David02835: Malcolm and his friends have chosen a certain path toward what they hope is tremendous success. The path is very conservative....do not sell out to venture capital, do not borrow money, and proceed slowly as they bring in enough money from private placements (at a discount) to keep the show going. They hope to sell enough shares to raise enough money to pay their salaries and build synDNA production modules. Once they have enough production capacity they hope to sell enough synDNA to fund the studies needed to develop their own therapeutic compounds. It is a conservative approach, but it seems to be working for now. They only need $10 million dollars to complete the synDNA modules AND complete all their pre-clinical work on Simplivir toward filing and IND. For a topical herpes treatment there should not be much of a problem enrolling herpes sufferers in a trial...there are certainly enough of them. A Phase I and II study could be completed in a couple of years. The end points are clear...remission of lesions and lack of recurrence for Simplivir vs. placebo. Side effects are bound to be minimal. The product, if effective, could be a large money maker worldwide. But there are companies working on a herpes vaccine. What good is an effective treatment going to be if it takes 20 years to get it to market and a vaccine has beat us to the market? Time is of the essence in the pharmaceutical industry. Windows of opportunity can close quickly. Patents expire, new drugs are developed, etc. CYGX can become a successful synDNA supplier and make a moderate amount of money. To become a real pharmaceutical company that sells its own end-use products will take a more dynamic, and risky, approach.
