With the way forward for VPL Medical hanging within the steadiness, on January twenty fifth CEO Jason Cardiff
advised the Court docket that VPL “is presently speaking to HHS and different federal and state companies and believes that it is rather near touchdown some main contracts….”
As revealed in a joint working report filed one month later nevertheless;
As of February 24, 2021, no new gross sales contracts have been executed.
However by no means concern, the VPL brain-trust has a backup plan.
To be honest it’s not like there’s completely nothing occurring at VPL.
Masks manufacturing has ramped up all through February…
…nevertheless the report notes
there is no such thing as a assure that the corporate will have the ability to maintain this week’s three-day common output of 54,896 masks.
This potential variability makes efficiency of any main contract questionable.
Talking of contracts;
Within the absence of any contract for its masks, VPL notes solely it’ll quickly have the ability to promote its masks on Amazon.
I believe at this level getting a contract is a long-shot. And Amazon goes to be pushed a fallback.
Out of curiosity I punched in “3 ply masks” into Amazon and 600+ outcomes got here up. How VPL goes to compete with masks made cheaply abroad who is aware of.
From reminiscence the thrust behind securing contracts was necessities that the masks be made within the US to a set commonplace.
Competing with everybody else on Amazon is hardly comparable.
Ought to Amazon go nowhere, which it very a lot may, issues are trying bleak.
There may be solely $1,227,385.70 left within the Receivership Property.
With no main contracts, this cash shall be depleted rapidly at VPL’s present spending charge.
Mockingly the one cause VPL was permitted to go forward was “potential profitability”.
That was again in September 2020, with the identical determination sparing Jason Cardiff from a jail stint.
How a lot lengthy the courts permit this farce to proceed stays to be seen. Absolutely we’re into sunk-cost fallacy territory by now.
The FTC has requested that, ought to the court docket permit VPL to proceed draining Receivership funds, that stories be submitted
in 30 days, and each 30 days thereafter, and that future stories particularly embrace a calculation of the total price of manufacturing for that month’s masks, in order that VPL’s aggressive place might be meaningfully assessed.
Frequent stories may also allow the Court docket to watch the standing (or absence) of any gross sales contracts, that are a vital and as-yet unrealized part of VPL’s potential profitability.
I’ll proceed to watch the case docket for updates.
Replace twenty seventh March 2021 – As of March twenty fourth, VPL has nonetheless did not promote a single masks.