|
Post by falconquest on May 10, 2019 18:02:54 GMT -5
Frankly speaking as a current CEO and former Marketing CMO of a well known successful brand, the latest decisions on MNKD marketing have been poor. On the limited budget they have, they should be buying remnant TV and Search to increase the overall frequency, reach and response on the limited dollars they have. The sponsorship of a driver and race car is absolutely ridiculous waste of money. Those type of "branded" sponsorships are for billion dollar established brands with dollars to spare. Where can one reach out to MNKD to speak to either their CEO or CMO? I'd be happy to reach out and provide advice. The poster above is correct in saying that Management not buying shares at this price says a lot about their thoughts on the future. Disappointed shareholder. But wait, our CEO is a former marketing executive. WTF? ? On another note, just an anecdotal comment but I am beginning to see steadfast and hardcore enthusiasts of Mannkind have second thoughts. I am referring to the tone of the board overall. Disillusionment is beginning to take hold and that is bad for Mike. As stated in the past, Mannkind has the greatest insulin product on the market and yet cannot capitalize on it. It's a damned shame!
|
|
|
Post by surferbouy on May 10, 2019 18:14:18 GMT -5
I agree with the marketing guy bc I'm a marketing/Sales guy. The car sponsorship is ridiculous unless you can tell me that people that like to watch race cars index 10,000% towards Diabetes. Why is it so clear to us what a benefit it is to the diabetes community yet so difficult to grasp from the rest of the health care providers? So when you see moves like this I would like to ask Mike if he can quantify how this endorsement moved the needle?
|
|
|
Post by sportsrancho on May 10, 2019 18:15:03 GMT -5
We knew three months ago that Mike had eight weeks...time is up. (Although some people were not listening to that.)
Every time I say that people think I think Mike’s time is up, that is not what I think. I think they are going to have to do a strategic review of what they plan on doing about selling Afrezza, why they can’t seem to sell it, who they can bring on to help them sell it. I think that’s what’s going on now. I’m not sure when I think the sun is going to come out again but MK seems to think it is:-)😎
|
|
|
Post by awesomo on May 10, 2019 18:17:25 GMT -5
"Here Comes the Sun", still my favorite Beatles song.
|
|
|
Post by sportsrancho on May 10, 2019 18:42:07 GMT -5
Laborer....@rooksleanne @mrmulally Yep, we needed a partner the day they knew Sanofi was bailing. They should be 100% convinced, as are most long term shareholders, they cannot scale up Afrezza where we need to get it to avoid many more years of misery. The slow adoption is destroying Afrezza's chances for success. Not to mention killing share value and the ability for the company to raise capital. Partner up or selling it is the only answer. #EndTheGoingAloneExperiment
|
|
|
Post by letitride on May 10, 2019 19:13:53 GMT -5
I am not convinced MNKD can not go it alone. More and more everyone knows our name. I cant see what Mike sees but when I hit the streets people are now talking and about Afrezza. A year ago they had no idea what I was talking about.
|
|
|
Post by sportsrancho on May 10, 2019 19:25:25 GMT -5
I am not convinced MNKD can not go it alone. More and more everyone knows our name. I cant see what Mike sees but when I hit the streets people are now talking and about Afrezza. A year ago they had no idea what I was talking about. I know I’ve run into people also, and they’ve seen the commercials ..my eye doctor knew about it. But now we’ve had to stop the commercials so we need an infusion of money from somewhere IMO.
|
|
|
Post by letitride on May 10, 2019 19:33:12 GMT -5
What did your eye doctor think about it?
|
|
|
Post by letitride on May 10, 2019 19:46:45 GMT -5
ARe you still a MNKD believer? Let it Ride!
|
|
|
Post by mnkdfann on May 10, 2019 19:53:51 GMT -5
I was at the pharmacy the other day, and the pharmacist I spoke to (one of several in the pharmacy) happened to be someone who mentioned to me in passing that she was transiting into a diabetes educator.
I thought I would ask her about what she advises clients, etc. I asked whether she had heard of an inhaled insulin, or about insulin pills in development. She was excited to hear about both, but this was all news to her.
FWIW, this was in Canada where Afrezza is not on the market. But I thought as a diabetes educator she would be up on what is current.
As to the question "Are you still a MNKD believer?" ... I do believe that Afrezza will survive in some form. AFAIK, the science is sound. But as for the Mannkind corporation, I really don't know. I have some doubts.
