Just so no one is surprised - there was much partnership anticipation leading up to the prior 2 pdufa's. We speculated that with data in hand, MNKD would ink a deal. Then, when a deal was not forthcoming, management declared it would make sense to wait the extra few months for the FDA decision before signing a partner agreeement. They stated that MNKD would be able to negotiate from a position of strength w/ an approval in hand.
If history repeats itself and they wait for FDA decision in March of 2014, it will take an additional 60 - 120 days to close a deal (somewhere in the May - July timeframe). And, keep in mind, that assumes crisp timing from the FDA (e.g. no missed factory inspections).
If in 2014 there are any FDA issues in form of CRL, the stock will tank and MNKD will have to recapitalize. Al will have a good idea of the likelihood of such a CRL when he sees the data in August. He may prefer to limit outstanding borrowings under LOC so he can reduce the LOC to current outstandings. By doing that he maximizes his available cash to protect his interests under a recapitalization. Call it a worst case contingency plan.
