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Post by eddiemoy on May 21, 2015 14:16:18 GMT -5
That tells me there is a disconnect between MNKD and sny. Do you read it that way? nah, they know what sny is doing, but they cannot discuss it. matt made that clear in the boa meeting.
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Post by savzak on May 21, 2015 14:19:32 GMT -5
eddie, I'm sorry if my question wasn't clear. I'm wondering whether it was obvious to you that the speaker (whoever it was) was joking when he/she said that shareholders should e-mail Sanofi with questions or concerns over their performance as the marketing partner up to this point.
Thanks.
It was haken, ceo that made the comment and don't think he was kidding... that was after he let known that he get lots of emails from shareholders with questions, but as for sanofi related questions, he was serious about emailing sanofi... Wow. That's disappointing in so many ways.
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Post by eddiemoy on May 21, 2015 14:27:54 GMT -5
It was haken, ceo that made the comment and don't think he was kidding... that was after he let known that he get lots of emails from shareholders with questions, but as for sanofi related questions, he was serious about emailing sanofi... Wow. That's disappointing in so many ways. haken can't say anything, he knows what they are doing, but it isn't his place to say what they are doing. just listen to the recent boa conf. it is all there.
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Post by Deleted on May 21, 2015 14:38:01 GMT -5
Part of the problem with the request for a summary means you get to hear things second hand. I wouldnt take everything you read here as face value, like some are doing.
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Post by savzak on May 21, 2015 14:39:42 GMT -5
Wow. That's disappointing in so many ways. haken can't say anything, he knows what they are doing, but it isn't his place to say what they are doing. just listen to the recent boa conf. it is all there. Just sayin'...I don't think telling concerned shareholders that they need to anonymously e-mail our marketing partner in order to try to alleviate their concerns over the tepid roll out of our only marketable product sends quite the right message. Some might infer that our management either doesn't know what's going on, or is not happy with Sanofi, or both.
This is the annual shareholder meeting. Shareholders who complain about Sanofi's performance should be reassured either that all is according to plan or that there have been some issues which have been addressed to management's satisfaction. In my opinion, they should not be told, "You should e-mail Sanofi with those concerns, but don't tell them who you are".
I wasn't there and didn't hear it so I'll pass no further judgment. It's just that it sounds kind of familiar and, I'm afraid, consistent with some of the past missteps in communications.
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Post by esstan2001 on May 21, 2015 15:32:44 GMT -5
Liane, BD, OOG & wife, erzafund, als57, was great to meet you all.
ASM: Technical displays / staff prior to meeting- all knowledgeable, good 1 on 1 presentations regarding inhaler, technosphere, etc. Implications of solid IP / deep moat. Inhaler tolerant of most angles operation except upside down. Slow flow of large particle volume to ensure complete distribution. Most others look to attain high velocity. Not the optimal solution. Many testimonials, accolades, and deep appreciation for all that Al Mann has done for diabetics and society. Great, Amazing, humble (although I am sure he also has a big ego) guy. - Irish T2 traveled here for meeting imploring EU appvl. -Investor / diabetic / financial type / long time MNKD friend just went on Afrezza 2 weeks ago- has not exceeded 140 BG; was >300 before. Son also a user of Afrezza. Generally, management exuded an aire of confidence. Things are progressing.
Q/A: A few expressed their displeasure with lack of action regarding short attacks. Matt's reply was covered I think by thesloppy, but he added we 'may, or may not' have spoken to SEC regarding short shennanigans; we just can't tell you. Take it FWIW. Al held out a FDA compliant spirometer, that costs about what 1 billing for it's use would be so docs could immediately recover expense. Team trying to figure how to get it disseminated. Hoekan- Ins issues being addressed. Regarding other Technosphere applications- They are being discussed with partners. We may hear some news in the next few months (I assume some study start, or some deal). Also regarding SNY ROW plan assessment: should hear something within the next few months.
Tour: Many process parameters involved in producing Afrezza. The inhaler and FDKP are peanuts to the cost- the insulin is the material cost. Pfizer insulin still tests fine. Annual drug storage reports updated to FDA. Production line sampling for all sorts of parameters (spheres size, roundness, moisture content, microbial assays(?) to date line YIELD ==> 100%
Separate conversations- Hoekan: Estimates scripts about 8 weeks behind what they expected. In contact with SNY. I mentioned with the JV having co-equal representation, why did the SNY R&D VP get away with generating a slide that lists Afrezza among a group of drugs planned for 2019 EU launch? (hope I got this right from the board this am- did not verify by looking at the slide deck) I said that the SNY JV rep should have caught this and prevented that bad messaging from getting out (better not be the plan).... he said it is supposed to work exactly that way and he was not aware of this, & that it will get addressed moving forward. Eric Fennar- totally stoked for Afrezza; never felt better, can do all his sports / live as a non diabetic; confirms some docs are stuck in the mud regarding change, can take time for patients to get in for a visit- TRYING TO GET WORD OUT TO ALL DIABETICS so they can live better sooner (he is a just great guy). I probably forgot some things, but this is 85% of what I interpreted. Anyone feel free to correct me.
