Well, we should have seen this coming, right?
I mean there had to be a reason BTX shares were at 10-year lows, and that Adi Mohanty was replaced (funny his "transformative year" of 2018 only transformed his job.)
Frankly, I am glad to see Brian Culley come in and rip off the band-aids, instead of Adi's Everything is Awesome quarterly routine.
Does if hurt to know Premvia is likely toast? Sure. Are there a few safety concerns with OpRegen, yeah, but they seem manageable, and Culley seems to be tying up his fate up with that product, along with the Asterias products. (And considering how bold he has been so far, I wouldn't be surprised to see a few more interesting moves out of Culley ahead). I think you have to be encouraged that he chose BTX. This is a guy who has taken winners all the way, has more money than he needs, wants to keep his reputation in tact, and likely believes in BTX making it.
I like that he is making bold moves: new IR and emphasis on promoting the company, clearing the decks on Premvia, scooping up Asterias for a fraction of its former price, actually getting the AGE spinoff done.
He said as a CEO he likes to make decisions on reliable data, not gut feel. That he supports disciplined use of capital. And only lastly that he gets excited about clinical development on a day-to-day basis. He's going to run this business like a boss, not for the love of science. If there are any monetizable assets in this company, he is going to identify them, and push them hard. With no time/money for the rest. I think he's the right guy for the job. I can't say exactly which players made poor choices and when, and how this reflects on West, the Board of Directors or Adi Monhanty. But I can say the fairytale appears to be over. FWIW I prefer non-fiction anyway.
It will be interesting to see how much of this "bad news" was baked in to a stock that went from $5 to $4 to $3 to $2 each of the past 3 years. Sometimes once the worst is out, that's the best time to buy.......
