Yours is such a tired argument. NWBO couldn't get anything off the ground back in 2007. It wasn't until Linda Powers took over, when no one else would've even considered it, that the company started to move forward. The idea of a vaccine for a brain tumor was not exactly the news of the day and when you've been diagnosed with a rapidly deadly disease you're not exactly going to some little biotech for your best last ditch chance. Many, many people in the scientific community scoffed out loud.
So NWBO, in my opinion, was lucky that two people who's families were directly effected by cancer stepped up and took over the company with a passion. Compare this to Kite Pharma who's CEO in 2016 had a total compensation of over $8 million. Oh, so they were bought out for $11 Billion; and where are Cart-T at this time? What major breakthrough are they bringing us? Gilead is now doing what with them? How's that going?
Who, precisely, do you think NWBO could have hired and paid them a competitive salary? From what money? People lose their mind that Linda Powers makes $500K/yr. Do you really believe some well dressed suit with an MBA/PhD wouldn't have been faced with the exact same dilemma that caught NWBO in 2014-15? And if so they would have easily handled the situation? I find that, quite frankly, a stupid premise.
You have no idea, none, what has gone on behind the scenes; regulatory, business wise, Intellectual Property, financially, and within the chess game of moving through the traps set for a small start up not willing to be eaten up in a time of intense vulnerability by much bigger fish.
CEO's in this space don't grow on trees and I guarantee you there's no one of those who exist who would've stayed the course with the intensity of Linda Powers. She did not cause what happened, it happened because the technology grew ahead of it's time faster than regulatory standards could keep pace. An NWBO with the kind of people you suggest at the helm would've just thrown in the towel, stepped into another high paying position, and left NWBO to die on the vine.
Lastly, tell you me precisely what you know about an SAP and how to write one for a trial please. Do you think that's the business of the CEO? Do you think world class researchers haven't been dealing with this since the time the results were showing them things they didn't expect or have an answer for immediately? I'd love to know your experience in the field please, and how, since you can criticize the management's "incopetence to provide a decent SAP", you would have, as CEO, done a much better job. Please be precise in your answer.
