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Have you even done any research into any of the claims in the report?
I don't believe for a second that with the investigation underway and the current level of scrutiny that Les or any other insider is going to offer any clues about what is going on. Not the first time certain folks have posted their supposed conversations with Les. Total BS!!
I am curious why some of the staunch longs haven't tried to debunk the phase 5 report. Maybe some have and encountered what I did. That a lot of the report appears to be valid. Evidently Woodford thought so too.
Nice to see the GBM Agile initiative gaining some traction. With the recent political support of Vice President Joe Biden, the backing of the FDA, and a strong coalition of experts, I expect we will see some groundbreaking and rapid progress in the research and treatment of GBM during the coming year. Wonderful news for GBM patients!!
http://blog.braintumor.org/gbm-agile-a-community-galvanized/
Yes, and the notion that it would actually accomplish anything is absolutely ridiculous. Someone usually throws out the idea every few months or so and someone else will recycle it after a while. Typical MB nonsense that you usually see on the YMB and here.
Does anyone here have any experience with an investigation similar to what NWBO will be conducting? I know the PR indicated it will be "at least" 90 days and I am always leery of LP's stated timelines. Just wondering if we should expect closer to the 90 day mark (sometime next March) or 4 - 6 months (or longer?).
Based on recent cash burn, it will be very tight to stretch current funding until the investigation is complete and I don't see anyone stepping up to the plate for a financing while the investigation is ongoing. If they need to conserve cash, should we expect all Direct phase 2 prep work to move to the back burner (I think so, but would like to hear other opinions)? Also, the site preparation for L that was referred to in the recent shelf, do they suspend that as well? What about the construction project in Swaston, which is likely very capital intensive? Do they basically put everything on hold at this point to conserve cash until the investigation is finished to make payroll and other operational expenses? How much of a setback/delay will the investigation cause for all of the current initiatives? Just a few of the questions I am mulling over right now.
Then please explain why he was buying shares in the open market above $10. How does that action fit into his strategy of trying to milk every last share possible at the lowest price?
Exactly. But some would rather believe that everything is a conspiracy.
Very true.
Thanks Senti. I agree that the current board members are not conflict free and I believe that is why NW wanted a new board member to lead the internal investigation. I don't need to beat this horse anymore. The decision has been made.
I'm not here hoping for the share price to go up a little so I can make a few bucks and cash out. I accepted this level of risk (and continue to do so) because I want to be part of a breakthrough in cancer treatment. I am uncertain if the current management team can get us there. Hopefully I'm wrong.
Sleeper account? Really? Are you just tryig to P me off so I quit posting? Can I stay if I start spinning stuff in a positive direction. It's okay TZOR. Everything is progressing right on schedule. Don't worry about the partial clinical hold, or where they are going to find money to begin multiple trials for Direct, or how they will finish preparation of clinical sites, or how they will pay to complete the huge renovation of Swaston, or if they will be able to keep the lights on over the coming months. or the multiple pending lawsuits among all of Linda's various companies. Everything's rosy and LP is a genius.
You don't need to appoint board directors to investigate allegations of fraud from an ANONYMOUS sources.
It's clearly what NW wanted and requested. Probably so that someone with financial and compliance experience could immediately work on controls and measures to strengthen any areas of weakness going forward.
After the Ondra debacle, NW had no choice but to take hat in hand and go along with Linda's alternative plan. We'll see just how confident and happy he is in a few weeks when they need another 30 million for the next quarter.
I was only responding to some of the comments to my original messages. This is a MB after all. I would love nothing more than to have all of my concerns resolved in short order. What worries me the most is that we valid disruptive technology, but it won't ever see the light of day due to management missteps. Why didn't Linda properly review the Ondra folks before releasing all of the confidential information?
NW wanted the individual leading the investigation to be a new appointment on the bod. Anyone with half a brain can understand why. No I don't agree that a company should use their existing audit and risk committee to investigate allegations or issues concerning items that should have been detected and prevented by the audit and risk committee. Basically auditing your own work and prior decisions. Maybe they will lean on the external lawyers, but I am skeptical.
Why the personal attacks? Is it because I haven't been as bullish the last few days? Do my public questions and concerns upset you? I haven't sold yet but I'm thinking about it. Did you notice the L trial is still in a partial clinical hold as of yesterday? Why use that language if the trial is complete? Have you considered they may be short of full enrollment and unable to enroll more patients due to this partial clinical hold? How long will this continue? Will it ever be lifted? Why aren't institutions buying at these extremely depressed levels? Have you asked yourself these questions?
Have you not read the entire PR?
"the Special Committee is comprised of independent Directors Mr. Jerry Jasinowski and Mr. Robert Farmer."
And
"we have selected accomplished, experienced, respected and fully independent parties to assist us in the investigation."
There was a reason NW wanted to person leading the investigation to be on the bod. Maybe you don't understand why? Do you acknowledge they have not made a bod appointment yet and have clearly made that a totally separate initiative apart from the investigation? Do you admit this is different than the original investigation proposal from NW?
