NorthWest Biotherapeutics Inc (NWBO)

[gnawkz]

Lets go back to the Apple example for a bit. Part of the reason why Apple was so brutally successful compared to their peers was their willingness to invest in their suppliers and provide capital for technology upgrades.

A number of Apple's suppliers received cash and other funding to purchase new or upgrade current equipment. Apple maintained ownership of all the equipment so the depreciation cost never hit their partner's P&L. As Apple owned the equipment, Apple was able to receive a far lower price for the services compared to it's peers. This was simply because their partners did not have to cover the high initial fixed costs. Thus, products and services were priced purely on marginal cost + margin.

NWBO investing in Cognate is similar to Apple's strategy in its early days before the iPhone took off. NWBO has ownership of the factory and land so that Cognate would have a clean balance sheet.

In the current stage of business, NWBO needs to focus on their product. Establishing a long term partner that can help them improve their product and operations is far more beneficial then looking for a partner that will produce DCVax-L & Direct for 10% cheaper costs.

I believe in order to drive long term success (assuming minimal capital constraints), a company must have a solid operational foundation, a highly desirable product, and a well thought-out long term strategy. After all of that, it is just a matter of time. NWBO has 2 of the 3, it just now needs to make it's product great.