In his author’s note, le Carré claimed that nobody and no corporation in the novel was based on an actual person or corporation in the real world.

–– "But I can tell you this. As my journey through the pharmaceutical jungle progressed, I came to realize that, by comparison with the reality, my story was as tame as a holiday postcard." ––

It seems to me that no one apart from the incomparable Orson Welles could capture the full wicked charisma of Harry Lime. No matter how many times I watch the scene, I still marvel at the demonic charm with which he delivered his lines.

https://petermcculloughmd.substack.com/p/the-film-scene-that-foretold-our