Chapter 330 - 228: Cheers! The Lead Compound Screening Succeeded

Chapter 330: Chapter 228: Cheers! The Lead Compound Screening Succeeded

"Director Wu, which docking method should we use for our subsequent experiments?"

In response to the researcher’s question, Wu Ting replied with ease:

"I suggest using one of three docking methods: CDOCKER, LibDock, or LigandFit. As for which one specifically, you can go with whatever you’re used to, or whichever one is most convenient..."

What followed was another Q&A session, during which Wu Ting offered his suggestions directly and decisively.

The overall impression was that Wu Ting was a combination of Jia Jun and Lou Musaang—professional, rational, and utterly logical.

"Alright, for the remaining details, you can just ask Dr. Jia later."

"I have to see patients at the clinic later this morning and have two surgeries this afternoon. So, let’s pick up the pace..."

"Now, let me demonstrate the molecular dynamics model we’ll be using... We’ll perform molecular dynamics simulations using the Standard Dynamics Cascades algorithm, or SDC algorithm, with a benchmark temperature of 300K, constant temperature and pressure, a time step of 2 fs, and a duration of 500 ps..."

Everyone was deeply impressed as they listened to Wu Ting’s detailed explanation.

Jia Jun was particularly struck:

"Director Wu, your molecular dynamics modeling method really resonates with me. I completely agree with your approach. It will effectively reflect the relationship between the ligand drug molecules and the receptor target protein, allowing for optimal docking..."

With the framework of Wu Ting’s complete plan laid out, Jia Jun now understood exactly what to do.

"Director Wu, leave the rest to us."

"We guarantee we’ll complete the virtual screening in the shortest time possible, find the best docking results, and propose a final, suitable lead compound!"

After Jia Jun made his pledge, the other researchers chimed in one by one.

"Rest assured, Director Wu. We’ll definitely complete this task as quickly as possible!"

Whereas before they had been resistant to and skeptical of Wu Ting, his meticulous, detailed, and feasible explanation had allowed them to see the grand blueprint he had laid out. All that was left was to put it into practice, one step at a time!

According to Jia Jun’s estimate, with Wu Ting’s system and the most comprehensive compound database, they could, under optimal conditions, screen tens of millions of compounds that fit the pharmacophore model.

Afterward, they could use the program’s automatic scoring, sort the results from highest to lowest, filter out the top one hundred compounds, and then perform further manual screening to obtain the optimal lead compound!

’This Director Wu is really something else.’

’The crazy part is, this new drug R&D is just a side gig for him. His main job is being a doctor—he has clinic duties and surgeries.’

’What a legend!’

Under Wu Ting’s leadership, the morale of the entire research and development center soared!

Looking at Wu Ting, Jia Jun suddenly had an absurd thought: ’What if this new R&D project of Wu Ting’s, which is just starting, ends up surpassing Lou Musaang’s progress and steals the show?’

’But in any case, be it Wu Ting’s project or Lou Musaang’s, as long as one of them yields results, the crisis at Jin Pharmaceutical Group will be solved.’

...

...

「Xianglin City. Pfizer Research and Development Center.」

For the past few days, Xie Bin had been closely monitoring Jin Pharmaceutical Group’s every move.

In his office, he and Xu Kunlin were listening to the latest report.

"President Xie, our mole inside Jin Pharmaceutical Group’s R&D team has reported some very important information."

"First, the research center’s First Scientist, Lou Musaang, has been working day and night. His already frail body has become even more overwhelmed, and it’s highly likely he’ll need to go to the hospital to recuperate for a while. As a result, the progress of the entire Banzhe Project will be affected to some extent."

"Second, the preclinical research phase for the New Medicine for Banzhe appears to have hit a wall. There was a major incident during the stability studies. Lou Musaang introduced a more aggressive and complex technique, but its difficulty and lack of technological maturity have led to repeated experimental failures."

"In short, the Banzhe Project is at a standstill. The project lead, the technical plan, and team morale have all hit rock bottom."

"Furthermore, due to these reasons, Jin Yihong has personally traveled to the Southern Country, hoping to invite a top international scientist for a collaboration to push the R&D progress forward... As of now, the mood inside Jin Pharmaceutical Group is one of widespread panic..."

As he listened to the report from his inside man, Xie Bin’s brow relaxed, and his mood brightened.

A similarly smug smile appeared on Xu Kunlin’s face.

"It looks like Jin Pharmaceutical Group has reached the end of the line. We’re just about at the first key juncture. If they can’t deliver any new results, it’ll be our time to strike again."

Xie Bin’s assessment of the situation was shrewd; he could already see Jin Pharmaceutical Group’s demise. This time, Jin Yihong had no cards left to play.

Xu Kunlin eagerly awaited that day. After all, for every day Sorafenib wasn’t recalled, he couldn’t rest easy.

’Right now, unless Wu Ting’s team successfully develops a new drug, or the toxic side effects of our Sorafenib and the fraudulent FDA certification get exposed, there’s no way Jin Pharmaceutical Group can turn this around.’

Xu Kunlin considered it for a moment. Neither of those possibilities seemed plausible.

’He knew all too well how new drug development worked. Just discovering a lead compound could take years, let alone all the subsequent preclinical trial stages and the three phases of clinical trials. Every step of the way was fraught with difficulties and obstacles.’