Afrezza...what went wrong???

Discussion in 'MannKind' started by anonymous, Sep 10, 2015 at 4:08 PM.

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  1. anonymous

    anonymous Guest

    For anyone long on Mannkind (which makes sense, given that a product like this would highlight how archaic current treatment regimens are and put a dent in some very large pockets), please remember that you're not going to get anything of substance here in CP. Mainly from reps that can't sell. Afrezza and Technosphere are disruptive. Like the electric car when first introduced, they were also maligned in much the same way as Afrezza is. Now what do we see? You can't cross the street without bumping into an electric or hybrid, or go to a mall and not see stalls made especially for electric cars to recharge. Point being, be patient. Sanofi sandbagged. We just have to swallow that and get on with it. Mannkind is getting on with it. They have a sales force. They have managed care/market access people. MSL's. They are fully vested in getting this out there and making it happen. Be patient. I also think they have a partner in the wings, but what do I know?
     

  2. anonymous

    anonymous Guest


    I was deeply involved with the new product planning for the Lilly inhaled insulin. Lilly was only in this because Pfizer was a threat to the Lilly insulin franchise. As soon as Pfizer bailed, so did Lilly. Competitively, inhaled insulin does not make sense vs. existing insulin options for patients. Here is the rationale (in order of competitive impact):

    Efficacy - Similar to injected insulin. If there was clinically meaningful greater BG control efficacy, this would be the message.

    Safety - Injected insulin is 100% bioavailable while inhaled is 10-20% bioavailable, max. What happens to the unabsorbed insulin that is inhaled? I know a lot of work has gone into this question, but the risk in the minds of customers remains from PFE's issues with Exubera

    Convenience - The inhaled device and the delivery is small and very discrete. This can be a competitive angle, but certainly not strong enough to overcome equivalent efficacy and safety risk questions. Pen injected insulin is already pretty convenient as an option.

    Value/Price - With the previous three competitive dimensions balancing to little to no clear difference to injected insulin, why would someone pay such a price premium for inhaled?

    BTW - please don't say that inhaled is for the huge needle phobic patient market. I've done the research and that is only about 5-10% of the market, max. Note that needle-free devices never took off as a result. With 33 gauge short needles, the fear/pain has been reduced dramatically. Patients are far more annoyed by BG sampling than insulin injections, but this area too is seeing technology improvements.

    With these strategic headwinds, I doubt the Sanofi message and execution was the issue. Will a new message fix these gaps? I doubt it.

    I do applaud the willingness of Mannkind to innovate and take the risk. However, in this case, the strategic considerations are not in favor of the investment that has been made.
     
  3. anonymous

    anonymous Guest

     
  4. anonymous

    anonymous Guest

    If you had an abdomen and thighs fully destroyed by scarring after decades of injections, then you'd understand. Afrezza has been a blessing for me. I only wish I could have stated using it thirty years ago.
     
  5. anonymous

    anonymous Guest

    Great point. Inhaled does meet a need for patients that have developed significant scar tissue. Unfortunately, the broader market of patients will not value avoidance of scarring until it develops. While Afrezza meets this need well, this segment is small as getting patients to proactively improve their therapy is a difficult task. Even getting patients to intensify their therapy to lower BG and HbA1C is an uphill climb. (I say this looking at the broader market of patients and subsequent opportunity for Afrezza. There are, of course, individual patients that take great care to manage their diabetes)
     
  6. p guerrero

    p guerrero new user

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    Sanofi was too busy launching Toujeo to discuss Afrezza. This drug needs a full discussion of benefits to the patient. Its not for every diabetic on meal time insulin. The reason there is so much vitriol for afrezza is because it poses such a threat to cash cows humalog and novolog. Do yourself a favor and buy MNKD at $1.18
     
  7. p guerrero

    p guerrero new user

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    Lilly (along with NovoNordisk) bailed on their inhaled insulin because the pkpd profile was bad.
     
  8. anonymous

    anonymous Guest

    99.9% of diabetics don't have an abdomen and thighs fully destroyed by scarring - no company is going to have a profitable product trying to play in that limited space. No one has ever said that Afrezza doesn't offer a significant benefit to some patients, but it has to have a broad appeal in order to make back the billions of dollars that went into the development and approval. Mannkind is running a business, not a charity. The broad appeal has never been realized because the vast majority of physicians (and patients) are fine with injections with 32G & 33G needles. There simply is not adequate demand for this product.
     
  9. anonymous

    anonymous Guest

    ok, it's 8/30/2016 and MNKD is at 69 cents. C.Com.Officer Castagna's options are way underwater and sinking fast. Look out belo-o-o-o-o-w!!
    Touchpoint Publicis skanks will soon be selling cars.
    Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!
     
  10. anonymous

    anonymous Guest

    MNKD is at $.71 now. Care to rethink? It's also a lie that Toujeo hampered the launch as the reps calling on the Endo's had Afrezza and nothing else. There was no demand for this product and the labelling was/is simply crippling.
     
  11. anonymous

    anonymous Guest

    Closed at $.69 per share on Friday. Waiting for this big revival of Afrezza. Where is it?
     
  12. anonymous

    anonymous Guest

    64 cents a share today. Waiting for that BIG revival!
     
  13. anonymous

    anonymous Guest

    make that 40 cents 2day. fabulous drug...hope it will still be available when MNKD goes away. And everyone here is sorta correct...NO ONE WAS ABLE TO SELL IT-

     
  14. anonymous

    anonymous Guest

    Life is coming back into this story...
     
  15. anonymous

    anonymous Guest

    Is this what you mean:

    MannKind is simply too risky to own because of the low probability that the sales of its inhaled insulin product Afrezza will surge high enough for the company to avoid bankruptcy. Even after Afrezza's former marketing partner Sanofi decided to hand MannKind a couple of major gifts earlier this month, there are still serious doubts that this struggling biotech can keep its doors open past the third quarter of 2017. To do so, MannKind will either have to find a new partner or somehow figure out a way to get Afrezza's commercial launch back on track. Neither of those scenarios is likely, unfortunately.