原文標(biāo)題：
Medical research
Health is wealth
A front-row seat for the race to develop a blockbuster drug
醫(yī)學(xué)研究
健康就是財(cái)富
前排觀看特效藥研發(fā)競(jìng)賽

“For Blood and Money” charts a race to develop a blockbuster drug
Nathan Vardi’s book brings to life a contest between two pharmaceutical firms
《為了血與錢(qián)》講述了一場(chǎng)研發(fā)特效藥的競(jìng)賽
內(nèi)森·瓦爾迪的書(shū)把兩家制藥公司之間的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)故事描繪得很生動(dòng)

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FEW SCIENTIFIC endeavours are more lucrative than developing a blockbuster drug—or a blockbuster vaccine.

成功開(kāi)發(fā)一種特效藥物或特效疫苗可以賺得盆滿缽滿，沒(méi)有什么科學(xué)研究能與之媲美。

Lipitor, Pfizer’s cholesterol-lowering medication, is reputed to have made the company more than $160bn.

據(jù)稱降膽固醇藥物“立普妥”為輝瑞公司帶來(lái)了1600多億美元的收入。

Advair, an asthma drug, has earned tens of billions of dollars for GSK (formerly GlaxoSmithKline).

哮喘藥物“舒利迭”為葛蘭素史克公司賺了數(shù)百億美元。

And BioNTech, a firm few people had heard of before the covid-19 pandemic, has made billions from its mRNA vaccine.
新冠之前很少有人聽(tīng)說(shuō)過(guò)“必恩泰”公司，而mRNA疫苗為該公司賺了數(shù)十億美元。

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Naturally, pharmaceutical companies—and, these days, venture capitalists and hedge funds—are always searching for the next wonder drug.
順理成章地，制藥公司--以及近期的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)投資家和對(duì)沖基金--一直在尋找下一個(gè)特效藥。

Nathan Vardi’s new book is a fascinating look at the quest to develop a new drug for blood cancer that targets only cancerous cells and not the healthy kind.
內(nèi)森·瓦爾迪的新書(shū)對(duì)此進(jìn)行探究：研發(fā)一種僅針對(duì)癌細(xì)胞而非健康細(xì)胞的抗血癌新藥。

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“For Blood and Money” follows two small biotech firms in California, Pharmacyclics and Acerta Pharma, as they try to capture the market for a drug to treat chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow.
《為了血液與金錢(qián)》講述了加州兩家小型生物技術(shù)公司Pharmacyclics和Acerta Pharma的故事，他們都在爭(zhēng)搶治療慢性淋巴細(xì)胞白血?。ㄒ环N血液和骨髓癌）的藥物市場(chǎng)。

The technique involves inhibiting the activity of Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK), an enzyme that regulates chemical signals inside some white blood cells.
藥物可以抑制布魯頓酪氨酸激酶（BTK）的活性，BTK是一種可以調(diào)節(jié)某些白細(xì)胞內(nèi)化學(xué)信號(hào)的酶。

Mr Vardi explains the science behind BTK inhibitors and shows how they became an attractive tool for cancer treatment.
瓦爾迪先生解釋了BTK抑制劑背后的科學(xué)原理，并展示了癌癥治療工具是如何煉成的。

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The corporate drama begins with Pharmacyclics. The author introduces Bob Duggan, a successful entrepreneur who invests in the company, quickly wrests control from its founder and becomes CEO.
這部商戰(zhàn)劇從Pharmacyclics公司開(kāi)始。作者介紹了一位名叫鮑勃·達(dá)根的成功企業(yè)家，他對(duì)這家公司進(jìn)行了投資后迅速?gòu)膭?chuàng)始人手中奪回了控制權(quán)，成為了該公司CEO。

Mr Duggan sacks a couple of key employees, who wind up at another biotech startup, Acerta. There they try to develop a rival drug that is also based on a BTK inhibitor. The race is on.
達(dá)根先生解雇了幾名關(guān)鍵員工，這些員工最終入職了另一家生物技術(shù)初創(chuàng)公司Acerta。他們?cè)贏certa公司努力研發(fā)一種同樣基于BTK抑制劑的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)藥物。于是，商業(yè)競(jìng)賽開(kāi)始了。

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The technicolour cast of characters includes medical researchers, doctors, scientologists and New York financiers.
商戰(zhàn)劇有各種各樣的角色，包括醫(yī)學(xué)研究人員、醫(yī)生、山達(dá)基教徒、紐約金融家。

Readers become acquainted with their personal ambitions, egos and quirks, and the intrigue and politics of their rivalries.
讀者會(huì)熟悉他們的個(gè)人志向、自負(fù)和怪癖，以及競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手們的陰謀和政治手段。

Mr Vardi also lays out the slow, complicated process for the approval of drugs in America, overseen by the Food and Drug Administration, and the cold calculations of big pharmaceutical firms as they assess whether to invest in a new product.
瓦爾迪先生還闡明了兩件事：美國(guó)食品與藥物管理局監(jiān)督下藥品審批過(guò)程中的繁文縟節(jié)，以及大型制藥公司在評(píng)估是否投資新產(chǎn)品時(shí)的冷計(jì)算。

In the middle of it all are the patients, often elderly and desperate for a cure.
病人是競(jìng)賽的核心部分，他們往往是年紀(jì)大、渴望得到治愈的病人。

