From VDex:
WHAT?! Vdex and Mannkind are working together? Dont play with me girl. You're kidding, right?
Explain now, please!
Enquiring minds WANT to know!!
Read more:
mnkd.proboards.com/thread/11419/hfm-on-twitter?page=18#ixzz6EAQhH7VV 2/18/20
A little clarity for a lot of confusion…
Many false and misleading claims have been made.
The CEO of MNKD has made false claims regarding his fiduciary duties and VDEX.
One such claim shared privately with an investor...
“I have submitted all VDEX proposals to the Board of Directors”.
We believe MC gave “the” proposal to the BOD only AFTER the deal went public.
Expect no evidence to the contrary...because there is none.
VDEX made the choice to go public after witnessing many unexplainable improper acts by MC.
Prior to going public, there was a 3+ hr Face2Face meeting at Westlake with MC/VDEX(Bill).
The meeting began with Mc and Bill having a beer, MC showed Bill around the half-used Westlake facility and went on about all the great things he was doing for MNKD/Afrezza.
When it can time for Bill to share, he informed MC that he was in possession of a Letter of Intent for $10M.
Strangely, MC seemed to take Bill on his word.
I say Strangely because it didn’t seem to Bill that MC simply trusted Bill about the funding.
It seemed he didn’t care.
Side Note:
In MC’s response to our going public:
“Bill has claimed many times to be on the verge of expanding and being backed by very wealthy people in the LA area. I can’t comment but after 4 yrs I don’t see anything supporting such statements”
If MC had been genuine about actually engaging with VDEX, maybe he would have cared to see that our funding was in place.
In hindsight, it seems that MC didn’t care to even see it because why look at something you have no intention of engaging with.
Or, maybe MC was just too busy talking about MC.
MC did hear some specifics from Bill that impressed him and he suggested that VDEX publish our findings so as to convince the docs and endos to use Afrezza.
Bill said “We don’t have to convince docs and endos, we hire and train them”.
Upon hearing that, MC’s shoulders visibly slumped.
MC is STILL trying to convince the Docs / Endos. Because it’s STILL all he’s got.
The meeting was very friendly and productive.
MC threw out FOUR OFFERS to Bill and a response proposal from VDEX was REQUESTED by MC.
Later in the week, VDEX responded with a proposal that took MC up on one of the four offers HE had put on the table.
The VDEX proposal had simply ACCEPTED exactly what MC had offered... he flatly reneged.
MC now said MNKD ownership in VDEX had to be part of the deal.
He then went on to say he wanted to buy VDEX IN TOTAL ( one of the four initial offers ).
Is it MC’s assertion that the BOD was able to consider THIS VDEX proposal?
The BOD did not see the proposal.
The BOD has never heard of said proposal.
Expect no evidence to the contrary...because there is none.
There were also ... OTHER DEALS ... submitted to MC preceding the proposal that ultimately went public (NOT including Abu Dhabi).
Proposals were sent, ignored, reminders were sent, placating by MC and ultimately, deals buried.
The BOD never saw those deals.
Expect no evidence to the contrary...because there is none.
It became evident that we were being given the run-around as MC’s actions were in no way consistent with someone trying to conduct good faith business.
Sour Grapes? NO… Strange goings-on need to be shared with investors? YES
For some time we had been aware of MC privately making derogatory remarks about VDEX.
ONE example is where a shareholder was considering a VDEX licensing agreement (which is no longer an option)...
“I enquired about starting a VDEX in my home town. As part of my due diligence I contacted MNKD asking their opinion of Vdex., They said they had no confidence in Vdex, and were committed to working with OneDrop., SO I DIDN’T PERSUE IT FURTHER. So now it looks like Vdex has established itself, opening additional clinics. Meanwhile the great plans OneDrop had of combining Afrezza with their other OneDrop services as a subscription service is nowhere to be found. I will gladly support the Vdex founder in his quest for a MNKD board seat.”
This investor decided NOT to open a clinic based on what MNKD had told him about VDEX!
Again...(think Abu Dhabi) where would/could we be now IF MNKD had simply shut their mouth, or (this is going to sound crazy) actually chose to support VDEX?
Actually, in this instance, there was more complexity (lies) as MC was busy steeling Matt P’s job based on the false premise that our contacts were not “Valid Partners”.
The Abu Dhabi deal would have likely kept Matt’s job and MC knew it.
MC had everyone besides Matt P. convinced that our partners were not valid.
