"I'm an FDA medical technician," Redmond volunteered.”I've seen you come in and out of our department several times.”
Now Lord had the younger man pinpointed. He worked in the same general area as Gideon Mace. It would explain, in part, how he had come by the information he had been touting. Since the original call from the person now revealed as Redmond, there had been two further phone conversations. In one they discussed money. Redmond had been firm in repeating his original demand for two thousand dollars in exchange for documents he claimed to have. During the last call they had arranged this meeting, Redmond choosing the place. A few days before, at Felding-Roth headquarters, Lord had gone to see Sam Hawthorne in the president's office.”I need two thousand dollars," the research director had said, "and I don't want to have to account for it.”
When Sam raised his eyebrows, Lord continued, "It's for some information I believe the company should have. If you insist, I'll give you details, but in my opinion you're better off not knowing.”
"I don't like this kind of thing," Sam objected, then asked, "Is anything dishonest involved?" Lord considered.”I suppose it's unethical-a lawyer might say borderline-illegal. But I assure you we're not stealing anything like another company's secrets.”
Sam still hesitated, and Lord reminded him, "I said I'd tell you if you wish.”
Sam shook his head.”Okay, you'll have the money. I'll authorize it.”
"When you do," Lord said carefully, "it would be best if as few people as possible were involved. I was thinking that Mrs. Jordan doesn't need to know.”
Sam said irritably, "I'll decide that.”
Then he conceded, "All right, she won't know.”
Lord was relieved. Celia Jordan had a way of asking penetrating questions. Also, she might disagree with what he proposed to do. Later the same day Vincent Lord received a company check. A voucher showed the amount to be reimbursement for "special travel expenses.”
Lord converted the check to cash before leaving Morristown for Washington, and had brought the cash with him to this bar. It was in a pocket of his jacket, in an envelope. A waiter came to the booth. His manner matched that of Redmond, whom he addressed as "Tony.”
Lord ordered himself a gin and tonic. "A nice place, don't you think?" Redmond observed when the waiter had gone.”It's considered chic. People who come here are mostly from government and the university.”
"I don't give a damn who comes here," Lord said.”Let me see those papers.”
Redmond countered with, "Did you bring the money?" Lord nodded curtly and waited. "I suppose I can trust you," Redmond said. There was a briefcase on the seat beside him which he opened; from it he removed a large manila envelope. He passed the envelope to Lord.”It's all in there.” Lord's drink arrived as he began to study the envelope's contents. He sipped twice while reading. Ten minutes later he looked across the table and said grudgingly, "You've been thorough.”
"Well," Redmond acknowledged, "that's the first nice thing you've said to me.”
His face creased in a knowing smile. Lord sat silently, weighing possibilities. The scenario concerning Dr. Gideon Mace was clear. Redmond had sketched in some of it during the phone talks. The papers Lord was reading explained the rest. It hinged on United States patent laws, generic drugs, and FDA procedures. Vincent Lord was familiar with all three. When the patent on any major pharmaceutical drug expirednormally seventeen years after patent registration-a number of small manufacturers sought to produce that drug in generic form, afterward selling it at a cheaper price than the originating company. When that happened, the cash rewards to a generic company could be counted in the millions. However, before any generic drug could be manufactured, application had to be made to the FDA, and approval given. This held true even if the same type of drug was already on the market, with FDA approval long since given to its original developer. The procedure by which a generic company was authorized to manufacture and sell a previously patented drug was known as an abbreviated new drug application-ANDA for short. For any important drug whose patent was about to run out, a dozen or more ANDA's, from different generic manufacturers, might be filed with FDA. And, as with regular NDA's, such as Felding-Roth's for Staidpace, ANDA processing took time. Exactly how FDA dealt with all of these ANDA's internally was never entirely clear, What was clear was that one approval was usually announced first. The others followed later, usually singly, sometimes at widely spaced intervals. Thus, the manufacturing company that was first to receive approval of an important ANDA had an enormous advantage over competitors, with the probability of matching rewards. Also if that company's stock happened to be traded, it could jump in value, sometimes doubling overnight. However, because small generic companies were not listed on major exchanges, such as the New York Stock Exchange, their shares were traded on the Over-the-Counter market. Thus while professional traders might notice a sudden price surge in an O-T-C stock, the public mostly didn't, and individual O-T-C stocks rarely garnered headlines in daily newspapers or The Wall Street Journal. For all these reasons it was a situation made to order for someone dishonest and "in the know.”
That same someone, aware of which generic company was about to receive approval of an ANDA, could make a lot of money quickly by buying the company's shares low before FDA made the ANDA announcement and selling them high immediately after. Dr. Gideon Mace, inside FDA and privy to confidential information, had done just that. Twice. The proof was in photocopies which Vincent Lord held in his hand. It was all there: -broker's "buy" and "sell" transaction slips on which the customer's name appeared as Marietta Mace. Lord had already learned from Redmond that this was Mace's spinster sister, obviously a stand-in for Mace as a precaution, but one which hadn't worked; -two dated FDA announcements of ANDA approvals affecting generic companies called Binvus Products and Minto Labs. Both names corresponded to shares described on the brokerage slips; -two cancelled checks of Gideon Mace's, payable to his sister and for the exact bottom-line amounts on the two brokerage "buy" ordem, -two bank statements belonging to Gideon R. Mace, showing large deposits shortly after the dates of the "sell" orders. Lord had done a quick penciled calculation on the envelope in front of him. Mace, after his sister had deducted what appeared to be a ten percent commission, had reaped a total net profit of some sixteen thousand dollars. Perhaps more. It was possible that Mace had done something similar, more often-this being something a criminal investigation would reveal. "Criminal" was the operative word. Precisely as Redmond had promised in his original phone call, if Dr. Mace were exposed, he would almost certainly go to jail. Lord had been about to ask Redmond how all the material was obtained, then changed his mind. The answer was not hard to guess. Most likely, Mace had kept everything in his desk at FDA, perhaps believing it to be a safer place than at home. But Redmond, who was clearly resourceful, could have found a way of getting into the desk in Maee's absence. Of course, Redmond must have had suspicions to begin with, but an overheard phone call would have been sufficient to set them off. How could Gideon Mace, Lord wondered, have been so incredibly stupid? Stupid in believing he could do what he had and not be caught. Stupid in trading shares in a name identical with his own, then keeping incriminating papers in a place where someone like Redmond could reach and copy them. But then, clever people often did foolish thing. Lord's thoughts were interrupted by Redmond's voice, petulant. "Well, do you want all that stuff? Do we do business, or don't we?" Without speaking, Lord reached into his jacket for the envelope containing the money and handed it to Redmond. The younger man lifted the envelope flap, which was unsealed. As he withdrew the cash and handled it, his eyes and face lighted with pleasure. "You'd better count it," Lord said. "I don't need to. You wouldn't cheat me. This is too important.”