Dr. Liau as the principal investigator needs to be circumspect. Essentially she is the inventor of DC VAX and gushing praise from her would be highly unprofessional. After all, what did professionals Dr. Hojo or Dr. Allison say about CIs(Opdivo) prior to receiving the Nobel?
I believe LL said it all when she stated that DC VAX is her greatest achievement. She would not have been the spokesman for updated info at SNO where she received an award if she did not see efficacy in a clinical environment. She is a professional and it is highly meaningful when she says that all patients seem to be living longer. That is as far as she goes prior to unblinding/approval. Further, 69 doctors signing on to the publication speaks volumes--at least to me. Dr. Ashkan, the lead PI in the UK, could not contain his enthusiasm for the vaccine. He has witnessed it in a clinical setting. He is not an idiot and backing some snake oil blended with grapefruit juice elixir. Why risk his reputation on something like this if he were not reasonably convinced about its efficacy from what he has seen?
There are certainly some physicians who are skeptical. Drs. Stupp and Fine come immediately to mind. However, and essentially, their arguments are based upon prematurely releasing blinded data where conclusions cannot be drawn, pretty much the same as Dr. Buzdar, whose earlier comments were based upon ignorance and were disingenuous. Well, duhhhhhhhhh........
I don't know about you but from what I see from all the info out there, the odds that DC VAX is efficacious at least for some sub groupings of glio are quite favourable. I would now bet on approval rather than not.
Insofar as management is concerned, I am not a fan of LP and LG. I can only rate LP's management so far as D-. She has not received an F because the company/trial has not failed. But, the MC has declined over 95%, which is obviously excessive, on her watch regardless of all the excuses. She may have been a victim of circumstances but this fact is what it is. CEOs are paid to deal successfully with the circumstances at hand. Perhaps another management team could not have done any better. We don't know and it is irrelevant anyway. However, to be fair, the jury is out until results and we hopefully learn the reasons for the lack of transparency and management conduct which obviously contributed to the MC devastation at least to some degree.
I also believe that the BOD has to some extent abrogated its fiduciary duties towards all shareholders by rubber stamping the option pools for management and employees. Bonuses are for performance results. Right now, it is highly premature. We don't know results and whether management can achieve the prime objective of RA approvals. I don't mind paying out handsome bonuses for performance results. I do mind paying them out pre-maturely.
In a sense, NWBO is a little like Apple. Apple had great products and despite the abysmal management and leadership of managers like John Scully, Mike Spindler and Gil Amelio, Apple survived and was taken to new heights by Jobs and now Tim Cook. I know---I was there. So, too, with NWBO. From what I see, the product platform and strategic direction seem great. Odds are DC VAX works across a significant spectrum of glial cancers to a greater or lesser degree. For some it may be a virtual cure. For others a chronic disease that can be managed. And for still others, some additional lease on life with the hope that further improvements or combos may prolong it even more with at least good QOL. And at a reasonable price point as compared to other therapies. That's the bet I am making despite questionable management where the jury is still out. JMHO.