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A financial journalist, Mr Vardi knows the world of venture capital intimately, and is at his strongest when writing about the financial aspects of deals.
瓦爾迪先生是一名財(cái)經(jīng)記者，非常了解風(fēng)投領(lǐng)域，因此他最擅長(zhǎng)撰寫(xiě)交易與財(cái)務(wù)方面的文章。

He delves into his characters’ backgrounds and recreates meetings and events in detail; the contest between Pharmacyclics and Acerta comes alive.
他深入研究了人物的背景，使會(huì)議和事件的細(xì)節(jié)重見(jiàn)天日；Pharmacyclics和Acerta之間的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)變得生動(dòng)起來(lái)。

His efforts to present the story as a real-life thriller generate pace, even if the approach sometimes feels formulaic.
他努力將故事寫(xiě)成現(xiàn)實(shí)生活的驚悚版本，盡管這種方式有時(shí)會(huì)讓人覺(jué)得走流程，但仍能加快故事節(jié)奏。

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The story has a happy ending. The race ends up producing not one but two cancer drugs, Imbruvica from Pharmacyclics and Calquence from Acerta.
故事有一個(gè)美好的結(jié)局。這場(chǎng)競(jìng)賽最終結(jié)果產(chǎn)生了2種抗癌藥物，即Pharmacyclics公司的Imbruvica和Acerta公司的Calquete。

Both are effective and become blockbusters. The prices are dauntingly steep, but tens of thousands of patients benefit.
兩種藥都有效，且風(fēng)靡一時(shí)。價(jià)格高得嚇人，但數(shù)以萬(wàn)計(jì)的患者受益。

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As, royally, do the backers of the two drugs.
當(dāng)然，這兩種藥物的投資者也因此暴富。

Mr Duggan’s own total investment of $50m in Pharmacyclics yields $3.5bn, Mr Vardi reports. (The firm was bought by AbbVie in 2015.)
瓦爾迪報(bào)告稱，達(dá)根先生對(duì)Pharmacyclics投資的5000萬(wàn)美元產(chǎn)出了35億美元。（2015年該公司被AbbVie收購(gòu)。）

Imbruvica, which became available first—marketed jointly with Johnson & Johnson—generated over $5bn in revenues in 2021 alone.
Imbruvica藥先上市--與強(qiáng)生公司聯(lián)合營(yíng)銷(xiāo)--僅2021年就創(chuàng)造了50多億美元的收益。

Astra Zeneca took a majority stake in Acerta in 2016; their drug Calquence brought in more than a billion dollars in 2021 too.
2016年，阿斯利康持有Acerta的多數(shù)股權(quán)；他們的藥物Calquence在2021也帶來(lái)了10億美元以上的收益。

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This high-risk method for finding a new cancer treatment certainly works.
這種尋找新的癌癥治療方法風(fēng)險(xiǎn)高但確實(shí)有效。

Yet the reader is left with a nagging question. Is this testosterone-fuelled, profit-driven process really the best way to develop life-saving drugs?
然而，讀者難免會(huì)有困惑：這種靠荷爾蒙驅(qū)動(dòng)、利潤(rùn)驅(qū)動(dòng)的過(guò)程真的是研發(fā)救命藥的最佳方式嗎？

（恭喜讀完，本篇英語(yǔ)詞匯量603左右）
原文出自：2023年1月14日《The Economist》Culture版塊。

精讀筆記來(lái)源于：自由英語(yǔ)之路

本文翻譯整理: Irene

本文編輯校對(duì): Irene
僅供個(gè)人英語(yǔ)學(xué)習(xí)交流使用。

【補(bǔ)充資料】（來(lái)自于網(wǎng)絡(luò)）
內(nèi)森·瓦爾迪(Nathan Vardi)的新書(shū)《為了血與錢(qián)》(For Blood and Money)中，他講述了這兩種小分子化合物如何從默默無(wú)聞中被拯救出來(lái)，并在一夜之間讓投資者變成億萬(wàn)富翁的有趣而不可思議的故事。Imbruvica作為首個(gè)布魯頓酪氨酸激酶（BTK）抑制劑，于2013年在美國(guó)上市后，一年內(nèi)便成為銷(xiāo)售額增長(zhǎng)最快的抗腫瘤藥物之一。在大型制藥公司手中，Imbruvica和Calquence已經(jīng)成為有史以來(lái)最成功的藥物之一。
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【重點(diǎn)句子】（3?個(gè)）
FEW SCIENTIFIC endeavours are more lucrative than developing a blockbuster drug—or a blockbuster vaccine.
成功開(kāi)發(fā)一種特效藥物或特效疫苗可以賺得盆滿缽滿，沒(méi)有什么科學(xué)研究能與之媲美。

Readers become acquainted with their personal ambitions, egos and quirks, and the intrigue and politics of their rivalries.
讀者會(huì)熟悉他們的個(gè)人志向、自負(fù)和怪癖，以及競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手們的陰謀和政治手段。

Both are effective and become blockbusters. The prices are dauntingly steep, but tens of thousands of patients benefit.
兩種藥都有效，且風(fēng)靡一時(shí)。價(jià)格高得嚇人，但數(shù)以萬(wàn)計(jì)的患者受益。