I would not say that the demand that has driven the share price...

I would not say that the demand that has driven the share price from around $1 a year ago to almost $4 last month is lack of interest. We have a $600m market cap without a fully approved product and without a significant revenue stream. The interest is there, its just that not everyone can invest yet.

Most of the fundies have mandates which limit their investments to companies that are in certain indicies/ have minimum market cap/ minimum revenue hurdles. We obviously don't meet their criteria just yet. That will come in time as we obtain approval, get our product to market, and start earning revenue.

Likewise, big pharma is just that. They are not fund managers that hold portfiolios of shares in different trial stage small pharma. They either enter into a distribution agreement, buy the rights to a drug or just buy out the whole company. Our board has indicated it currently, and in the foreseeable future, prefers to go it alone.

I agree that IP may be a big risk for us. Not because we don't have solid IP protection but because we are still a small company with enough capital only to conduct our trials and get to market. We don't have a lot of spare cash to fight someone in court. A large pharma might not attack us in the courts to actually obtain our IP, but simply to squeeze cash out of us.

Being successful in court is not only about being right. It also needs the funding to stay in the fight. There may be large companies out there who will take us to court and drag out the fight procedurally. We may then be faced with a choice of either raising funds to pay lawyers or to simply offer a settlement. The board may need to think about having a partner on board at some point who has an interest in defending our IP. Even then, we may still be expected to pay for our share of the defence.