In stark contrast to what MC had been spreading throughout the company, Joe Saldana would later find that our contacts were “First Rate”.
Joe Saldana quit MNKD 1mo. after MC became CEO. They were related events.
There are many examples of MC communicating negativity about VDEX privately to shareholders and others, well before VDEX going public (and of course after as well).
MC’s unethical behavior aimed at VDEX, had always concerned/befuddled us but it had been behind our back.
Now we were submitting proposals that had been requested by MC and they were getting buried!!!
We didn’t know what to think.
We remember the CCO (MC) standing in the doorway of our exam room in our Canoga Park office.
MC had his right elbow on the door jam, his right hand index finger on his upper lip, he was staring at the ground as he stated...
“I’m convinced you guys are the answer. I’ve been all across the country trying to convince docs and endos and I’m convinced you guys are the way”.
Bill: Then why are you still using the sales force?
MC: “Because it’s all I’ve got”
It was such an uplifting moment for us.
The CCO of MNKD had just said we were the way!
Everything we had been working towards and believed in had just been validated and then some.
We left that day repeating the line that couldn’t stop echoing in our minds.
“I’m convinced you guys are the answer. I’ve been all across the country trying to convince docs and endos and you guys are the way”.
The members of VDEX, would-be investors, all the family members that were used to hearing about the business and anyone else that would listen, heard that line repeated often.
As mentioned in the Abu Dhabi paper/post regarding MC’s bad-mouthing his CEO and openly vying for the job (
mnkd.proboards.com/user/2705/recent?page=1#ixzz65quXyZ9K ), MC’s words, again, were reckless.
Here was the CCO standing before a couple guys he didn’t know well and telling them that he was keeping the MNKD sales force in operation seemingly for appearances.
MC says these things so carelessly and easily.
In hindsight, it’s really no surprise that MC has left shareholders such a rich collection of online Tweets, DMs, posts, emails, texts, etc… saying things that should not be said by anyone, let alone the CEO of our company.
Especially because some shareholders have been decimated after trusting the misleading words that MC has shared with them privately.
Below is a copy of Bill’s response to MC (CEO of MNKD) before going public with our deal.
We choose not to display MC’s emails, but know that we have the threads if need be.
On Apr 13, 2019, at 12:54 PM, William McCullough <xxxxxxx> wrote:
Attention MannKind Employees: This email originated outside of MannKind Corporation, therefore, please do not click on links or attachments within it unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Also, never give out your password. If in doubt, please report this email using the Phish Alert button in Outlook or by forwarding this email to TSS@mannkindcorp.com
Mike,
Here is the proposal I sent last week. I look forward to hearing from you.
On a separate note, we have been contacted by some businessmen in the Middle East about opening Vdex centers there. We are pursuing it, but have informed them that without Afrezza, we are unwilling to move forward. Let me know if you want to discuss this.
Regards,
Bill
Some takeaways from the email above…
Once again, a VDEX proposal on the table in April that was either ignored, rudely dismissed or we were told how /why to change it and when the changes were submitted, it was ignored.
VDEX has and is being contacted by foreign parties to help insure Afrezza’s success.
VDEX is committed to using Afrezza domestically and abroad.
Below is a copy of another email response from Bill to MC.
On Apr 17, 2019, at 2:35 PM, William McCullough < > wrote:
Mike,
I question the veracity of your response. It's obtuse to say the least. You approached me about buying Vdex a couple of times over the past few years. You mentioned funding Vdex' growth, taking an equity postion in the company with an option to buy the whole company as recently as a couple weeks ago. Have you forgotten?
We expended a significant amount of time and energy on a proposal you requested. Your terse and dismissive response reflects an absence of professionalism and respect. More ominously, it seems you are uninterested in ways to market Afrezza, others than those you devise yourself.
Some takeaways from the email above…
MC responded in, what we would consider, a manner unbefitting a CEO, terse and dismissive.
The proposal at the heart of this email response from Bill to MC was, again, in response to MC’s REQUEST FOR A DEAL !
MC had offered VDEX…
1) Funding
2) Take an Equity Position
3) Take an Equity Position w/ option to buy
4) Partnership (this one is not in the email above but was part of the offer made to Bill by MC in their 3hr meeting).
AFTER GOING PUBLIC…
Below is another email response from Bill to MC.
A little background… Bill had privately emailed a shareholder and disclosed the fact that MC had oddly mentioned bankruptcy in their 3+hr meeting.
