good solid management, page-11

It is indeed a little ironic that not so long ago the prevailing wisdom on HC was that BTA should stop selling out for a miserly royalty and instead hold onto the IP for the longer term.

Now that it actually looking highly likely that BTA will be able to take LANI to (stockpile) market, and HRV to phase III, it seems that we shareholders are now clambering to seek a royalty deal. A fickle lot, aren't we.

I think that jessie is right to identify Jim Fox as a prime mover. My limited knowledge of him (starting from the days when he started Invertec - and I was after a job, and finishing as a shareholder when he sold Vision Systems) tells me he is a smart and motivated person.

As far as PC is concerned I must admit I have a lesser regard. It is difficult, from a distance, to get an idea of the daily life of the CEO but I'm prepared to accept the assertion that PC has had his chance to show his mettle, and we haven't seen much.

There has been some noise on HC concerning the wisdom of picking up the anti-bacterial development. I actually think that strategically it is a good, and necessary, decision. It was, and is, a relatively modest expenditure and addresses a real and increasing market need. If it does make it into production then it will be a stable source of income. And there needs to be a continuing stream of products coming out of the pipeline. The only downside is the cost of failure, and I do have concerns about the ability of BTA to remotely manage the business.

Despite the market seemingly unwilling to recognise BARDA, it is hard to see BARDA being any other than being a game changer. This one event will enable BTA to move from being an unloved single product company to a multi billion multi product company. It just a matter of when the market recognizes it, rather than if.

I must admit I am puzzled about today's trading. Maybe the 7 people at the Sydney briefing were so impressed they went out the market in a frenzy?