Lethal Remedy by Richard Mabry

weakness of both legs. I've ordered some tests. Anna Pearl's going to see Chelsea this evening."

Rip raised his eyebrows. "What's your best guess?"

"Oh, the differential's a mile long, but I'm betting on Guillain-Barré syndrome."

Rip shook his head. "That's too much of a coincidence."

"What do you mean?"

"I've had calls this week about two other patients who received Jandramycin. Their private doctors saw them with some pretty serious problems."

"And they have Guillain-Barré, too?" Sara asked.

"No, one of them has severe headaches and visual disturbances. The other has developed early kidney failure. But the common link is Jandramycin." He pushed his tray aside, untouched. "If you're through eating, let's go somewhere quieter where we can talk about this. I think there's a connection between our 'wonder drug' and these complications."

Sara stood. "I can't eat, especially now. And I imagine that when we let Jack know about this, he'll lose his appetite, too."

"That's another thing we need to talk about," Rip said as they moved toward the exit. "If we tell him about what's happening, is he going to investigate it . . . or deep-six it?"

 

 

Jack Ingersoll's fingers lingered over the keyboard as he mulled his next sentence. He was scheduled to present this paper to the World Conference on Infectious Diseases in Frankfurt. Then he planned to submit it to a prestigious journal—maybe the Journal of Infectious Diseases or the Journal of the American Medical Association— and with a little push from Jandra it should end up as the lead article.

"Dr. Ingersoll, Drs. Miles and Pearson are here to see you." His secretary's announcement carried through the open door like Gabriel's trumpet.

He picked up his phone and punched the intercom button. "How many times have I asked you—Never mind. Send them in."

He rose from behind his desk and gestured his visitors to chairs. "What can I do for you?"

Sara opened her mouth, but Pearson gave her an "I got this" look. "Some of the Jandramycin patients are having some problems. We wondered if you had any information that would help us figure out what's going on."

Ingersoll's smile never wavered. "What kinds of problems?"

"Chelsea Ferguson has Guillain-Barré syndrome," Sara said.

"And two other patients are having problems," Pearson added. "One of them has severe headaches and visual symptoms; the other is in early kidney failure."

Ingersoll spread his hands. "I'm sorry to hear that. Are any of these patients just offthe medication?"

Pearson shook his head. "No. Chelsea's more than a month out. The other two have been offthe med for six weeks or so."

"Then we can't assume their problems are due to Jandramycin. Sorry."

"Jack," Sara said,"you've kept all the data on this study very close to your vest. And I can't find any information from the animal studies on the compound. Is there anything there that might suggest the likelihood of late complications?"

"That data is proprietary, and until Jandramycin is released, it's going to be available to only a few people on a need-toknow basis." He rose. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a paper to write. And, Pearson, I believe you have some patient data to compile."

"Sure, I'll get on that right away." Rip pushed back his chair and took a step toward the door. "But first, can you tell me why Jandra has already filed an NDA? I thought they wanted a total of a hundred patients, forty from us. The NDA was filed before we reached our target number. Where did the others come from?"

Ingersoll didn't need this. He was too close. "Look, you don't have the big picture. Nobody does except me. You just have to trust me. When Jandramycin launches, there'll be enough credit to go around, and I'll be sure you get some." He looked at Sara. "That goes for you, too. I appreciate your furnishing patients for the study. How many of yours do we have?"

Sara rose and moved toward the door. "I know of five. But given what I'm hearing, the number