You forgot #3:
Company continues to raise money and focuses only on those items most likely to create revenue or immensely raise the company profile (combo BLA, 510k for diagnostic test, cancer trials). Partners don't want to play on terms that the company likes? Cool, just take combo and the diagnostic test to market without BP, and use the revenue to fund the remaining trials, growth of a sales force, etc. Even if we believe that market penetration would suffer greatly (it probably would), $50-100mm in revenue from combo and the diagnostic next year would do quite nicely for ensuring that the company could continue to develop everything sans further dilution.
Would it take longer? Yes.
Would it be more difficult? Yes.
Would it be a little bit risky? Yes.
Would it keep BP from taking advantage of CYDY by offering weak terms on a partnership even though BP has shouldered exactly zero of the development risk and, by the end, nearly zero of the financial burden? Yes.
We all want for the company to strike a deal and get this cruise ship moving, but we all should also want the company to strike the best deal. Usually, partnerships occur very early in the development phase (P1 or P2, sometimes even pre-clinical), and result in BP shouldering some financial risk. In return, they take a large portion of the revenues if and when a product gets to market. Here, the little guy has advanced the ball much further than usual, through a P3 endpoint for an unmet medical need, and rightfully should get a much larger share of the revenues under a partnership deal. I very much doubt that BP is champing at the bit to give the company more preferential terms than usual.
I'd rather the company slow it down, raise money as needed, and take another two years to get everything across the line - and keep the lion's share of revenues - than deal away the majority of revenue after taking all of the risk just to move things along more quickly.
I don't want $10/share for a product that may have 12-digit annual market potential just so I can get my money a little faster.
