RE: Timespan22 Sep 2020 08:40
O&W nobody can deny AS’s initial timelines have been missed and he was overly enthusiastic with how quickly this process could be carried out. However, I would say some are being a little harsh on him and pessimistic about the implications of this on pushing ahead with the various therapeutics pieces in the pipeline.
Avct have always been focused on the oncology space predominantly but COViD has presented an opportunity to showcase what affimers are capable of. Avct did their piece with the affimers early on. What has become very apparent is once govts get involved and start moving goalposts things get very very messy. Then you add to that the car crash of some early tests which were recalled, PR suicide for AVCT to roll anything out sub standard.
Manufacturing the test on scales that probably weren’t envisaged in the early days, reliance on third parties, changing regulatory frameworks and guidelines.....
I don’t think AVCT are to blame here for more than a bit of over optimism. To me, it certainly doesn’t show ineptitude from AS as some may suggest. You have a virus that nobody understands, an inept government and the pressures of your only alternative being national lockdowns again pressuring ridiculous dreams of moonshot.
Now in the therapeutics side. Avct understand cancer, have a business plan and aren’t playing pied piper to the govts ever changing stance. They have £40m under their belt to scale up the division and backiNg from large pharmas. I can’t see the same mistakes happening there. And imo the only mistake was saying “a few weeks” or “very soon” too much.
No doubt he has learned his lesson but when the vagueries stop, there will be people bashing the door down shouting “we need updates and timelines”.....we’ll when he tried to give them to you it didn’t work. This is a very different field to many businesses, it takes time and ultimately will have an impact real peoples lives - not something to hurry and get wrong!