Two current directors, who previously comprised the audit and risk committee, will be "investigating" their own company, boss, and maybe even transactions they have signed approval of. I wonder how much external "assistance" they will request. I'm very surprised that with your acumen in accounting you don't see a problem. Look I know I've been pretty negative lately. I really feel like this while thing might be unraveling right before our eyes. It's hard to swallow after all the years of believing.
I think Linda made the decision that she had to regarding Ondra. This whole thing is the most bizarre story I've ever seen. I'm just uncomfortable with the shift in focus away from the internal governance concerns. So what if they find several hedge funds that sold short and manipulated the stock. I hate it with a passion, but I am doubtful that any justice would ever come of it.
Manipulation happens all the time and regulators consistently turn a blind eye. Even the deep capture and crew reports haven't been able to generate any action. How is proving manipulation and short selling going to help us secure future financing or create additional value. That's what NW wanted Ondra to provide and it's a gap he obviously wanted to address. I was hopeful they could help. Well the issue still exists and today LP eliminated my hope for a remedy of the problem in the near future. Have you looked at a chart lately? I'm starting to wonder if nwbo will be able to survive this.
So you are claiming they pulled "stuff" from the website. But there isn't proof of the before and after? I looked at the website then and now and can't tell a difference. How are you so sure?
"Such a scenario would make it seem fairly easy for consulting firm B to dupe a very large billionaire investor who must delegate and trust his subordinates and consultants." - Flipper
The 'Woodford is unable to conduct proper DD and is easily dupped' argument actually supports the theory that maybe a certain analyst working as a director for NWBO, while simultaneously recommending NWBO, and receiving a transfer of millions of shares to a company created under his wife's name conveniently at that time, also dupped NW.
In all fairness, it is entirely possible the millions of shares were completly unrelated (I certainly hope so). My point is that you can't have Woodford with a stringent DD vetting process with something like the science, but then twist it into "easy to dupe" in order to achieve some far fetched scenario.
Were you around for the financings pre-Woodford? Yes, I agree other investors will jump in. They are called vulture capitalists and would love nothing more than to finish off nwbo. Shares at a discount with 100% + warrant coverage. That's all it would take.
Holy crap! A light bulb just went on. All of these connections exist and it is all part of an interconnected network of players working together against nwbo. Linda knows this and plans to expose the whole thing. She will then sell the movie rights to a major producer for a huge sum of money which will enable her to finance completion of the L and multiple direct trials. It's been her plan all along and she just outsmarted everyone. They fell right into her trap. Checkmate!!
Or, and I know this is hard to fathom, maybe it's somehow much less complicated.
At first blush it does appear that Linda did everything requested. So what's the big deal, right?
Well, we know that Woodford requested the appointment of Leary to the BOD to head up an investigation into the Phase 5 report. That was the big news a couple of weeks ago, remember? We were finally going to have an independent investigation, led by a new director not affiliated with NWBO during prior years when certain activities in question may have occurred, to clear the air of all the allegations of impropriety and malpractice. Great news, we can finally put certain concerns to bed forever. Eliminate those things the spinsters love in their aresonal.
Well, today we learned that NWBO is on top of it. They acted swiftly just as Linda promised and created a special committee to conduct this investigation. So have they appointed an independent party to the bod to lead the charge as Woodford requested? Umm..uh...err..well...no. But don't worry the special committee doesn't need to wait for that. They'll get started right away. These fraud detectors won't leave any stone unturned in pursuit of the truth. Wait, isn't this special committee comprised solely of two current nwbo directors, who have been employed by NWBO for years? (yes I know the law firm will "assist") Linda probably signs their checks. What motivation do they have to disrupt their current paid positions? Oh well, no worries, I'm sure it's just what NW had in mind. Nothing to worry about.
Maybe my view of this is much too cynical. It does make me very uncomfortable that LP seems to be thumbing her nose at Woodford. What do you think happens if Woodford bails, pal?
Do you agree that LP and NW appear to currently be at odds and are taking shots (with gloves on) at each other though public forums.
Haha, oops! Hate it when autocorrect results in a misspelling and takes the zing right out of a statement.
It is clear we have a rat in our midst! We must find it and destroy it before any more damage is done. Oh wait anyone can sign up for that mailing list...nevermind
After reading the PR's from today a couple of things are very apparent. NW wanted an internal investigation into all of the Phase 5 allegations and wanted Leary to head that effort. Linda has not only rejected his recommendation, but she has also deflected the internal investigation and will instead hire folks to look outward with a focus on stock manipulation. It is exactly what I expected. I have zero confidence in this management team and I believe Neil Woodford shares this opinion.
Here are a few things that a few of the most vocal bulls around here have postulated recently:
The Phase V report is completely bogus and should not be addressed or acknowledged by NWBO. In reality - NW calls for an investigation into the allegations.
NW, Linda, and Ondra are working together to increase value and strategize a way forward. In reality - NW and LP engage in a public pissing match. LP snubs Woodfords request and is unwilling to conduct an internal investigation. She will instead focus on short sellers.
L trial has completed enrollment, it's a done deal. In reality - PR from today clearly states the Direct Phase 1 trial has completed enrollment and that the L trial is currently under a PARTIAL CLINICAL HOLD.
