RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:New Press Release - Theralase(R) Provides Update on Bladder Cancer Clinical StudyI always welcome news particularly when it is unexpected and positive. That said I have been in this stock long enough to be a little cynical. My first reaction was this release is a setup for another PP; the company continues to be underfunded and is not very successful in meeting their target raises.
When I looked at the numbers last year I concluded the 450 day response rate was trending at between 35 and 43% depending on the 13th patient's results ( data set from all 25 patients at the time minus the data from the12 patients that were under treated). It looks like we are going to end up closer to 43%.
It looks like only two patients were treated since the end of August update - we are not seeing an appreciable increase in patients being treated nor any increase in the number of treatment sites. I have a hard time seeing how we are going to get 100 patients treated at least once until later 2024.
Which begs the question why is it taking so long?
If the results are so good, if the treatment is safe and less intrusive than other treatment options why aren't patients clammering to get into the trial?
Why hasn't the company signed up new clinical sites in the US as they have long said they were going to do?
One last point specific to the data tables;
The first table reports the results of all the patients that have been evaluated and the second table only the results for the patients that received the optimized treatments. Presumably if you subtract one table from the other I expect that you would be left with the results from the 12 patients that received the unoptimized treatments. However, from 270 days onwards the difference is only 10 and not 12 - what am I missing?
I certainly hope that I am wrong about another PP in the works. The stock price will languish until funding issues are put to bed; the more equity issued at low prices the more existing shareholders are diluted. Insiders seem keen to continue to fund the equity raises why not look at a convertible debenture with an appropriate interest coupon (say 12%) payable with interest in 5 years or convertable into equity anytime at say 0.75/share?