NorthWest Biotherapeutics Inc (NWBO)

[CherryTree1]

Just like you say Happy:

The long tail was not even a thing when a lot of us got invested

That is right, trials were set up to show that some chemo treatment could extend survival a few months with some statistical significance.
It was brilliant when Linda and Linda and Marnix recognized that tradition trial designs were not suited to showing that a treatment like DCVAX might effectively be a cure for some significant number of patients . . . and we now know that even with the still blinded DCVAX data that probably 1 out of every 4 are effectively cured with DCVAX and perhaps half of the methylated patients. If they stayed with the traditional chemo trial design and ended it in just 2 or 3 years based on median survival or Progression Free Survival they would probably have concluded that DCVAX was ineffective. Wouldn't that have be a travesty for GBM patients knowing what we know now.
. . . and as far as your other points if the powerful thugs doing everything possible to keep the stock price down and make it extremely difficult for Linda to secure needed addition funding at a fair rate, those powerful goons who were doing everything possible to bankrupt the company then they may have indeed been able to get Direct moving forward too and maybe prostrate too.