Stock Watch: Filling In The Blanks In Clinical Trial Result Announcements

When I used to meet hundreds of life science company management teams a year, I learned that what companies do not say in answer to questions is often as important as what they do. Last week I was talking to an investor about licensing transaction announcements that include the dreaded phrase "financial terms not disclosed." This typically leaves investors with a sinking feeling. If the value of a licensing deal is material to a public company, it has to be disclosed – so an announcement without a value leads to the conclusion that it is de minimis.

Something similar can apply to a company announcing only that a clinical trial met its primary endpoint