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Post by ktim on Jun 24, 2019 13:27:07 GMT -5
In my mind the amount of scripts Vdex has written is not the most important thing right now.. it's their retention.. With the new money from investors the script #s will change and grow.. FDA won't restrict Vdex on their advertising the way they do us. We will be able to cross some of the obstacles much faster.. What is MCs plan to overcome noninferior label, black box warning.. How do you educate docs when you can't say what Afrezza really is? I believe the people from Vdex.. I just do. Where is Matt P.. ?? Wish he would step forward.. The truth will come out.. it always does. If FDA won't then FDA wouldn't have, correct? Where are the VDex advertisements? Maybe I missed something here, but if VDex can, why are they apparently not? Obviously it wouldn't have been national TV ads, but where is the local stuff? Apologies if such ads have been referenced here and I missed it. Would love to see the ads if they do exist.
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Post by awesomo on Jun 24, 2019 13:31:09 GMT -5
Mike trash talked Matt, and now Bill is trash talking Mike. In the first case it was awful, but in the second case it's OK? There's a huge difference between internal trash-talk, sabotage, and back-stabbing for personal gain/power compared with external business disagreements/activist investors wanting change. The former is much, much worse in terms of revealing quality of character.
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Post by mnkdfann on Jun 24, 2019 13:33:26 GMT -5
Mike trash talked Matt, and now Bill is trash talking Mike. In the first case it was awful, but in the second case it's OK?
As for needing activists and changing Mannkind management, I look at where we were in Jan 2017, and I look at where we are now. Some might want to say that any success since then was because of Matt, but that's not believable, just as saying all success since then is because of Mike. I think THE TRUTH is that it's damnably hard (and/or expensive) to be successful selling Afrezza, and there is no magic, there is no silver bullet.
Mike wasn't on the scene when the black box label was applied. Mike wasn't on the scene when Sanofi backstabbed. Folks say Matt P did a great job of getting $50M cash and debt forgiven. I think an activist getting shareholders (not MNKD) to sue Sanofi might have been more successful. Don't know, but $750M in unpaid milestones, and complete sandbagging (and denegrating) Afrezza might easily have been worth more than what Matt P got. I'm not judging because I wasn't there to listen to the lawyers and negotiate the divorce, but I'm also not going to glibly agree that Matt P did the best that was possible.
I think Matt P was a good CFO but when Mike got promoted I was glad for the change, and I've been happy with the results. Apparently the Board of Directors and the major stockholders agree with my sentiments because THEY are the ones who made that change, and THEY are the ones that agreed to the raises, bonuses, and stock options.
The "December massacre" is a red herring and a farce. Look at the charts for 4Q 2018 and tell me how any CEO would know that the market would stop it's downward trend in 2019?
So to me, what I see is a trash-talking businessman with an agenda for a business proposal that doesn't look particularly good. If VDEX was going gangbusters, maybe, but 25 scripts a MONTH from 2 clinics (or if it is 6 clinics - that's even worse). And an equal number or prescriptions given away? Even if there was some hyperbole in those numbers, come on, who are we kidding? There is little value at best and negative value in that business model. Retention? I'm supposed to believe that all of the other Afrezza prescriptions that are being written and all of the diabetes educators, endos, and Primary Care physicians, and most importantly, Persons With Diabetes, cannot possible do what VDEX has done? Only VDEX knows the dark arcane secrets behind successfully titrating Afrezza? Only VDEX can lead us to profitability?
I cannot imagine what could persuade me a trash-talking video-making CEO of a tiny clinic company that we don't know is profitable and don't know who are the investors that established it, or the ones who are promising boatloads of money if they can get Mannkind to agree to a deal which is grossly favorable to them, and with an agenda to materially change the management of the company whose shares I can and do own, and who has already been eroding goodwill and destroying investor faith, is the savior of the value of my shares.
If Mike trash talked Matt, then what Bill said is just revealing the truth. Vdex is a customer of Mannkind. They offered to help promoting Afrezza. If Mike believes the deal is not good for Mannkind, he should list the reasons, not just dismissed them with the claim that Vdex had less than 25 scripts per month. How many clinics prescribed more than 25 scripts per month anyway? Mike did. He gave a list including 5 different reasons, that went considerably beyond just the <25 scripts thing. The reasons may not satisfy you, but he gave several.
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Post by nylefty on Jun 24, 2019 13:34:46 GMT -5
In my mind the amount of scripts Vdex has written is not the most important thing right now.. it's their retention.. With the new money from investors the script #s will change and grow.. FDA won't restrict Vdex on their advertising the way they do us. We will be able to cross some of the obstacles much faster.. What is MCs plan to overcome noninferior label, black box warning.. How do you educate docs when you can't say what Afrezza really is? I believe the people from Vdex.. I just do. Where is Matt P.. ?? Wish he would step forward.. The truth will come out.. it always does. If FDA won't then FDA wouldn't have, correct? Where are the VDex advertisements? Maybe I missed something here, but if VDex can, why are they apparently not? Obviously it wouldn't have been national TV ads, but where is the local stuff? Apologies if such ads have been referenced here and I missed it. Would love to see the ads if they do exist. They seem to be underfunded and therefore unable to afford advertising. As I've speculated before, they seem to be relying on word of mouth recommendations.
