Sounds like sour grapes, which is plenty justifiable, but please provide just a little more substance to that belief. Anil Diwan BAD. I get that. I'll admit, that's probably a pretty good description of my sentiments and actions over the last 1-2 years, which have been a slow-motion train wreck. I sort of don't want Diwan to get away with this crime.
For a number of years I had high hopes for this company and my position in it. I spent a lot of effort to research and stay appraised of the company, it's issues and opportunities. I noted the things I didn't like, but allowed my enthusiasm for the things I did like to excuse the things I didn't.
In the last year I've given up hope for any recovery. I cannot now muster my previous level of interest to dig into the details like I used to, so I spout off on things that I observed before (things that used to be true, but now may no longer be true).
However, the experience has provided several good (albeit expensive) lessons for me:
- Separate the sexy narrative from the red flags. Shortcomings in either one are cause to sell. One area being good won't fully compensate for the other being bad.
- If management has one or more assholes, simply stay away.
- If management has a habit of obfuscation, simply stay away.
- If management has problems executing over a long period of time, get out.
- At the first sign of gross ethical misconduct by management, cut my losses and get out.
- Yes, stay away from ANY company that management has set up in a way that it can become its personal piggy bank.
- Be very concerned with companies for which management are only taking public one side of the business, and keeping the other side for themselves.
- When it's time to get out, don't wait too long, especially when solvency is an issue.
Among the red flags I saw were:
- The existence of TheraCour as a separate entity with preferred payout over common shares
- Numerous cases of execution ineptitude
- Series A shares (advertised as having virtually no financial impact)
- Many carefully worded press releases that obfuscated the truth
- The Yidam lawsuit
- The exorbitant royalty rate of 15%
- Licensing preventing internal or third-party R&D
- Licensing preventing internal or third-party manufacturing
- Licensing indications rather than drugs (culminated by pursuing VZV when we had already licensed an indication that will use the same drug class)
- The licensing of numerous indications that have gone nowhere
- Numerous exaggerations as to milestone achievements
- Blaming outside parties for an inability to plan schedules for milestones
- The hiring of one's spouse to be CFO
- The colossal miscalculation with FluCide
- The tremendous difficulty getting a production process to work in a timely manner
- Licensing delays for VZV
- The firing of Seymour
- Issues with Boniuk
- The firing of Dr. Taraporewala
- Misinformation and deception about the terms of the royalty
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