When I arrived at 3i Group plc in 2000 there was a legendary piece of internal research that classified CEOs that had been successful at 3i investee companies into either first-timers or repeat CEOs. There was no difference in success rates between the two groups. Perhaps the better piece of research in order to increase the chances of success would have been to stratify and exclude those CEOs who had been previously unsuccessful, because two CEOs last week demonstrated that failure often has a habit of making repeat visits.
Stockwatch: Bluebird, Arrowhead And Short Memories
Last year's platform failure and back to the drawing board status of bluebird bio was all forgotten last week as data on a few patients treated with its CAR-T therapy were released. It seems that investors are quick to forget similar failed or problematic products at Arrowhead, uniQure and Juno.