Dead end

John shivered as he got into his jeep. Exhausted, he rubbed his tired eyes and pulled one of the Red Bull cans out of the six-pack.

The sweetish gummy bear taste of the energy drink disgusted him. But John poured the stuff down in one gulp and within a few moments he felt the stimulating effect that drove away his tiredness and made his thoughts clearer.

For more than half a year, John and Philipp had already fallen out.

Nobody had known exactly which corners of the world he was hanging around. But his absence had really made John realize how indispensable his brother was to the company and what a good job he had done.

This scandal simply shouldn't have happened at the last General Assembly. John now regretted that he had allowed himself to be carried away. But in retrospect you are always smarter….

The reason for the falling out was that their interests regarding company policy did not conform.

Lombard Pharma was a pharmaceutical company mainly engaged in the manufacture and sale of mistletoe preparations used in oncology for pain relief and, subsequently, life extension.

The main focus of the company was to enable drug therapy that encompasses the human organism on a natural and not on a chemical basis. This included, in particular, combating the causes of illness and their effects in order to subsequently bring about lasting recovery.

With the manufacture of painkillers for cancer therapy, the medium-sized company had created a solid mainstay that also enjoyed an excellent reputation in the pharmaceutical industry.

John and Philipp were managing directors with equal rights and had shared the competencies in the company from the start. While John devoted himself to research and production, Philipp had headed the marketing, sales and personnel management departments.

It had turned out that it was absolutely right to separate the areas so that no one would get in the way of the other. It was hard to believe that identical twin brothers could be so fundamentally different in character.

John was more like his father, who was extremely careful with new products before giving his Sanctus for approval. And even after that, the drug was tested for a long time and, if possible, improved.

Philipp was much more willing to take risks, which was certainly an advantage for the business branch. As a die-hard manager, he knew how to put himself in the limelight at the right moment.

But he could also keep calm and wait if he had the feeling that the right time for a lucrative business had not yet come.

When a product was released, Philipp understood like no other how to pull out all the stops in marketing.

He immediately patented it, started promoting it and sent representatives with samples to doctors, hospitals and sanatoriums. Lombard Pharma was always represented with its products at drug fairs and oncology congresses, so sales rose slowly but steadily.

More than a year ago, Philipp started a study with which he wanted to prove that herbal mistletoe therapy is not only inferior to chemical preparations, but in many cases even attacks better. But this study covers a fairly extensive time frame, so that usable results can only be expected in just under five years.

If the bill worked and the research really shows that herbal medicinal products are to be equated with any chemical extract, then Lombard Pharma could expect sales 10-15 times higher.

Outside of the company, however, the brothers had very little in common. It turned out very early on that the two did not have the same strong soulmate that is often the case with identical twins.

Both enjoyed the prosperity and the elitist life away from the company. They were also aware of their good looks and knew how to use them. Yet there was that difference that John was the more far-sighted and cautious man who never forgot that behind this wealth they now enjoyed was the hard work of the father who made the company what it was today.

In many ways, Philipp was more of a nerd and snob who took his status for granted. He was by no means satisfied with the company's considerable economic success.

Philipp wanted more, much more and was constantly working to expand and distinguish himself so that his name would be mentioned in the same breath as those who had influence and power in Canada. Like a hungry wolf, he was always anxious to climb the ladder of success one rung after the other.

And this conflict of interest was also the point where the two of them were all too often at odds.

Philip's goal was to gradually expand the family business into a corporation and convert the company into a stock corporation, while John wanted to stick to his father's company ideology and said that the business should always remain manageable and in the hands of the family.

The shareholders' meeting also shared this attitude and Philipp stuck to his daring ideas and suggestions for expansion with the subsequent move to the stock exchange.

However, they were well aware of the immense sums devoured by research and the state's research funds for medium-sized and small pharmaceutical companies were very sparse, if at all.

And private investors also preferred to make their capital available to internationally financially strong corporations, which offered more prospects of success. Without the necessary funds, it was just difficult to research and produce more efficiently.

The big plus point of the company, however, lay in the ingenious researchers who worked for Lombard Pharma. And one of them was John.

He had also managed to poach a genetic researcher and a biochemist from a major American pharmaceutical giant and win them over to his own company.

These renowned scientists could no longer withstand the enormous pressure exerted on them by the management of these pharmaceutical magnates. Because each of these corporations had to achieve quick successes in order to remain competitive.

And time pressure was absolutely the last under which many scientists could work. Unfortunately, research is often a very lengthy affair. And it is not uncommon for the path taken to lead to a dead end.