Some folks are either internationally posting incorrect theories/speculation, or are just consistently miles away from the truth or reality of the situation.
I agree with everything you said.
"One question that I have is what damage can she and ONDRA do with those documents, even if they are perfectly legitimate documents?"
Please don't intentionally spread FUD or give F-stein his next article.
I agree that it is a conflict of interest and it has been dealt with. To imply that she was intentionally implanted as a spy with a specific purpose is unfounded. Woodford recommended Ondra and would not intentionally sabatoge his 180m investment.
Wow! On one hand we blast Phase V for unfounded allegations. And on the other we spew unfounded attacks on people we don't know and imply wrongdoing without regard. Very disappointed in many of the long's comments today. Linda Powers recent decisions are an obvious attempt to distract and deflect the real concerns of Neil Woodwell, one of the most respected investors on the planet.
I really can't believe what I am reading. NWBO wouldn't exist today without Woodford. He invested 180 million when noone else would take the risk. He has done everything possible to save nwbo from certain bankruptcy and to look out for all shareholders by first investing and then investigating allegations and claims into the company. When NWBO has to cease operations due to lack of financing, I will remind you of just how well this management team and CEO has served all of us owners. You can applaud LP all the way to 0.00. Your posts are truly unbelievable!!
If you subtract the cash on hand, BLUE is still worth more than twice that of nwbo. Even with Blue's disappointing results. Nwbo is now under 400M market cap.
I'm pretty sure we have a long wait ahead for any positive news. Still no word on the BOD appointment. Evidently Linda's "rapid and quickly" means several weeks.
Wonder where the next financing will come from? I don't think NW is willing to buy more until the investigation is complete.
Once again, financing my be our biggest short term threat. How many times have we said that? I keep asking myself why Linda didn't complete a large financing this summer in double digits to raise enough $ to see L through to completion instead of continuing this quarter to quarter nonsense. Evidently she prefers living paycheck to paycheck. Or better yet, not paying her bills at all, as several lawsuits have claimed. UGH!!
I keep thinking some of the recent events may entail a lot more than what has been speculated on this mb. I have often wondered what an exit plan would look like.
Down 8%+ with no news. How low do we go in the coming weeks? 3's, 2's? Seems just like yesterday people were recommending to buy the dips. How's this 70% dip, dip?? Haha, go big or go home. Let's get this investigation underway already!
http://www.fusfoundation.org/news/129-press-room/1677-blood-brain-barrier-opened-non-invasively-with-focused-ultrasound-for-the-first-time
"Opening the blood-brain barrier in a localized region to deliver chemotherapy to a tumor is a predicate for utilizing focused ultrasound for the delivery of other drugs, DNA-loaded nanoparticles, viral vectors, and antibodies to the brain to treat a range of neurological conditions, including various types of brain tumors"
To my non-scientific mind it would seem this might open up a totally new realm of treatment possibilities. We may finally see some major breakthroughs in the fight against brain cancer. Very exciting! Maybe a cure is actually within reach in the next few years.
Another article
The star investor’s bet on a miracle drug brought low by short seller
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/the-star-investor-s-bet-on-a-miracle-drug-brought-low-by-short-seller-a6761401.html
Quote from a 'company spokesperson'
“Phase Five’s allegations are misleading and defamatory and should not be relied on.”
Interesting article in thesundaytimes.co.uk.
Cenkos crisis deepens with Quindell link
Broker caught up in Woodford biotech row embroiled in outsourcer’s fraud probe...
http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/business/Companies/article1641429.ece
Yes sir! I am very happy to see any patient cancer free by any means possible.
"I pasted this a few days ago on Ivillage, but the format is difficult for me to navigate here. So, I'm posting the link instead. It tracks the rather remarkable increasing institutional ownership shares since October 2014." - Flipper
Flipper, I reviewed the information you posted regarding the institutional ownership increase. From what I can tell, the information from CNBC (and even Morningstar) is misleading because it includes the Cognate and Toucan ownership. I prefer to count those as "insider shares" and use the Nasdaq institutional holdings summary as it excludes them.
Nasdaq:
as of 3/31/14: 57M Shares Outstanding - Inst. Ownership 12.8%
as of 9/30/15: 92M Shares Outstanding - Inst. Ownership 14.4% (Exc. NW)
as of 9/30/15: 92M Shares Outstanding - Inst. Ownership 36.5% (Inc. NW)
So, was it Woodford's addition to the institutional ownership that you found to be remarkable? Any other increase in the numbers you pulled represent the additional shares issued to Cognate over the last year.
It seems there are too many unknown variables at this time to complete this exercise. For instance; the final cost of treatment, the reimbursement amount that would be approved by insurance on multiple continents and the timing of such approvals, royalties?, market penetration, final share count at time of approval (Branko's is understated IMO) just to name a few. If L were to receive FDA AA, my estimate is an initial jump up to somewhere in the $15-$30 range. The probability of a short squeeze is extremely low IMO. My assumption is that the short positions are well hedged.