Yes, recall that Sanofi started reporting January 30, 2015:
Nrx = 14 Refills = 0 Trx = 14
Nrx climbed steadily to peak on October 23:
Nrx = 421 Refills = 206 Trx = 627
At that point, Sanofi decided afrezza would never succeed and handed responsibility for sales to Quintiles(now IQVIA). Nevertheless, refills continued to climb to peak on January 1, 2016:
Nrx = 216 Refills = 300 Trx = 516
So in just nine months, Sanofi produced an increase in new scripts from near zero to over 400 and in less than 12 months produced refills = 300.
When Mannkind officially took over in April of 2016:
Nrx = 125 Refills = 230 Trx = 355
The BEST numbers from Mannkind were July 6 of this year:
Nrx = 293 Refills = 268 Trx = 561
Not only have nrx still not reached anywhere near the 421 Sanofi reached in nine months, but it's taken MNKD over two years just to add 270 new scripts a week.
Now bear in mind that is despite the benefit of the foundation provided by Sanofi and despite afrezza having:
1. been on the market now a grand total of 42 months
2. had three separate sales teams trying to push it
3. been on featured in multiple news broadcasts on multiple stations
4. had magazine ads including the now infamous TIME magazine ads
5. been advertised on a reality TV show as well as in "select" markets where, ostensibly, afrezza scripts were strongest
6. been featured on the Damon Diabetes Network
7. been presented at four ADA meetings and multiple JDRF shows
8. had CME written for it that we know at least 1,000 endos and 2,000 PCPs completed
9. had afrezziacs tweeting 24/7 -- generating 10.5 MILLION twitter "impressions" from May 2015-May 2016 alone!
10. had its own clinic -- VDEX -- pushing it
11. had three separate launches
12. gotten its label changed
13. had at least a dozen abstracts, papers and articles written about it in scientific/technical publications
14. advertised in programs of major league baseball games
15. advertised by handing out cell phone holders a hockey game
16. been pushed on various social media
17. had "Mannkindcares" helping patients get prior authorization
...etc, etc, etc...yet it still can't even vaguely achieve what Sanofi did. What little they have accomplished has been mostly by manipulating NDCs and raising prices on the product to absurd levels.
But far more important though are those refill numbers. Those are independent of pretty much anything anyone does. If a patient likes the drug, they go back for seconds.
Yet not only has Mannkind not reached the 300 refills that Sanofi achieved, the refills are near unchanged since Mannkind took over -- 230 versus 268.
If people don't refill, then the nrx numbers are totally meaningless -- who cares what nrx reaches if practically none of them ever come back for a refill?
AI
