Replies to post #269456 on Innovation Pharmaceuticals Inc (IPIX)

[kfcyahoo]

"I think grammatical form can be significant in terms of communicating the company’s progress and plans. A good editor or even a business writer can make a big difference in how things are received by investors. I commented on the phrasing of a sentence in the most recent update and Crazy called me to task saying he had no trouble with the sentence in question. I called it oddly phrased or something like that. He said he didn’t think it was odd but he quoted (twice) my re-write of the sentence in his response to say it wasn’t odd to him. The sentence put out by IPIX was worded as if written by a person whose first language was not English.

Anyway...Leo has agreed to send me all future PRs for proof reading prior to publishing."

My argument exactly. A good secretary, which I've discussed here before, and directly with management, frees executives from a lot of BS. Screen calls, modify executive letters to be grammatically correct(Katherine Gibbs School types), open and screen the mail. A good one pretty much controls the flow of an office at the lower levels and allows the execs to better do their jobs.
Who does that in Beverly(rhetorical question)?

Anyhow, I get and appreciate the humor in your post. Thanks for taking on the task.;)

[steelyeye]

The significance of grammatical form matters only if it results in ambiguity, or changes the intended meaning of the communication.
Clarity is always preferred over style or correct grammar. Correct grammar is helpful but not essential, unless (see above).

For instance, to ask "can it core an apple?" is much preferred to "can it core a apple?," but the difference in clarity and meaning is (or should be) a non-issue. The grammatically incorrect form is rather silly and cute, but does not make a difference when it comes to being understandable (substance and intended meaning).

Instances where there is doubt about intended meaning, or lack of clarity and ambiguity, require editorial revision.

And BTW...thanks for volunteering!

...grammatical form can be significant in terms of communicating the company’s progress and plans.

[loanranger]

"The sentence put out by IPIX was worded as if written by a person whose first language was not English."

This was the sentence in question:
“The initial payment will help cover substantially the costs of our upcoming clinical study of oral-dosed Brilacidin currently being developed for treating Ulcerative Colitis (UC).”

About which you said:
"The phrasing is odd. The “initial payment” will cover a substantial portion of the cost of the B-UC trial. How much is that?"


There's nothing odd about the phrasing. And the sentence may not be posed in the King's English but it is in English.

What you are right to complain about is the "How much is that?" part of it. And as I've said (and many have regularly complained about me saying) the Company regularly leaves readers with no answer to very simple questions like yours. Now it's your turn to notice.

Not only is there no clarity at all to the Initial Payment part of "How much is that?" but there's no clarity at all to what "the cost of the B-UC trial" entails. Design and production of testing materials, CRO services, fees, analysis of results....How many patients are going to be treated in this upcoming clinical study of oral-dosed B-UC trial?

The problem isn't in the language, it's in the content (or lack of it).