Bill recalled MC saying “It would have actually been to my advantage to take the company through bankruptcy”.
This got back to MC and he emailed Bill a short denial and included with it was a legal threat.
In Bill’s opinion, MC said this to look magnanimous as he cast himself the Champion of Shareholders.
Bill’s response to MC below.
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: RE: Bankruptcy ?
From: "William McCullough" <>
Date: Sun, June 23, 2019 10:51 pm
To: "Castagna, Michael" < >
Mike,
Spare me your two-bit legal analysis. You don't know what you're talking about. The only one who's in legal jeopardy is you. I don't know how you got hold of a private email, but thats running close to the edge. Have you infiltrated our database? Or is it one of your shills? Threaten me again and you'll have a cease and desist letter from our counsel. That might be a material event requiring disclosure to shareholders.
Also, recall that you were the one to make disparaging, and inaccurate public statements with your Proboards post. Not smart for a CEO of a public company. You publicly disclosed our private business information without our consent. What's next, you want to disclose the names of our patients too?
As to the bankruptcy statement, I have several people with whom I shared that comment contemporaneously that are willing to testify to it, if need be. I remember it so well because we were in your office drinking beer at the time. Another word of caution Mike, when you’re in a hole, stop digging. I can bury you in testimony.
Now, let's move on to something productive. To start with, I'm unwilling to meet with you unless a Board member is present. Neither of us trusts the other so lets get at least one third party in any meeting. Contrary to your bullshit, you have never really tried to help us. I have opinions I'd like to make known to you and the Board. I will make them known whether you cooperate or not so I suggest we cooperate. If you're truly interested in the long-term survival of the company, you'll get off your high horse, shelve the ego and listen. There's a lot of positive that could happen, but it won't unless you change your behavior.
I'm ready and willing to meet cooperatively. I won't be silenced and neither will the shareholders that have joined our cause. So, time to cooperate.
Your call Mike.
Bill
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE:
This message is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed, and may contain information that is privileged, confidential and exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If the reader of the message is not the intended recipient, or the employee or agent responsible for delivering the message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by reply email and destroy this message.
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Bankruptcy ?
From: "Castagna, Michael" < >
Date: Sun, June 23, 2019 8:15 pm
To: "" <>
Some takeaways from the email above…
MC did a lot of threatening of legal action in the days following VDEX first going public.
Bill was/is not impressed by MC’s threats/warnings and turned it around on him every time.
Bill was no longer willing to meet with MC privately and requested a third party be present so that MC couldn’t just burry things again. We wanted to know that others would see.
Bill doubled down on the Bankruptcy comment because it’s true.
We are not trying to make more or less about the comment.
It speaks to MC’s character and mindset.
We believe that this, other emails, and much of MC’s communications with shareholders and of course his public statements proved more than enough legal jeopardy for MNKD and ultimately the board was left with no other choice but to have him muzzled. Hence, quiet time for Mikey, no juice box.
A good example of MC’s flare for the dramatic was in one of his first emails.
He emailed Bill and warned us about having gone public and suggested we take the post down …for our own good, of course.
”…people at the government level are watching what you do and waiting.”
As in the email above, Bill challenged MC on each and every one of those threats/warnings and MC did nothing (nor will he) because he knows we are telling the truth so he tries to intimidate us and contacts shareholders privately and spins, lies, deflects and makes promises of greatness to be found just around the corner.
Quintessential MC.
After hearing of the comment, I remember asking Bill incredulously “Who says that?!”
Again, Reckless!
As though we should congratulate him as our Hero for not taking us through BK.
Why mention what works best for YOU?
You’re here for SHAREHOLDERS, right? ….maybe your not.
Thank you so much Mr. Castagna… for letting us in to your thoughts.
Who says that?
I’ll tell you who……….. Someone who’s thinking about it, that’s who.
Below is another response from Bill to MC.
On Sep 17, 2019, at 3:19 PM, William McCullough <wcm@vdexdiabetes.com> wrote:
Attention MannKind Employees: This email originated outside of MannKind Corporation, therefore, please do not click on links or attachments within it unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Also, never give out your password. If in doubt, please report this email using the Phish Alert button in Outlook or by forwarding this email to TSS@mannkindcorp.com
Mike,
Attached is company information about _______, a _____ company I'm told you are already familiar with. I have been in contact with the principals of ______ about bringing Afrezza into _____, treating patients according to the Vdex protocols. ____ is aware that Vdex has achieved unprecedented levels of success with Afrezza and has asked that we provide the medical services in ____ using Afrezza.