I was once invested in a world class asset, worth billions. But the financial crisis hit, and it had to sell out to a better funded competitor for pennies on the dollar. Believe me, I never imagined such a thing happening. So I am cautions when it comes to MNKD, and I did sell my last shares around $1.80 some months ago. If I ever buy back in, it will only be a small investment.
|
|
|
Post by falconquest on May 10, 2019 20:13:46 GMT -5
I was at the pharmacy the other day, and the pharmacist I spoke to (one of several in the pharmacy) happened to be someone who mentioned to me in passing that she was transiting into a diabetes educator. I thought I would ask her about what she advises clients, etc. I asked whether she had heard of an inhaled insulin, or about insulin pills in development. She was excited to hear about both, but this was all news to her. FWIW, this was in Canada where Afrezza is not on the market. But I thought as a diabetes educator she would be up on what is current. As to the question "Are you still a MNKD believer?" ... I do believe that Afrezza will survive in some form. AFAIK, the science is sound. But as for the Mannkind corporation, I really don't know. I have some doubts. I was once invested in a world class asset, worth billions. But the financial crisis hit, and it had to sell out to a better funded competitor for pennies on the dollar. Believe me, I never imagined such a thing happening. So I am cautions when it comes to MNKD, and I did sell my last shares around $1.80 some months ago. If I ever buy back in, it will only be a small investment. I believe this is the distinction that investors must make. We all know very well how successful Afrezza can be. Geez, I believed with all my being that Afrezza would be huge in the marketplace, it's really a no-brainer. Mannkind on the other hand, as a company, seems to be struggling badly. They have made some progress, I will grant them that but as I have previously stated, they can't get by on UTHR milestones alone. They need to get Afrezza in the hands of a strong marketing partner who can move the needle. They then need to focus on the development of other drugs (omg, pain management is a market screaming with opportunity) if they continue to go it alone, this investment will take years to develop.
|
|
|
Post by uvula on May 10, 2019 20:19:01 GMT -5
Will mnkdfann need to change names?
|
|
|
Post by brotherm1 on May 10, 2019 20:34:22 GMT -5
About 35 million short shares are betting MNKD cannot sell Afrezza now for a decent price. MNKD needs to show potential acquirers solid financial metrics. I think we need more time and if we can obtain funding we should take the time and keep growing. Perhaps this alleged strategic review surrounds this.
On another note, I still don’t believe the TV ads have failed. Too early to tell. Mike said something like 8-12 weeks to see results (I don’t recall his exact words, and I also remember the first TV ads MNKD ran and before doing so Mike said more like 4-6 months before the ads would start to soak in. I don’t remember his exact words there either but the 4-6 months I do remember).
|
|
|
Post by boca1girl on May 10, 2019 21:04:42 GMT -5
Still a believer? Tough question. Someone here said the technology and science are sound but they lost faith in the management team. I’m starting to lean in that direction.
Mike G. was hired as the marketing guy, turn around artist by Matt. We’ve made some progress but with many turns/bumps in the road. The contract sales force was hired to stabilize sales after Sanofi dumped us, then we hired an in-house marketing force, then fired Mike’s replacement for Marketing director and reorganized the sales force again. Mike said sales are very promotionally sensitive after analyzing the first TV ads and Mike said we should see positive results after only 6-8 weeks. Now after spending $9M on TV ads, Mike has been silent about effectiveness. I could never understand how MNKD could see positive results after only 8 weeks since it takes up to 6 months to get an appointment with an endo. I do believe that the ads helped with awareness but it’s too early to see if the ads will lead people to request and receive a prescription. Mike also said that there was a great increase in the co-pay card downloads and interest in the direct pay program but where are the additional scripts or was that all from existing users? And where is the social media presence? We are a “disruptive product” and have to do things differently than BP in this fight.
What happened to D. Dash, the Diabetes reality show, One Drop alliance? How about the donations of product after hurricanes in Houston and PR? Way too many unanswered questions about marketing.
International expansion? What is the new target date for Brazil and India? Whatever happened to China and Amphastar’s first right of refusal? How about the distribution partner for the UAE? We turned that down because Mike said we wanted a larger distributor that could handle multiple countries.
Dr. K said that this will be the easiest job he’s ever had, veins of gold, and said he would buy shares as soon as legal cleared him. I think he underestimated how though his job really is. Where are all the peer reviewed articles? How is he doing on getting the SOC changed for T1 and T2. He’s bought about 22k shares at the discounted $1.07 employee purchase plan, but never any open market purchase. But maybe we’ll all get the opportunity to buy at $1.07 again in the near future.