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Post by tingtongtung on Jun 24, 2019 13:36:54 GMT -5
Mike trash talked Matt, and now Bill is trash talking Mike. In the first case it was awful, but in the second case it's OK?
As for needing activists and changing Mannkind management, I look at where we were in Jan 2017, and I look at where we are now. Some might want to say that any success since then was because of Matt, but that's not believable, just as saying all success since then is because of Mike. I think THE TRUTH is that it's damnably hard (and/or expensive) to be successful selling Afrezza, and there is no magic, there is no silver bullet.
Mike wasn't on the scene when the black box label was applied. Mike wasn't on the scene when Sanofi backstabbed. Folks say Matt P did a great job of getting $50M cash and debt forgiven. I think an activist getting shareholders (not MNKD) to sue Sanofi might have been more successful. Don't know, but $750M in unpaid milestones, and complete sandbagging (and denegrating) Afrezza might easily have been worth more than what Matt P got. I'm not judging because I wasn't there to listen to the lawyers and negotiate the divorce, but I'm also not going to glibly agree that Matt P did the best that was possible.
I think Matt P was a good CFO but when Mike got promoted I was glad for the change, and I've been happy with the results. Apparently the Board of Directors and the major stockholders agree with my sentiments because THEY are the ones who made that change, and THEY are the ones that agreed to the raises, bonuses, and stock options.
The "December massacre" is a red herring and a farce. Look at the charts for 4Q 2018 and tell me how any CEO would know that the market would stop it's downward trend in 2019?
So to me, what I see is a trash-talking businessman with an agenda for a business proposal that doesn't look particularly good. If VDEX was going gangbusters, maybe, but 25 scripts a MONTH from 2 clinics (or if it is 6 clinics - that's even worse). And an equal number or prescriptions given away? Even if there was some hyperbole in those numbers, come on, who are we kidding? There is little value at best and negative value in that business model. Retention? I'm supposed to believe that all of the other Afrezza prescriptions that are being written and all of the diabetes educators, endos, and Primary Care physicians, and most importantly, Persons With Diabetes, cannot possible do what VDEX has done? Only VDEX knows the dark arcane secrets behind successfully titrating Afrezza? Only VDEX can lead us to profitability?
I cannot imagine what could persuade me a trash-talking video-making CEO of a tiny clinic company that we don't know is profitable and don't know who are the investors that established it, or the ones who are promising boatloads of money if they can get Mannkind to agree to a deal which is grossly favorable to them, and with an agenda to materially change the management of the company whose shares I can and do own, and who has already been eroding goodwill and destroying investor faith, is the savior of the value of my shares.
If Mike trash talked Matt, then what Bill said is just revealing the truth. Vdex is a customer of Mannkind. They offered to help promoting Afrezza. If Mike believes the deal is not good for Mannkind, he should list the reasons, not just dismissed them with the claim that Vdex had less than 25 scripts per month. How many clinics prescribed more than 25 scripts per month anyway? OK. Also, a thing about burn rate of MNKD. Forget about engineers, tech, etc. They are all needed. What about Chief People officer? That is beyond crazy. This is not a Bay area software company! And, one CFO and another VP of IR and treasury (I think it was "Accounting" before). Why do they need 2 people doing that? One was there since the beginning and did take place of MattP when he was out on surgery few times, why not let her handle it. Other CxO positions offering nothing - it seems. The savings may not be a lot, but it gives us the notion that the management is doing something to improve the company. The slap on our faces was, when they asked and took the pay raise and bonus, and not shares (especially if any of these allegations is true). What about sales people? 80+ generating so few NRx? Take a look at the places generating nothing, retreat from there, and save some money (or use those resources where they are getting more scripts). It looks simple, and I'm sure there are things that are not obvious for outsiders. But, the management *will know* after a few years what is working and what is not. Why not change course based on the lessons learned in the field?
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Post by thekid2499 on Jun 24, 2019 13:43:10 GMT -5
All of this in-fighting is doing a huge disservice to Al Mann, to Afrezza, to diabetics, and to shareholders. I urge everyone to put away their swords and do what is best for diabetics and for shareholders. This is why nothing ever gets done in politics. People who should have very common interests choose sides over something that in the grand scheme of things is not very significant. Diabetes is significant. Afrezza is significant. Our investments are significant to us. Whether MNKD and VDEX work together pales in comparision.
MNKD and VDEX are 2 separate companies. They have existed separately and can continue to do so. Or they can work together. We have heard both sides. It's up to them now to determine if they work together or not. If they do, great. If they don't, that's okay.
The rampant speculation and mudslinging on this board right now is embarrassing. Lots of people know pieces of the truth. Nobody knows all of it. Let's just leave it at that and re-focus on what is most important. If we do that, we will likely be focusing on what is best for diabetics and for shareholders.
