Hi Lastly.I agree that, in an ideal world, that would be the way...

Hi Lastly.

I agree that, in an ideal world, that would be the way to go. Unfortunately, that's not where we live!

Like most, I was disappointed that yesterday's news did not include the biomarker/pharmacodynamic results - the signals that MPL is working in MND.
Why so disappointed? Well, because the terms on which the TH was requested led me (and I think lots of others) to expect that was what was about to land:

I've spoken with a few others since yesterday's news and described it this way...
I was expecting a Ferrari (or for NZT a Bentley) and was given a Corolla.
Is there anyhthing wrong with being given a Corolla? Absolutely not - a good car. But I'm still disappointed because I didn't get the Ferrari.

To my mind, had the TH request signalled "...an announcement of interim pharmacokinetic results..." then we wouldn't have seen the buy side topped with orders (subsequently pulled) at 9.9 cents, nor the SP drop afterwards.

So, this is a really good example of the need to not unrealistically raise expectations - always under-promise and over-deliver.

Which really grates on me, because the news was actually really positive and a MASSIVE derisking - the results will inform dosing for cancer, antiviral, neurodegenerative - a major step forward. Just not what people expected.

Back to the TH.

We know from earlier announcements that the Trial Safety Committee was happy for Cohort 3 to commence SUBJECT TO THE PK RESULTS. Logic dictates that the PK results must be available before they can be considered by the Trial Safety Committee. However, once they become available, the company should disclose this material information pursuant to ASX listing rule 3.1. Hence, a TH is needed to allow sufficient time to receive the report and have the Trial Safety Committee consider it, then make their decision, before the company has to report it to the market.

Would the company have liked to release the PK and biomarker assay results all together? My guess is a big "yes". However, looking over the trial entry at clinicaltrials.gov and with some rudimentary Googling it's pretty easy to see that the assays required to determine changes in biomarkers are not of the "off the shelf" variety that's bulk-billed by Dorevitch. Some cutting edge stuff here and only a handful of labs that can do it. Consequently, it makes sense that the test results don't all arrive at the same time.

I think I've read some suggestions that the company should have waited until they had all the reuslts - but you can't just sit on material info. Similarly, a TH can only last for 2 days, so there's no opportunity to stay "offline" longer than that while waiting for the biomarker results.

Bottom line, the timing of the results landing with the company is largely out of their direct control - you can jump up and down all you like but with the bespoke equipment needed for some of these tests in extremely short supply, you're at the mercy of the lab. IMO it was the TH messaging that caused us grief.

Cheers

Densy