That was unfortunately my interpretation as well, when I read that stuff the first time. My thinking then went one step further : Knowing that DCVax-L was referred to CHM, Northwest concluded that chances for approval were reduced significantly and decided to skip ASCO. What a tragedy ! ((What sign do I have select for : 'No more longer bullish' ?)
The MHRA performance summary indicated that they are not experiencing a backlog—this suggests the application has already been referred to the CHM, meaning the ball is no longer in their court. That makes it a safe and accurate statement for the MHRA to say they are not facing delays on their end.
Another BS claim. After the months-long patient site inspections, NWBO most probably faced a second RFI mid-March. The moment they sent NWBO a second RFI, the application was clocked off.
If there was a major objection to an application, one would think that such a major objection would arise very early in the application process. The fact that this process has lasted this long seems to indicate that there are issues in the application and both the MHRA are NWBO are working to resolve the issues.
Either that or maybe NWBO is part of a pilot program that is considered separately from the other applications because of their unique position of providing a model for all other future applications; ). The term poster child comes to mind; ). Best wishes.