Al Mann's Cash

[seanismorris]

We've had news recently that Al has been selling property to raise cash.

For pure speculation, lets say Al wants to advance Technosphere pain formulations but Mannkind doesn't have the cash to fund other projects until at least next year (aggressively).  Al also realizes that for Mannkind raising money at this point would be looked on negatively by the markets.  I.e. Dilution before Afrezza's success.

So, let's say Al creates a new company and funds it with 100M to license or co develop Technosphere pain meds.

Questions:
1. Would this be considered a conflict of interest, and cause legal issues?
2. What would the partnership look like? I'd assume Mannkind would do all the actual work.
4. Would 100M get them through clinical trials?

The end goal would be Mannkind buying out this new company when finances improved.  Al would probably just end up with more shares of Mannkind.  I think Al has enough confidence in Technosphere to try to jump start projects and assume almost all the risk..

Would this kind of arrangement make you want to buy more shares?

[seanismorris]

Here's the quote from the conference that I'm thinking about.

Matthew Pfeffer - Corporate Vice President and CFO
Okay. We don’t have specific products. We are not specific products rated to talk about yet. I mean, while we’ve been so much starved for cash as we brought AFREZZA over the finish line, we haven’t not been looking at any other product opportunities. And other companies have brought us API and said, can you formulate this into something in Technosphere to the extent they are willing to reimburse us for that. We’ve been happy to do that. That could potentially lead to our product opportunity to a collaboration but it would be premature to announce something like that until something like that is in place. And we’re looking at things like that.

[seanismorris]

Sort of off topic...

So, we know that other companies have approached Mannkind to create an API.  So, why haven't we heard anything about this in more detail?  

If the company used what Mannkind created, wouldn't we have seen something like animal testing?  Also, what rights does this give the company to a Technosphere opportunity?  For example, let's say the company asked Mannkind to create a Technosphere Viagra (off patent) would that give them exclusive rights, so that Mannkind or anyone else couldn't do the same thing? I.e. Locking up potential markets? 

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Viagra cannot be used with Technosphere. A dangerous combo.

A lot can happen behind the scene before any patent is sought. Asking for a patent is basically making public corporate strategy.


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