The aspire deal does have some attractive features to it. It's a sure thing and it's at the time of the Leo's choosing. I'm speculating here but if Leo is a big believer in recent results, as I know he is, it's possible that he may expect a large run up in the next six months or so and is using the PIPE to bridge the time frame for that expectation while planning to use the existing Aspire agreement to raise capital at a much higher share price. The press releases have stated repeatedly that they expect 2017 to be the year of partnerships, that partnership interest has never been greater, so I view this recent tiny offering like i would a bridge loan to what might be 100 million dollar capital raise from the existing Aspire deal at maybe $5 to $10 or higher with the right partnership and great results from soon to be completed trials. That would allow the co to accept BP partnership offers with less cash up front but with greater milestone payments and a higher % of future revenue. At the very least and not speculation this small funding buys time which IMO equates to leeway for CTIX to negotiate a better partnership than it otherwise would.
I also would speculate that because the OM and P trials are double blind the attending physicians involved in them read to PR's to gain insight into the potential benefit to their patients. As there are no other trials out there that have had such encouraging results, both in the clinic and pre-clinical, It follows that they are excited about the results and that enrollment is speeding up as they share what they know with patients and they eagerly sign up to avoid the nasty side effects of OM. I suspect there are more than enough willing patients for the very small 3rd cohort of the UP trial.
