Surgery Godfather-Chapter 476 - 433 Commercial Secrets

After the battle for personnel between Xiehe Hospital and 301, Yang Ping started to focus on developing the external fixator for treating scoliosis.

Yang Ping had now mastered the skill of writing patent applications. When he had worked on the device for reconstructing children’s crossed ligaments, he had engaged several agencies to do the writing.

However, these engineers didn’t quite understand Yang Ping’s device, they kept missing the point. Without catching the key points, the intellectual property couldn’t be effectively protected and could easily be circumvented by others.

Yang Ping had no choice but to take matters into his own hands. He wrote the patent application himself and handed it over to the agency to assist with the application.

Since then, Yang Ping had realized the importance of writing patent applications and dedicated time to studying how to write them.

He also taught Song Zimo, Xu Zhiliang, Zhang Lin, and Little Five how to write patent applications, making this a key skill for all to master.

After completing the patent application for the external spinal fixator, Yang Ping asked the agency to apply for the patent. Moreover, he applied for an international patent so that the intellectual property could be protected in several major countries with a single application.

Now, he needed to prototype the new external fixator, which was a formidable task.

The material requirements for the external fixator were very high. The metal rods were to be made of high-strength shape-memory alloy, and the gears and steel cables also had to be very strong to withstand constant tension without deformation or slackening.

The design also paid great attention to the dispersion of orthopedic forces. Overconcentration of forces could easily lead to fractures around the screws; if the forces were too scattered, deformities could not be reversed. The device combined biology, developmental biology, physiology, anatomy, biomechanics, mechanics, and materials science, making it highly technologically advanced.

Yang Ping contacted a few factories, but they said that it was challenging to prototype and that a single factory couldn’t produce it.

Just the few rods of shape-memory alloy alone posed a challenge; it didn’t seem like any factory could meet the requirements, which required very precise control of the effective deformation parameters of the shape-memory alloy.

It turned out it was quite difficult to translate the blueprint into reality.

In the System space, it was just a matter of integration, but in reality, there were many challenges to overcome.

Professor Qin also leveraged his resources to help. Everyone initially thought it was straightforward, merely an external fixator, but as soon as they saw the detailed blueprints and principles, they shook their heads, believing it couldn’t be realized.

Once manufactured, the external fixator’s advantages would be very clear. Compared to osteotomy, its orthopedic process was minimally invasive and gradual, which could reverse scoliosis. After successful orthosis, normal spinal sequences, stability, and mobility would be fully regained, conforming most closely to the natural form of the human body.

However, the disadvantages were also obvious. Compared to osteotomy, the process was more prolonged. Patients would have to wear a metal frame on their back for several months, which made it inconvenient for activities like going to school. They wouldn’t be able to sleep on their back, and there was the risk of infection from the percutaneous pedicle screws protruding from the skin on each level.

Considering the long-term benefits, these disadvantages were entirely acceptable.

The external fixator used to treat limb deformities also had to remain on the limbs for several months, or even over a year. Risks such as infection from the needle holes were within the control safety limits.

However, prototyping it for animal experiments proved to be unexpectedly challenging.

Yang Ping wouldn’t be discouraged. He had the blueprints and the cases. The monkeys had been prepared for the animal experiments. Now, they just needed to manufacture the device.

To help with Yang Ping’s external fixator, Huang Jiacai started wrecking his brains too, contacting manufacturers to initiate the prototyping process.

The other medical device companies didn’t react at all. Gan Fengyi somehow received the news and reached out to Yang Ping, stating that Johnson & Johnson could help with the manufacturing and even buy the patent in the future.

Huang Jiacai and Gan Fengyi were at daggers drawn, competing for the market. Now they started wrangling over the production of Yang Ping’s external spinal fixator.

Interestingly, other companies showed no interest in this external spinal fixator, considering it an immature technology. If they were to prototype it, at least tens of millions of funds would be wasted.

The only condition Yang Ping put forth was that whoever helped him manufacture the device would be prioritized for patent licensing.

Many manufacturers shook their heads, finding it meaningless to invest tens of millions in an immature device.

However, Gan Fengyi’s perception differed from others. Upon learning about Yang Ping’s device, she immediately reported to Johnson & Johnson’s headquarters in China and was determined to secure the qualifications for prototyping the device at all costs.

Johnson & Johnson’s headquarters trusted Gan Fengyi’s judgment and immediately ordered her to go all out to secure it.

At this time, Huang Jiacai was in a difficult situation. Ruixing company was in crisis after crisis. Just as he had feared, all the major companies were relentlessly attacking him with patent lawsuits. Lawyer’s letters came to Ruixing like snowflakes, followed by court lawsuits.

Ruixing, which was actively preparing to go public, suddenly faced a patent dispute that disrupted all preparations. All energies were used to respond to the case and handle the patent dispute crisis. If they lost the case, there would be only one outcome - a massive amount of compensation leading to company closure.

Huang Jiacai had already lost faith in Ruixing’s various operations, but out of loyalty to President Wang, he persisted painstakingly.

The morale in other regions of Ruixing was shaking, and staff were leaving. Only the South China region remained stable. There was no chaos, and they were actively expanding their territory.

