Possible route23 Jul 2020 18:07
So here is a recap of what I'm thinking.
The news out this week was significant and better than what could have been expected in that there is a clear and significant response from the drug.
From anyone who listened to the press call from Monday may have been disappointed in that they did not vocalise that an end point of the trial had been reached. Two points come from this- having spoken to a II in this stock I think that this is a red herring as they there was no specific end point set but more importantly there is a definitive improvement on the ordinal scale i.e people show real biological improvements (rather than statistical demonstration of a reduction in viral load).
From this point the stock de-risked and II came in - the drug works. But risks remain - Execution risk is now much higher on the scale. Can RM deliver? There are lots of unknowns - Will the regulator license the drug with under an emergency and with conditions. The pros will mean that they can start selling the drug at Cost Plus a margin, but will have conditions imposed ( like collect further data). They may also instruct further research trial to take place.
I tried to find out about pricing - one thought was that it may price at anything up to £1500 a dose, with a course of 14 doses in a treatment. The cost of manufacture would be c £10-15 a dose. I see that as unlikely in the short term.
I think i shall hold for now.