Moon – EM told shareholders at the AGM that the company doesn’t have a business plan. He stated having once paid someone $10K to write one but found it of no value. NO KIDDING. Why would a management hire a consultant to write its business plan – who knows more about the business, management or the consultant? You don’t create a business plan to put it on the shelf, but it (and its alterations) is used to guide the company’s activities. To me, the lack of a business plan, and the lack of having management with a demonstrable track record of achievement, is the primary reason the company struggles with raising funds. But, Ed has bought into the narrative, an excuse illustrated at the AGM, that “silicon valley” won’t invest because MZEI is public versus private. Since MZEI’s legal status can’t be argued, in his mind, his lack of performance is absolved. Tell that to the innumerable public companies raising billions annually, but I suspect the executives at these companies leave their homes and go to the office each day.
It’s not surprising that Xenex is proactively engaged with the NIH (government) so as to demonstrate the value of their technology. Understand that government pays approximately 65% ($1.9T in 2013) of the healthcare bill in the US and given the rising public ire over the cost of healthcare, has a vested interest in lowering costs. If you apply a proportional allocation of the $43B annual HAI cost (CDC #s), the government spends about 1.5% of its healthcare budget on HAIs. When we have government healthcare (a one-payer system advocated by the Democrats or a de facto government healthcare system based upon who is paying the bill), government is in the position of creating policy and regulation mandating the use of technology to lower costs and improve health. They should do so when the technology demonstrates the savings. Because it will take time to make such determinations, Moon, I expect you are right in assessing that adoption of the technology may well be slow.
Rather than recognizing these realities three years ago, when the first production units rolled off the line, and begin to do the work of trials, MZEI was about conducting research on a variety of alternative applications which may, but likely won’t, mean one iota to the valuation shareholders might receive. This lack of focus is a natural outcome of an undirected management, a management admitting to having no plan.
I agree with what 17yearman posted about the structure of MZEI’s BOD and the seeming inability of 2 qualified BOD members to influence and implement proven business concepts. Recognition of the road block on the BOD was motivational for seeking an age limit on BOD members. Since that proposal failed to gain sufficient support, in my view, until Dr. Shannon comes to realize that his life’s work, the saving of lives, is being hamstrung by unqualified management, there will be no change (apart from a health driven event mandating such). I expect that Mike has high hopes that the CA test will launch MZEI into the public eye, and it may well gain some notoriety. But, he must also attempt to challenge his loyalty to Ed with the reality that notoriety is insufficient to progress the company. The company needs competent leadership.
