Mannkind announces new product development

Hakan Edstrom, the president, CEO and director of MannKind Corp., a biotech company based in Danbury, this morning announced that the development of pulmonary hypertension and pain management drugs is underway.

In the earnings portion of this morning’s conference call, Pfeffer said operating, administrative and research and development expenses have all decreased. The net loss for the second quarter of 2015 was $28.9 million, or $0.07 per share, based on 401 million weighted average shares outstanding. At this time last year the company’s net loss was $73.4 million, or $0.19 per share, based on 380.8 million weighted average shares outstanding for the second quarter of 2014.

In an interview last week, Edstrom said the company had completed a market research project with a consulting company to choose the next products to develop using its patented technosphere technology, a dry powder delivery platform.

The pulmonary hypertension drug”™s inhalation powder is still being tested and it will take six months until it is ready to be evaluated on animals, he said. Edstrom said he hopes the company will be able to do a clinical assessment within the next 12 to 18 months. The pain management drug has already been tested on animals and multiple active pharmaceutical ingredients are being evaluated, according to Matthew Pfeffer, Mannkind”™s chief financial officer.

Edstrom also announced the company hired Raymond Urbanski, who has worked in executive roles at Mylan, Metabolix, Pfizer and Suntory Pharmaceuticals, as the new chief medical officer to handle the development of new drugs. Edstrom said Mannkind is continuing to recruit staff members of that level.

Mannkind”™s flagship product Afrezza, a rapid-acting inhaled insulin therapy, has been on the market since February and has received positive reviews on social media, in speeches and in the media, Edstrom said. The company is looking into making a 2-unit cartridge, which the facility would be able to manufacture, he said.

Sanofi, Afrezza”™s marketing and distribution partner, launched the drug”™s direct-to-consumer campaign last month with print advertisements and a website for patients and professionals. Pfeffer said Sanofi announced it has increased major spending on promotion. Sanofi has been actively investigating the international market and looks to do a global marketing campaign, he said. He said the work is nearing completion and will be presented in the companies”™ next meeting.