RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:Vertex and Witkowski Partnership As we seem to be advancing the science, I think Sernova's bargaining position for either a take-out or a partnership gets stronger every day. Sernova's bargaining chip is its pouch. I don't think portal vein technologies will beat it out. Are you worried that other players will get ahead of them with their own pouch-type products if they don't secure a deal soon? Surely Sernova has patents pending to protect this technology.
We are still in early innings. 1st gen using human donor islets with immunosuppression drugs; 2nd gen using conformal coated human donor islet cells; 3rd gen using highly uniform and scalable stem cell-derived islets also protected by the conformal coating. These studies don't happen overnight for Sernova or any other company. This process will take more time than I think a lot of Sernova shareholders realize. With or without a partner.
I would love to see a large pharma with deep pockets and unlimited supplies of stem cell-derived islets partner now with Sernova to help them advance to 3rd gen. It would de-risk us a lot. But, as long as Sernova continues to successfully advance through their 1st and maybe even their 2nd gen studies, their stock price should continue up and perhaps even help us achieve a higher return than if we partnered now.