Lem Moye

Can a small scientific company survive a hostile take-over from a giant pharma company?

A small scientific company, CiliCold, has developed the ‘immunology breakthrough of the century’, a partial antibody that can defeat many of the viruses that cause the common cold. A big-pharma company, Tripel S Pharmaceuticals, is desperate for their intellectual property and will stop at nothing to take over the company. But Tripel S has a sinister motive for acquiring CiliCold. They want to prevent the product reaching the open market, to protect their own work. A cure for the common cold would affect multi-million-dollar sales of their over-the-counter cold remedies and treatments.

The CEO of CiliCold decides to relocate the team over 3,000 miles away to a secret research laboratory, to escape the clutches of Triple S. Meanwhile, the Vice President Legal of Triple S is forced to resign following an incident where she witnessed a colleague take her own life. She has no option but to defect to CiliCold. Triple S develop a new medicine that is successful in preventing autism, but they soon discover the medicine has catastrophic side effects. Board members disagree on how to manage the situation. Several board members want to continue with its development, arguing they would be withholding a new critical therapy from children who are going to be very sick. The CiliCold team, on the other hand, is on the verge of a breakthrough, and are in desperate need of financial assistance. Just when CiliCold receive the investment they require, they soon discover they have been duped by their biggest rival.

Catching Cold Vol 2 – Redemption, by author Lem Moyé, is a tense and gritty pharmaceutical drama, about a disreputable big-pharma company that tries to take over a small scientific company, by any means possible. This is a well written, thoroughly researched and believable story about money and power, versus ethics and morality. The author clearly has excellent knowledge about science and medical research. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I look forward to reading more from Lem Moyé.

This is the second instalment in a three-part series. I had not read the first book in the series, and while there were a few moments where I struggled to understand the back-story, the story was easy to follow. I would recommend readers begin with the first book in the series, to get the full enjoyment of this trilogy.

Star rating: 5 Stars

Summary: A tense and gritty pharmaceutical drama about money and power, versus ethics and morality.