NorthWest Biotherapeutics Inc (NWBO)

[Poor Man -]

It’s important to understand one basic feature of NWBO: it’s not a real operating company. Right, it’s not a real company. What NWBO is a special purpose vehicle that holds the patients, houses the funding, and contracts out all of its services, including management of the enterprise by Toucan, which is a private equity fund. And as we know, PE funds look to monetize their investments to provide a ROI to their limited partners.

NWBO in its in present form is not a company that’s built to last. And there have been zero steps in the direction of actually building and putting in place an actual company that’s prepared to engaged in R&D, business development, marketing, new trials for Direct, public relations, improved governance, etc. And nearly the entire executive team is at retirement age.

What’s likely to happen is NWBO will be acquired lock stock and barrel. There is an outside possibility for the formation of a spin-off to develop Direct that will be controlled by Merck and partially owned by former NWBO shareholders who will receive shares or CVRs in the Newco.

It’s instructive to compare how Cognate and Sawston were constructed as independent operating companies versus how NWBO is pieced together.