The company currently seeks a letter of appointment as the exclusive agent for Afrezza in _____ and other regions in the Middle East. They would like to discuss this, along with other matters, in a conference call at your earliest convenience. Please provide some times when you are available for a call.
Bill McCullough
<sigimg0>
Some takeaways from the email above…
Confirms foreign interest in Afrezza/VDEX
VDEX was clearly speaking with MC about foreign matters well into the HFM movement.
Food for thought
MC was not wrong about the DTC.
The $9.3M DTC failed.
MC was not wrong
The Drop Rate was toxic.
MC was not wrong
MC: “I did it for you guys. I did it because that is what you guys wanted. “
MC was not wrong
The DTC did exactly what MC KNEW it would do…
At the time, CEO Matt P. had told CCO MC many times that the DTC that MC kept asking for, was never going to happen until the RETENSION RATE WAS FIXED.
You don’t spend good $ to invite patients into a broken process where the drop rate is toxic.
If you do, youv’e just invested your $9.3M in turning out more negative Afrezza experiences than positive Afrezza experiences. If we were talking about something close to 50%, that would be much different.
But when your drop rate is closer to 100%, it is simply not survivable.
Approx 350 new patients every week…350 x 52 wks = 18,200ea yr. x 5 = 91,000 patients have tried Afrezza.
Where are they all? 9000 patients WOULD BE A DROP RATE OF 90%
MC recently said there were 5-6000 patients currently on Afrezza. (That after finally revising down from 6-7000)
And how many of those 5-6000 are from the initial studies?
The drop rate is well over 90%.
MC knows this.
MC knew this.
He had been denied his DTC request repeatedly, on the basis of the toxic drop rate.
MC was fully aware that the DTC was going to fail because of it.
Then why did he do it?
MC: “I did it for you guys. I did it because that is what you guys wanted. “
No, what investors wanted was the truth about MNKD’s toxic drop rate because that was the pertinent info.
If investors had the transparency they deserve and the necessary information to factor in to the DTC equation, they, like an honest CEO, would NEVER have utilized the DTC.
It would have been far far better to have had a bon fire with the $9.3M used in the DTC, to warm our hands.
The reality is that MC went out and BOUGHT $9.3M worth of negative Afrezza experiences.
We can’t buy those back.
And he knew he was doing it. How could he not? Nothing had changed for the better?
This is like the parent that can’t say no to their child…
Except it’s much worse because MC knew his babies would get burned.
He let his children play with fire and told us the reason he let us play with fire was because… we wanted to.
We are not children and we just needed the truth to understand why we would not want to play with the DTC.
But MC seems to have an agenda that is not inline with investors.
And due to that agenda, MC did not see the value in sharing the pertinent data with MNKD’s information starved investors.
After repeatedly stating that we were “good with $”, MC diluted MNKD shares to finance the DTC (XMAS MASSACRE)
Was there some Hopium in the mix… I would Hope so. But it’s not an adequate justification.
MC knows his drop rate, the rate of Docs/Endos changing their minds about Afrezza when requested by patients, and many other data points that only confirm what MC has been told all along…
You don’t spend good $ to encourage patients into a broken process where the drop rate is toxic.
MC bought $9.3M worth of TIME to collect more bonuses, compensation, etc…
He’s been buying time … and squashing deals.
Current Status
I believe it was poster Judy(MOT) that mentioned…
“No more correspondence with MC…..Send enquiries to BOD”
As mentioned before, It appears Judy’s info is correct.
Up until a few months ago we were dealing with MC on all Foreign and Domestic deals/activities and then he started consistently CCing MNKD’s lead counsel on everything. (Again, we believe that these emails, and much of MC’s communications with shareholders and of course his public statements proved more than enough legal jeopardy for MNKD and ultimately the board was left with no other choice but to have him muzzled.)
At that point, MC was dealing with a foreign entity that had notified him that they were ready to move forward / purchase product and they would be doing so with the assistance of VDEX to instruct them in the proper use of Afrezza, so as to insure their success.
(This example, is just one of many scenarios where MNKD and VDEX can work together)
Bill wrote MC to help move things along and speak about the request of the foreign party to use VDEX in their rollout of Afrezza.
