"The good thing about this arrangement is that NWBO is not at the mercy of a company that may not be willing to work with their timeline and needs. So we don't have to worry about a manufacturer refusing to do what we need done when we need it done, and Linda can help oversee the quality of their work, as well."
"I can imagine what a nightmare it could have been for NWBO if BP or the shorts had yanked the strings of their manufacturer to turn them away at a critical moment. That kind of loyalty money can't buy."
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This is exactly how I see it. You look at the Phase V article, for example, and you know there is a force out there trying to ruin the company. Having mfg with a fully independent company just isn't an option, and never was if LP anticipated this kind of aggression.
That doesn't mean that any improper dealings between NWBO and Cognate are OK, but for me, it means I don't care about the small stuff.
As for why the two companies could not be one... I do think LP sees Cognate as the sure thing if immunotherapies are the future, while NWBO is the horse in the race, with an enormous possible payoff. I don't think that is a horrible attitude, I think it is just rational. Even from an ethical standpoint, if she can provide affordable mfg to immunotherapy companies, then she will have done something good. Pyrrhonian would gag at the sound of that given the apparent enormous cost per patient that Cognate has charged, but we do not know yet how much money went into automated mfg development, etc.. Again, I don't care about the small stuff, but the big stuff does matter, so I sure hope to hear some explanation for those costs someday soon.
How to rationalize the lack of transparency on the enormous $ to Cognate?
1) If LP spent a ton of $ on automated mfg development, and then such was not successful, that would look very bad. Not a great reason, but a reason.
2) Making such info public would help competitors strategize.
