MannKind Corp. (MNKD)

[Denise Chanterelle]

On the Afrezza sales front, which has been quiet in recent weeks, with the number of prescriptions staying stagnant, management remains very optimistic, pointing out the following:

1. The hurdle of spirometry testing has diminished greatly, with actions taken by Sanofi making it far less of a "gating" factor than it was in the early months.

2. Direct-to-consumer marketing began in July, with print ads for Afrezza in some high-circulation magazines, including Time Magazine, Good Housekeeping, and Diabetes Forecast.

3. The two partners recently agreed to significantly increase the budget for marketing.

4. Sanofi recently expanded the number of sales people promoting Afrezza and launched a targeted in-office promotion campaign as well as 1200 reps gathered in Las Vegas for Afrezza training.

5. Insurance reimbursement remains the biggest impediment to increasing the number of prescriptions written, but this problem should attenuate in the months ahead since insurance companies typically start to make permanent formulary decisions some six months after the introduction of a new drug and Afrezza has passed that important threshold.

So, the three hurdles - spirometry testing, insurance coverage and patient (and physician) awareness - to Afrezza sales in the early post-launch months are slowly falling. Significantly, too, management indicated that Sanofi is actively investigating the best approach to introducing Afrezza into international markets. Although no specifics were provided, Sanofi is apparently conducting research into the possibility of drawing up a "global marketing plan," as opposed to picking out individual geographic markets, Europe, for example. According to Matthew Pfeffer, the company's CFO, the preparations are nearing completion and are to be revealed to MannKind at the next Afrezza committee meeting.