Ayala Pharmaceuticals Inc (ADXS)

[equaloppforall]

To be honest, I am not surprised by this development.

If we think about it, the President of the US is evaluated on performance every 4 years (actually less than that if you subtract campaign time). How was the ship of state, which is by every measure about 10,000 times larger than any speculative biotech and more complex, guided during that period? Have we progressed in a manner that 'feels' like progress in a tangible way? By this measure, it is hard to argue that Dan did a good job.

It is true that he did a fine job in advancing ADXS clinically and capitalizing it comfortably by aligning with reputed institutions. It is also true that ADXS has been and continues to be the target of manipulation of a magnitude that I had rarely seen before (except perhaps Dandreon and Mannkind). But the buck stops with the leader, in the sense that the only way out of this manipulation is to deliver the kind of catalysts that would rid the company of these parasites. It is in this aspect that Dan had failed to deliver.

While running a spec biotech is not the same as gambling, I would still draw a parallel here. You don't 'go for broke' by doubling down on a go it alone strategy, no matter how confident you are about the science. Unforeseen events happen, like the unfair clinical hold. Or the biotech macro environment worsens suddenly preventing capital raises at desirable prices, meaning larger stock dilutions.

But with all this said, the company appears to be in good shape in every way beside the share price. Let's hope the new CEO delivers decisively and decimates these short manipulators. Good luck to all of us!