If a large pharma was concerned about the impact Leronlimab would have against their product, I would think the cheapest insurance would be to be long Cytodyn stock. Shorting the company or other ways of manipulating to keep the SP low seems to be very risky and difficult to manage. Possibly illegal also.

If they miss out on partnering or a buy out, at least they are long the stock and they can profit that way. seems like cheap insurance and an easy way to take some ownership in the product without offering a huge premium.