I truly believe we were on the road to bankruptcy just over a year ago and we are in a much better financial position now. But when Mike said we are funded through mid 2020, he qualifies that with the $1.60 warrants exercising, milestone payments from UTHR, the unknown compound for UTHR, increasing sales of Afrezza, etc. But I’m more convinced that there will be more dilution than currently planned, before the end of 3Q. We have burned through all of the additional authorized shares in about a year which was planned to last through 3 years. The Pediatric P3 trials can’t come soon enough. If any additional money can be spent to expedite that trial it would be money well spent in my mind.
I am a very frustrated long who has a substantial amount invested in my IRA and regular account. I blame no one but myself for my investment decisions, but the management must be honest with us and provide specific goals with associated dates of achievement. I worked in corporate America for over 35 years and was always measured on delivering my “product” to the stated quality, cost and schedule. I don’t feel like this management team has the same discipline.
I’ll be attending the ASM next week but now I don’t look forward to it. I don’t know if I will feel hostile towards management or will walk away feeling hopeful that there is a light at the end of this long tunnel.
|
|
|
Post by blueice on May 10, 2019 23:22:30 GMT -5
Still a believer? Tough question. Someone here said the technology and science are sound but they lost faith in the management team. I’m starting to lean in that direction. Mike G. was hired as the marketing guy, turn around artist by Matt. We’ve made some progress but with many turns/bumps in the road. The contract sales force was hired to stabilize sales after Sanofi dumped us, then we hired an in-house marketing force, then fired Mike’s replacement for Marketing director and reorganized the sales force again. Mike said sales are very promotionally sensitive after analyzing the first TV ads and Mike said we should see positive results after only 6-8 weeks. Now after spending $9M on TV ads, Mike has been silent about effectiveness. I could never understand how MNKD could see positive results after only 8 weeks since it takes up to 6 months to get an appointment with an endo. I do believe that the ads helped with awareness but it’s too early to see if the ads will lead people to request and receive a prescription. Mike also said that there was a great increase in the co-pay card downloads and interest in the direct pay program but where are the additional scripts or was that all from existing users? And where is the social media presence? We are a “disruptive product” and have to do things differently than BP in this fight. What happened to D. Dash, the Diabetes reality show, One Drop alliance? How about the donations of product after hurricanes in Houston and PR? Way too many unanswered questions about marketing. International expansion? What is the new target date for Brazil and India? Whatever happened to China and Amphastar’s first right of refusal? How about the distribution partner for the UAE? We turned that down because Mike said we wanted a larger distributor that could handle multiple countries. Dr. K said that this will be the easiest job he’s ever had, veins of gold, and said he would buy shares as soon as legal cleared him. I think he underestimated how though his job really is. Where are all the peer reviewed articles? How is he doing on getting the SOC changed for T1 and T2. He’s bought about 22k shares at the discounted $1.07 employee purchase plan, but never any open market purchase. But maybe we’ll all get the opportunity to buy at $1.07 again in the near future. I truly believe we were on the road to bankruptcy just over a year ago and we are in a much better financial position now. But when Mike said we are funded through mid 2020, he qualifies that with the $1.60 warrants exercising, milestone payments from UTHR, the unknown compound for UTHR, increasing sales of Afrezza, etc. But I’m more convinced that there will be more dilution than currently planned, before the end of 3Q. We have burned through all of the additional authorized shares in about a year which was planned to last through 3 years. The Pediatric P3 trials can’t come soon enough. If any additional money can be spent to expedite that trial it would be money well spent in my mind. I am a very frustrated long who has a substantial amount invested in my IRA and regular account. I blame no one but myself for my investment decisions, but the management must be honest with us and provide specific goals with associated dates of achievement. I worked in corporate America for over 35 years and was always measured on delivering my “product” to the stated quality, cost and schedule. I don’t feel like this management team has the same discipline. I’ll be attending the ASM next week but now I don’t look forward to it. I don’t know if I will feel hostile towards management or will walk away feeling hopeful that there is a light at the end of this long tunnel. Well summarized Boca. The clear issue here is accountability. The board does not appear to hold management accountable, and shareholders are deemed to be pesks to management. $9M spent on a DTC with zero uplift and no accountability is a grave concern. While we are at it, how long does it take RLS to emerge from the shadows? Where's ALB? What happened with Tolero? Torrey Pines? There are always lots of seemingly exciting things on the horizon, but we can only stay tuned for so long. As for thanking management later, I am wondering at what point I will do this. Even the value of the United deal has been priced out of our current share price. Whomever is calling the shots for management's CIA level secrecy must realize that actions speak louder than words. The technology is sound, but management is perpetually MIA. To ask for raises on top of this is a clear slap in the face of every dedicated long. Might as well ask us all to just eat cake....
|
|