exactly four versus four.
"We are very interested in Dr. Yang's equipment and want to purchase the international patent rights for the entire set of equipment. I don't know if you agree with this deal. We are currently the only company in the world that focuses on children's orthopedic implants." OrthoPediatricS vice president represented the negotiation.
Mr. Solin is very direct.
Huang Jiacai can actually listen and speak English, but he learned it in a training class. Formal negotiations with Americans are difficult, so he still relies on translators for help.
"We don't plan to sell the patent rights, we just want to license them exclusively." Huang Jiacai replied firmly.
Thorin shrugged: "Of course, if we carry out exclusive licensing, we will also pay a licensing fee that satisfies you."
"How much?" Huang Jiacai didn't want to waste time.
Thorin held out two fingers: "Two million dollars a year."
Huang Jiacai cursed in his heart, these guys are so stupid, they think the Chinese are country bumpkins who have never seen money.
To be fair, if it were in China, the price would be sky-high.
But this is in the United States. Huang Jiacai is very familiar with the pharmaceutical and medical device markets. He is well aware of some of the more famous patent transactions and litigations. There is almost no need to prepare for this negotiation.
Huang Jiacai took a piece of paper and a pen on his desk and wrote down the patent transaction cases and patent litigation cases of orthopedic devices in the United States in the past three years on the paper.
"Look, Mr. Solin, this is a case of similar transactions in the past three years. This is your annual revenue in the children's and adolescent sports medicine market. Which one should you refer to for the price you just offered? Rick, a spine surgeon in Indiana.
Sasso and medical device giant Medtronic are involved in a dispute over patent royalties for the Vertex cervical spine system. Medtronic paid Dr. Rick Sasso US$112 million in royalties." Huang Jiacai was unceremonious.
Thorin's face turned red instantly.
"Dr. Yang's equipment has a much larger market space than the Vertex cervical spine system. It will help you dominate the entire children's and adolescent sports medicine market, and also open up part of the adult sports medicine market. Moreover, around this curved drill, you can also develop
To produce a set of trauma orthopedic instruments, just use the Vertex cervical spine system as a reference, and it will not cost a mere two million US dollars in licensing fees per year. Dr. Solin, you underestimate us." Although Huang Jiacai came to the United States for the first time,
Facing these guys, he is very confident, has a strong psychological quality, and is an expert at negotiating.
After Thorin blushed briefly, he immediately said: "No, you can't look at it this way. If we can't cooperate, these patents of yours will not be able to reflect their due value. When you return to China, these patents will be very cheap or even shelved. This
The inner core inside the curved drill bit cannot be produced with China’s processing technology level.”
He did talk about the pain point. Because the precision requirements for the inner core are too high and cannot be processed by domestic manufacturers, Yang Ping is afraid of waste and is willing to license it to Americans. Otherwise, he would have found a domestic manufacturer to cooperate.
I had no choice but to seek cooperation with domestic manufacturers, but they offered me hundreds of thousands, but they ignored me.
That's why Yang Ping planned to sell it to an American company and get some money first. After he has the money, he can make other plans.
As for the technical route of this set of equipment, he also left a backup plan. If one day, a domestic manufacturer is willing to cooperate in production, he can redesign an upgraded version and bypass his own patent.
"Mr. Solin, you are wrong. The children's orthopedic consumables market is currently a blue ocean. However, Stryker, Smith & Nephew, Johnson & Johnson, etc., almost all the giants have begun to make plans. You are surrounded by dangers, but you have no idea. I
I am surprised by your slowness. To be honest, you are not the only one who is interested in our equipment. Due to commercial confidentiality, I cannot disclose more information, but I still kindly remind you that these giants, no matter who they are,
Obtaining the authorization of our device is a heavy blow to OrthoPediatricS."
Huang Jiacai took out his ticket to inspect the Stryker headquarters in Kalamazoo, Michigan and placed it on his desk.
"This is my flight ticket to Kalamazoo two days ago. I don't need to tell you the purpose of going. We are also talking about business secrets with you, because you focus on children's orthopedic implants and will do a better job than them. You can use the equipment
Maximize their value. It is a pity that you do not realize their value. Then we can only settle for the second best and tell Mr. Solin two pieces of information. First, we are not short of money. You can learn a little about Dr. Yang this time.
The commission for the operation can prove this information. Secondly, the friends in Kalamazoo know the goods better than you and negotiate with you. In our Chinese language, there is a hint of emotion."
Huang Jiacai spoke calmly and unhurriedly, thinking: The lawyer and the patent specialist are sitting across from each other. This is a formal team. The board of directors has not held a meeting and cannot send out such a team. The foreigners are a little impatient and regard us as rookies. p>
Lao Cheng looked at the tickets on the table with a confused look on his face. Didn't this kid go to investigate and negotiate the patent? His ability to deceive and not blush during the entire conversation was just like the real thing. p>
If Lao Cheng hadn't known about his situation, I would have thought what he said was true.
"The annual exclusive licensing fee of 20 million US dollars can be paid for one year for the first time and once every year. You know, for other manufacturers, we require the first payment for five years and then every five years. If you agree, we will sign the contract today.
If we don’t agree, we don’t need to talk anymore.”
Huang Jiacai put away the tickets on his desk. He knew the size of OrthoPediatricS and couldn't ask for too high a price.
Thorin stood up: "Wait a minute, I'll make a call, give me ten minutes."
Ten minutes later, Thorin came back: "Deal!"
"Deal!" Huang Jiacai shook hands with him.
This set of equipment is ready-made and can be produced with drawings, but it opens up a new market and is simply a cash cow. This price is the psychologically acceptable price of OrthoPediatricS.
Sorin reported to the company, and the CEO responded directly: Take it!
The company's board of directors discussed the transaction price and drew a range.
