flawed strategy

Although the recent announcement re funding from major mining companies is good news, it nevertheless underlines management's ineptitude in formulating strategy. Just as junior mining companies don't seek funding from major biotechs, so junior biotechs don't normally seek funding from major mining companies.

Even stranger is the fact that at no stage has VHL obtained - or even attempted to obtain - funding from major biotechs.

The reasons for the above are obvious. Due to being in a totally different industry, major mining companies are prepared to donate (limited) funds on philathropic grounds, recognising the public benefit of a cure for HIV. Major biotechs, on the other hand, would want a degree of control over VHL if they were to provide meaningful financial backing.

Unfortunately for shareholders, management are far more concerned with preserving their control than creating shareholder value.

The other reason is that major biotechs would only provide funding if they were given a) shares in VHL, and/or b) a percentage of future profits. Stupidly, management have viewed this as giving away shareholder. They have never woken up to the fact that to create value, you have to give some value away.

So instead of raising meaningful funding from major biotechs, they raise small amounts of money from mining companies.