Much as it would be horrid to have the COVID trial fail, and much as we are all feeling frustrated and impatient, i believe that Apabetalone has legs with or without the COVID indication, so long as they don't drag out the process of getting Phase III (b) going and getting it to market.

The data seems pretty consistent that Apabetalone is beneficial for the target diabetic population, whether or not the MANY other potential indications pan out. 

Whether, when, and to what extent we retail investors will reap those benefits is harder to say. Grateful i don't have a mortgage riding on this investment, but in it for the whole roller coaster ride.

We don't really know what is going on inside, but it seems each presentation offers one or two new nuggets of carrot along with the old ones - just enough to keep us going. In a world where this finally makes it, we would all be grateful for that in the end. Whether or not that is the world we are in remains to be seen 

The COVID potential is huge, and it would suck if we missed that boat.... but so are several of the anti-inflammatory /anti-cytokine storm possibilities, so would dementia be if that proved out, etc. And that whole list from the old "indications" thread (or, if that is too far back, check the "off topic" forum, where i have taken to adding indications under investigation for this and other BET inhibitors)

And yeah, the cash position is a bit of a retail investor deterrent.  But we all knew this was def. not a blue chip from the start.

That said, if this compound can prove out before it is too late (as in so have 17 others by then), the money will come, whether or not there are already contingent deals.

As to Mr. McD - for better or worse, he has kept things afloat to this point, beyond a 15 cent valuation that many thought was the end, etc. Guaranteed he was not the only or even the main decision maker re trial designs. He would have had to defer to the experts.  And considering how new this tech was back in.. 2013 or whenever that was ...vs. the explosion of research now, it probably isn't surprising at all that there were a few false starts.

IF RVX has the suite of promising compound candidates it has claimed to in past, that would be another potentially immense asset or set of assets.

It is hard not to bemoan the lost investment opportunity just from waiting so long. But is this really that unusual? And is there still something here worth having? I think so. Even without the COVID win we are all hungry for.

Just a late night too sleepy to sleep ramble...