MC responded and ended his email by saying that he was…
“Glad to see they will be using VDEX insights and experience to help them.”
This is our CEO sounding like he a CEO.
That is what MC said to us knowing he was on the thread with counsel.
Are we being too cynical?
Case and point…
Soon after, our foreign partners would tell us about a private call with our beloved CEO, who is out there doing all he can to see Afrezza to success, who persistently speaks of his great personal sacrifice and commitment to Al’s dream and his on-going efforts to take advantage of every last opportunity to further Afrezza, … had tried to deter our PARTNERS from using VDEX and told them…
“There’re all trying to get me fired!”
He bad-mouthed us to the BUYER?!? REALLY?!?!?
We know he bad-mouths us privately to the shareholders…but...THE BUYER?!?
Does MNKD have sales and revenue that we are not aware of?
Though this type of self-serving behavior should never be part of a CEO’s MO, these seem like the actions of a CEO who is at the very least, swimming in deals.
MC was speaking to a potential Afrezza buyer.
“There’re all trying to get me fired!”
REALLY?!
This is what our CEO decides to say to an interested buyer of Afrezza who has the foresight to partner with VDEX and insure Afrezza’s success?
MC obviously knows we disagree with his practices as CEO and want him gone.
The point is that our CEO shouldn’t be whining and complaining about company politics to a potential buyer.
When we heard what he had said, it honestly shocked us.
Once again, MC had done what no one would believe.
No one except for…
the shareholder that MC told to “double down” before the Xmas Massacre.
the shareholder that MC had reassured that his investment was fine and would be growing.
the shareholders that MC has misinformed privately over and over and…
How could anyone interested in selling Afrezza and creating shareholder value, be so reckless with his words.
MC clearly feels embolden to say whatever he wants without consequence.
The fact is that there are consequences.
Our foreign partners could have simply walked away.
They might have… heard the CEO complain about the very entity that was to insure their success and lost confidence.
End of story.
Luckily they did tell us, so we would know more about who we were dealing with and in turn, we are able share with you.
Clearly, selling Afrezza is NOT what MC is good at.
MC is…was… good at selling MC.
It is undeniable,
MNKD’s CEO is more interested in his own agenda than he is in selling Afrezza.
Conclusion
Tony Hooper:
Occam’s Razor - Is a line of reasoning that says the simplest answer is often correct.
HFM has nominated members for the BOD.
Tony Hooper … It’s Simple, MC is defending himself by bringing in a friend.
”…people at the government level are watching what you do and waiting.”
MC
“I have submitted all VDEX proposals to the Board of Directors”.
MC
The VDEX proposal had simply ACCEPTED exactly what MC had offered... MC flatly reneged.
This investor decided NOT to open a clinic based on what MNKD had told him about VDEX!
…shareholders have been decimated after trusting the misleading words that MC has shared with them privately.
The Abu Dhabi deal would likely have kept Matt’s job and MC knew it.
Joe Saldana quit MNKD 1mo. after MC became CEO. They were related events.
There are many examples of MC communicating negativity about VDEX privately to shareholders and others, well before VDEX going public (and of course after as well).
In stark contrast to what MC had been spreading throughout the company, Joe Saldana would later find that our contacts were “First Rate”.
Now we were submitting proposals that had been requested by MC and they were getting buried!!!
“Because it’s all I’ve got”
You mentioned funding Vdex' growth, taking an equity postion in the company with an option to buy the whole company as recently as a couple weeks ago. Have you forgotten?
We expended a significant amount of time and energy on a proposal you requested. Your terse and dismissive response reflects an absence of professionalism and respect.
MNKD wanting nothing to do with VDEX…No it’s MC.
VDEX was clearly speaking with MC about foreign/domestic matters well into the HFM movement.
He knew then what we all know now.
MC: “I did it for you guys. I did it because that is what you guys wanted. “
The DTC did exactly what MC KNEW it would do…
MC bought $9.3M worth of TIME to collect more bonuses, compensation, etc…
“Glad to see they will be using VDEX insights and experience to help them.”
“There’re all trying to get me fired!”
Our foreign partners could have simply walked away.
These actions are not the exception for MC but rather the rule.
It is undeniable,
MNKD’s CEO is more interested in his own agenda than he is in selling Afrezza.
It’s all about Mike
Dealing w MNKD Counsel:
We at VDEX are Super happy to finally be dealing with an adult in the room.
SDB
