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Pierre Frot, Claudine Jouannelle

Blockbuster Publication date : May 15, 2008

Mueller KG is a leading pharmaceutical laboratory in a highly lucrative market — the treatment of erectile dysfunctions. As soon as their product, Siturex, hit the market, it became one of the major blockbusters of all time, with an annual turnover of over one billion euros.

A rival laboratory, Cortalis, is now planning to launch a new product that will be in direct competition with Siturex. But the project goes awry, following the sudden death of several participants during the final clinical tests.

Something strange is going on. Maybe the patients did not die from side effects caused by the medication. Perhaps someone had access to the samples given to the human guinea pigs. Who stood to gain from their deaths? Mueller KG, Cortalis' competitor? It seems too easy…

Marie, a medical student and the fiancée of one of the victims, is determined to find out the truth, with the help of a friend. While Marie infiltrates the factory in Munich, where the medication is produced, her friend infiltrates the religious sect that is suspected of being behind the deaths.

Economic wars, industrial espionage, ruthless strategies, complex plots and manipulation: the pharmaceutical industry is a cutthroat business. Its inside workings are revealed to us in this well-documented scientific thriller. When a group of religious fundamentalists comes onto the scene, the fun really begins…

A breathtaking chase that takes us from Paris to Munich to New York.

Pierre Frot is an international business management consultant, most notably for the pharmaceutical industry. He lives in Germany.

Claudine Jouanelle is a senior manager in a large international corporation. She lives in the United States.

Blockbuster is their first novel.