Just speculating on my part, but could they be using this a a negotiation positioning with potential partners?
These payments are all based upon milestone completions, but if these milestones are reached, partnership along with its costs takeup look more and more to be the case.
If the partner is then coughing up an upfront payment, they no longer take the cash.
If they do not need the cash then they don't take the loan from deerfield.
Alternately they don't need to partner because ample cash is on the available, they can afford to sit back from the negotiating table and not be looking like they need to be pressing for a deal. They add to their position in the game by now having the luxury to wait for the data to be presented and have multiple suiters.
Sorry I seem to be caught in a loop,...
Summary more cash avail, means better negotiating position resulting in a better deal for investors (and hopefully a short sharp death for shorty)
OOG
