I agree, this is not a pump and dump. I'm not sure many, if any, of the skeptics here have made that assertion. Kind of hard to label a development and approval process that has been going on now for more than 20 years a pump and dump. On the other hand, I believe that management has known for some time that the trial failed to meet its pre-defined targeted endpoints, but they have nonetheless chosen to keep the trial going and have chosen to keep raising money.
It should be obvious to everyone that the trial did not meet its targets because if it had met its targets, I think everyone here would agree (unless they are disingenuous) that the company would have blasted that news across every PR news wire in the world. The fact that they have not issued such a press release is an extremely powerful indicator, except to those in utter denial, that not only has the trial failed but that they know it failed. They also have not announced that the trial failed, even though they are required to do so as soon as that fact becomes known.
At the same time, they have continued to pay themselves salaries that place them in the top one percent of income earners in the United States. Also at the same time, shareholders of five years (or even less) have seen the value of their investment decline by approximately 95 percent. They have now successfully convinced most of the posters on this message board that the original terms of the Phase III trial no longer matter, and that they will be seeking approval of DCVax-L based on a whole new set of criteria. I hope that works out. I seriously do for the sake of my investment, but I see it as a pie-in-the-sky long shot.
Just last week they issued an 8-K stating they are converting all preferred shares to common - a move often seen before companies announce a buyout or merger. But as you all will see in due time, this move was just another distraction. I can promise you that no one is buying this company. It was another desperation move to pump the stock price, which had only days before begun a precipitous decline and was quite seriously on the verge of collapse.
So no, while I would not call this operation a pump and dump, I would call it a less-than-genuine scheme that continues to benefit a few at the expense of common shareholders. At this point, I just don't see how anyone can see it otherwise.
