Wilpharma
WilPharma was a major drug and pharmaceutical corporation that quietly rose to prominence towards the end of the 20th century as a major competitor in the field – second only to the Umbrella Corporation itself. They were a member of the Global Pharmaceutical Consortium and took advantage of Umbrella’s business suspension and stock collapse following Raccoon City to take over as the world’s leading pharmaceutical company.
They attracted major investment and political leverage with Senator Ron Davis who was a major WilPharma stock holder and special advisor. Davis was part of the special committee chaired by Derek Simmons that took the final decision to bomb Raccoon City and was also a friend of the President of the United States. But Davis’ relationship with WilPharma often attracted criticism as it was often seen as a conflict of interest with his political duties. WilPharma’s rise to power coincided with an exclusive relationship with the U.S. Government, who themselves were trying to regain public trust following the Raccoon incident.
Although WilPharma had no convert biological weapons program of its own, their acquisition of former Umbrella researcher Frederic Downing gave them exclusive access to the t-Virus several years before it was released illegally onto the black market. Downing had also stolen a sample of the G-Virus but this was shared with only a select few and its existence remained a secret within the company and even Ron Davis was unaware of its existence. But instead of creating biological weapons, WilPharma had honourable intentions and set about using their t-Virus samples to create a definitive t-Vaccine, a project with the potential to safeguard millions of lives. It would also win the corporation massive public support in an era of paranoia with the general public living in fear about the possible existence of illegal bio-organic weapons and deadly engineered virus strains. But despite this honourable goal, the hierarchy of WilPharma remained unaware of Frederic Downing’s true intentions. His plan was to sell the t-Virus on the black market, but he believed the virus would gain substantially more value if he could sell it as a set alongside a viable vaccine, and he needed WilPharma’s vast resources to create it. Once the t-Vaccine was complete, he planned to do the same for the even deadlier
G-Virus.
In 2002 WilPharma announced plans to develop a major new headquarters in the American mid-western town of Harvardville, a move they promised would generate thousands of jobs and revitalise the ailing economy of the town that had struggled financially throughout the 1990s. Ron Davis used his political influence to get the project approved which involved construction of a corporate headquarters and adjoining research facility in the surrounding valleys well away from any residential areas. However, the move attracted criticism from many local residents and also through TerraSave, a non-government affiliated organisation that campaigned for victims of bioterrorism. TerraSave’s activities against WilPharma was mainly restricted to peaceful protests and articles published on their website, but when the corporation’s move to Harvardville was formalised, Dr. Curtis Miller, a TerraSave member who lost his wife and daughter in Raccoon City, became more aggressive in his tactics and was eventually arrested for obstruction of business and expelled from the NGO. As work on the t-Vaccine continued, Frederic Downing secretly became a black market broker and had the idea of showcasing a demonstration to show the effectiveness of the t-Virus. He made contact with General Miguel Grande, leader of the Republic of Bajirib and a major sponsor of terror operations in India.
After staging several small outbreaks across India, the American government aided Indian authorities by authorising use of the in-development WilPharma vaccine. By administering it to neighbouring regions, they were soon able to minimise the spread of infection. The success of the t-Vaccine, even at this early stage, won WilPharma the trust of the American government and they signed a secret agreement with the Pentagon as part of a one billion dollar anti-bioterror program. These funds would be used to complete the t-Vaccine and pay for the new research facility in Harvardville.
Over the next several years, WilPharma officially became the world’s leading pharmaceutical conglomerate following the bankruptcy of Umbrella and they continued secret clinical trials of the t-Vaccine in India, where labour costs were cheaper and they could guarantee an abundance of human resources. The research led to inevitable human losses, but the U.S. Government covered up these incidents at the encouragement of Ron Davis who viewed the situation as a ‘necessary evil’ and declared there could be no future prosperity without sacrifice. Throughout this time WilPharma faced constant criticism from TerraSave who demanded the corporation release details of their secret clinical trials.
By 2005 the t-Vaccine was completed and only awaited federal approval. That same year also saw the completion of the research facility at Harvardville and a major press campaign was issued with the company CEO assuring the public that every possible precaution had been taken to ensure a catastrophe like the one suffered by Raccoon City was never repeated. The new headquarters was state of the art and located in the mountainous region some distance away from the city’s residential zones. Its distinguishing feature was a large Air dome. This new research complex would see WilPharma researchers work daily on many deadly viral strains including Ebola, Marburg, Smallpox, and Yellow Fever. Once settled, the company gained good local political standing and anyone looking to investigate WilPharma were politely warned off by the Chief of Police. The residents of Harvardville now admired the company and would not publicly criticise them through recognition they had brought hope and wealth to the once dying town. Accusing WilPharma of misdeeds in Harvardville was not a good idea. Likewise it was not a good place to live for those who dared to fight against them.
As the t-Vaccine awaited approval by the Food and Drug Administration, WilPharma stocks reached record levels. But in August that year, TerraSave obtained photographic evidence of WilPharma’s clinical trials in India and published the pictures on their homepage, showcasing innocent human suffering. They later appealed to the U.S. Government and warned that if they did not begin immediate investigations into WilPharma’s activities, they would appeal to the International Criminal Court. WilPharma’s stock took a sudden nose dive in the face of the accusations and the government began to hesitate about approving the t-Vaccine. As a compromise, WilPharma donated their supplies of the vaccine to the Strategic National Stockpile. In order to dodge the brunt of public opposition, Senator Davis desperately tried to hold a National Pharmaceutical Conference through the American Drug Association, but TerraSave were planning a major demonstration upon his arrival into Harvardville. Just as he was landing at the airport, a mysterious terrorist contacted the United States Government with a threat. The terrorist demanded that President Graham himself announce the truth behind the Raccoon City incident and the collusion with Umbrella that the government had concealed seven years before. If this demand was not met, the t-virus would be released all over the United States.
Taking the situation seriously, the government sent Agent Leon Kennedy to investigate, a person in whom the President had total trust ever since the Ashley Graham abduction incident. Events culminated in the airport being sealed off after a t-Virus biohazard was confirmed. At the same time, Frederic Downing had planned a unique demonstration of the G-Virus exclusively for General Grande using Curtis Miller as a pawn. The staging ground was WilPharma’s new research facility, but even Downing underestimated the power of the G-Virus and his own identity as the terrorist mastermind was revealed in the aftermath of G’s rampage. WilPharma stock tanked in light of these incidents and shortly afterwards Senator Davis was found dead in his office. With the company vulnerable and devoid of all public support, WilPharma were immediately bought out completely by mega-conglomerate Tricell Inc.
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