However, recently, Gan Fengyi’s offensive seemed to have weakened, even showing signs of disorder. This was not like Gan Fengyi’s style. Although this was good news, Huang Jiacai felt a little unused to it.

For a long time, the two companies were battling for market share, especially the totally reshuffled People’s Hospital, competing fiercely without a clear winner.

It was like two masters fighting at their peak, and suddenly one of them showed signs of losing.

Huang Jiacai was waiting for Yang Ping in Orthopedics’ meeting room. They had agreed to discuss the prototyping of the spinal external fixator today.

But Gan Fengyi didn’t show up. She had only sent a young subordinate with a leather bag who rushed in hastily.

Such an important meeting, and Fengyi Gan doesn’t attend personally? She just sends a subordinate?

Huang Jiacai increasingly felt that something was off, as Johnson & Johnson’s recent actions completely contradicted Fengyi Gan’s style.

Huang Jiacai took out his phone, intending to send a text to ask. He had Fengyi Gan’s number on his phone— he had helped her change a tire once when they bumped into each other, and in gratitude, she had treated Huang Jiacai and his sister to dinner.

They had just shared a meal together, they weren’t that close. What was the point of sending a message?

Huang Jiacai pocketed his phone, unable to resist his curiosity. "How should I address this lady? I’ve rarely seen Manager Gan recently?"

The lady representing Johnson & Johnson immediately stood up and nodded: "My surname is Ma, just call me Xiao Ma. Manager Gan is on a vacation recently."

Xiao Ma often heard Huang Jiacai’s name from President Gan. Huang Jiacai of Ruixing was well-known in their Johnson & Johnson South China division, and often came up in meetings.

This President Huang was President Gan’s greatest rival. How could President Gan’s subordinate not know about it?

When Xiao Ma stood to bow just now, she sincerely respected this senior.

This workaholic is actually taking a vacation, has the sun risen from the west? Could it be she moved to another company?

Huang Jiacai was suddenly a bit disappointed and felt a bit uneasy for some reason.

"Which company did your President Gan go to? Do you know?" Huang Jiacai asked.

Xiao Ma respectfully replied, "No, our President Gan didn’t change jobs, she’s truly on vacation."

"Maybe she got married and is on her honeymoon?" Huang Jiacai said somewhat disappointedly.

Xiao Ma shook her head: "President Gan is single. I heard she went back to her hometown. I don’t know the details. I only heard from our deputy manager. After receiving a call from home, she secretly cried in the office then hurriedly went back home."

She suddenly went back to her hometown? Could something have happened at home? Moreover, she cried, it must have been serious.

This woman, she wouldn’t cry in the office unless it was something serious. Huang Jiacai felt a bit panicked. Hearing that this woman cried, Huang Jiacai felt an inexplicable sense of compassion.

She’s in trouble, why are you panicking? Laughable, Huang Jiacai pretended to be calm, they are not very close after all.

This girl from Johnson & Johnson is pretty honest. Maybe she’s new to the field, she even told Huang Jiacai everything. During such a fierce rivalry with Ruixing, someone like Fengyi Gan should keep any changes to herself.

Still too young. If she encountered someone ruthless, he might seize this opportunity to launch a fierce attack, breaking the market balance between the two companies.

But Huang Jiacai did not want to do this. There was no sense in taking advantage of other people’s vulnerability.

"President Huang, our President Gan said to give this document to you." Xiao Ma took out a thick set of documents from her bag and handed them to Huang Jiacai.

Huang Jiacai hesitated for a moment and took a look. This was business confidential material.

"Give to me? You must have made a mistake."

Huang Jiacai only flipped through about ten pages when he tried to give it back to Xiao Ma.

Xiao Ma was very certain: "Yes, President Gan reiterated that this document should be given to you and not to anyone else. I even kept it under my pillow when I went to bed."

Huang Jiacai opened the thick booklet again. It was Doctor Yang’s pilot production plan for the spinal fixation frame, a complete plan from molding, materials, processes, and cooperation in the industrial chain of upstream and downstream enterprises.

The production of this set of equipment involves several key technologies. These technologies were mastered by foreign enterprises. Inside, they detailed those companies’ weaknesses, how to negotiate, exchange terms for terms, break their technological alliance, and gain cooperation.

The document even had detailed lists of which factories and who to look for in certain key processes, and even had their phone numbers and addresses.

Only half-way through and Huang Jiacai felt goosebumps. This woman was too good. To think that in this world, he, Huang Jiacai, could reach this level.

Little did he know, this woman was even better than him.

"Are you sure this is for me from President Gan?"

Huang Jiacai was still doubtful, considering it as a misunderstanding.

This was business confidential material. To make this document, one would not know how much effort had to be put in.

"Yes, before President Gan left, she personally handed me this document and said that when attending Doctor Yang’s meeting, it should be given to you. It cannot be given to anyone else. Moreover, she said that besides her, only you can make Doctor Yang’s project happen, no one else could do it." Xiao Ma was very serious.

Huang Jiacai took a deep breath and accepted the document.

"I see. Do you know where your President Gan’s hometown is?" Huang Jiacai couldn’t help but ask.

Xiao Ma thought for a moment and said, "I don’t know."