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Post by awesomo on Jun 24, 2019 13:52:45 GMT -5
The rampant speculation and mudslinging on this board right now is embarrassing. Lots of people know pieces of the truth. Nobody knows all of it. Let's just leave it at that and re-focus on what is most important. If we do that, we will likely be focusing on what is best for diabetics and for shareholders. It doesn't matter what we focus on, we have no say in any decision making. All that matters is that Mike, the management team, and the BoD align with what is best for diabetics and shareholders. That the crux of the issue and the one being directly called into question and why this Vdex situation is important.
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Post by ktim on Jun 24, 2019 13:54:55 GMT -5
activist investor would be a good thing today. Offer to buy everything for $3.00 and put all of us out of our misery. I guess $3 will only make a few out of misery. I think he meant Old Yeller meets the rifle, not the end of It's a Wonderful Life.
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Post by ktim on Jun 24, 2019 14:28:49 GMT -5
If FDA won't then FDA wouldn't have, correct? Where are the VDex advertisements? Maybe I missed something here, but if VDex can, why are they apparently not? Obviously it wouldn't have been national TV ads, but where is the local stuff? Apologies if such ads have been referenced here and I missed it. Would love to see the ads if they do exist. They seem to be underfunded and therefore unable to afford advertising. As I've speculated before, they seem to be relying on word of mouth recommendations. Can't afford to run ads in local papers or on radio, or direct mail locally? Individual medical/dental practices do this all the time. It would strike me as very odd, given the presumed flexibility that they have to tout their clinics' successes, that they have not done any advertising. Where's the graph showing A1c distribution for patients. That presumably would even have a nice bump from selection bias... i.e. the patients that saw the least improvement are probably more likely to stop going to VDex.
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Post by wgreystone on Jun 24, 2019 16:58:45 GMT -5
The rampant speculation and mudslinging on this board right now is embarrassing. Lots of people know pieces of the truth. Nobody knows all of it. Let's just leave it at that and re-focus on what is most important. If we do that, we will likely be focusing on what is best for diabetics and for shareholders. It doesn't matter what we focus on, we have no say in any decision making. All that matters is that Mike, the management team, and the BoD align with what is best for diabetics and shareholders. That the crux of the issue and the one being directly called into question and why this Vdex situation is important. Just want to add on that the current marketing strategy is not working. The problems pointed out by Vdex seems fairly convincing.
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Post by prcgorman2 on Jun 24, 2019 17:13:06 GMT -5
Mike trash talked Matt, and now Bill is trash talking Mike. In the first case it was awful, but in the second case it's OK? There's a huge difference between internal trash-talk, sabotage, and back-stabbing for personal gain/power compared with external business disagreements/activist investors wanting change. The former is much, much worse in terms of revealing quality of character. Disagree completely. The character is the same, but in the former case, there is no direct impact on the stock price. Public bashing is public bashing. People who've bought into the VDEX bashing are way more confident they know the truth than I think they should be. They can say the same thing about my views on Mannkind management but I think my views are backed up by what we can discern by the actions of the Board of Directors and the major shareholders in ousting Matt in favor of Mike and authorizing raises, bonuses, and stock options.
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Post by awesomo on Jun 24, 2019 17:20:03 GMT -5
There's a huge difference between internal trash-talk, sabotage, and back-stabbing for personal gain/power compared with external business disagreements/activist investors wanting change. The former is much, much worse in terms of revealing quality of character. Disagree completely. The character is the same, but in the former case, there is no direct impact on the stock price. Public bashing is public bashing. People who've bought into the VDEX bashing are way more confident they know the truth than I think they should be. They can say the same thing about my views on Mannkind management but I think my views are backed up by what we can discern by the actions of the Board of Directors and the major shareholders in ousting Matt in favor of Mike and authorizing raises, bonuses, and stock options. The most toxic behavior in a company are two-faced back-stabbers because it completely erodes trust. It is very different than public squabbling. And I'm pretty sure the stock price was in the crapper long before any of the Vdex stuff came out. But hey, keep pumping Mike as the savior to us all...
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Post by rtmd on Jun 24, 2019 17:23:03 GMT -5
Could someone please clarify the raises and bonuses I see being referred to? How large were they? Who got them?
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Post by uvula on Jun 24, 2019 18:09:24 GMT -5
Could someone please clarify the raises and bonuses I see being referred to? How large were they? Who got them? If you're a stockholder you should have received a proxy statement.
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bkdmd
Researcher
Posts: 79
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Post by bkdmd on Jun 24, 2019 19:29:17 GMT -5
If I were CEO, I would work without paycheck.....until I returned value to shareholders.
How much did Mike make before he became CEO of MNKD? There is no difference between Mike Castagna and all of the politicians getting earning a living they would never have without the government job.
I have felt for a long time it was time for Mike to go. Let's conduct a poll of every here. Who believes it is time for Mike to go? I have felt for a long time he is not in align with shareholders. He is in it for himself.
And I am not on VDEX's side. I wish I never heard of VDEX or this Bill guy. VDEX and Bill are bushleague.
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