MY takeaway: I am very comfortable with the investment. It will take some time to grow (issues enumerated ad nauseum on this board). I believe the clock tics for the short position. The plant is quite impressive.
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Post by esstan2001 on May 21, 2015 15:42:32 GMT -5
There was a late member to the breakfast- my apologies for not recalling your 'name'. The spheres (cryopellitizer stuff) use the same technology as the dipping dots ice cream (licensed I guess?) Thought that was funny. Judging from how enthusiastic diabetic users have received this, I can see attaining plant capacity rather quickly, and SNY executing on ROW plant locations to address the $400M patient pool Al refers to. Coming from Al, that carries some weight (not to be getting too far ahead of myself)
:-)
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Post by BlueCat on May 21, 2015 15:50:34 GMT -5
It was haken, ceo that made the comment and don't think he was kidding... that was after he let known that he get lots of emails from shareholders with questions, but as for sanofi related questions, he was serious about emailing sanofi... Wow. That's disappointing in so many ways. Exactly. Not what I expect from a CEO. Many constructive ways to handle this concern without washing hands of it. I wasn't there, so can't interrupt context and intent properly. But if serious, while I really appreciate that they are personally accessible, shoulda kept that one at the water cooler. Otherwise, management should represent our shareholder concerns. They really need some corp comm help. I repeat ….. Oy.
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Post by benh on May 21, 2015 16:03:30 GMT -5
Wow. That's disappointing in so many ways. Exactly. Not what I expect from a CEO. Many constructive ways to handle this concern without washing hands of it. I wasn't there, so can't interrupt context and intent properly. But if serious, while I really appreciate that they are personally accessible, shoulda kept that one at the water cooler. Otherwise, management should represent our shareholder concerns. They really need some corp comm help. I repeat ….. Oy. Not that bad really. Question goes to MNKD, they send to SNY for response, back to MNKD then back to enquirer. That's a lot of traffic and time, so, just cut out the middleman.
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Post by Deleted on May 21, 2015 16:10:56 GMT -5
Exactly. Not what I expect from a CEO. Many constructive ways to handle this concern without washing hands of it. I wasn't there, so can't interrupt context and intent properly. But if serious, while I really appreciate that they are personally accessible, shoulda kept that one at the water cooler. Otherwise, management should represent our shareholder concerns. They really need some corp comm help. I repeat ….. Oy. Not that bad really. Question goes to MNKD, they send to SNY for response, back to MNKD then back to enquirer. That's a lot of traffic and time, so, just cut out the middleman. SNY is only partner .. MNKD still owns Afrezza and the better Afrezza does, Mannkind does better. So Mnkd JV should be able to clarify the questions that MNKD investors had..if they dont know the answers , or cant answer them , they should probably call in an SNY representative.. I call it Accountability.
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Post by mnholdem on May 21, 2015 16:13:40 GMT -5
It could simply be that MannKind management has agreed not to disclosed anything about what Sanofi is doing without their permission. This seems to fly in the face of Hakan's Q4 comment that if Sanofi wouldn't keep us updated then MannKind would. However, Hakan made that remark in context of Sanofi being responsible for further development. Perhaps marketing strategy was not implied.
Sanofi has thousands of sales reps yet can only generate 250-300 prescriptions per week? If Sanofi is not going to provide transparency, then MannKind has an obligation to do so. What Matthew Pfeffer did at his BofA presentation by elaborating on the issues affecting initial sales of Afrezza MUST continue to be the norm for MannKind's Investor Relations Department.
I'm sorry, but lack of spirometers and prior authorization delays smacks of a smoke screen. If they claim it's easily fixed but we are NOT seeing a jump in sales, then they are either mistaken or they are lying. With the demand we've been seeing and people posting that their endos haven't even been visited by a Sanofi sales rep, it's beginning to look like Sanofi is mothballing Afrezza. If management know this is the case they should be explaining to us why Sanofi is not devoting sufficient resources to get the job done.
I believe in results, and I am suspect of any manager who continually says, "Wait, you'll see." Those are the ones I do not hesitate to fire and replace.
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Post by goyocafe on May 21, 2015 16:28:40 GMT -5
Is spirometry testing going to be a worldwide requirement? If so, they're going to need a few more than the few thousand I heard mention that Al Mann was trying to acquire. And to that point, if SNY is responsible for ALL ASPECTS OF MARKETING AND DISTRIBUTION, why is the spirometry issue landing back on MNKD? It seems everyone has moved past this issue, when I can't. It seems like such a fumble considering how much time they had to plan this, and all of the history with Exubera's debacle to learn from. "We're working on fixing this" seems like a really weak response to such a blunder. I still think it comes back to SNY not taking Afrezza seriously at first. I would love to hear SNY say this, and then permanently affix a picture of the friggin' inhaler on their home page, and stop treating it like a red headed step child.
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Post by orlon on May 21, 2015 16:30:32 GMT -5
Sanofi is the marketing partner...their job is to market this product and we should, as shareholders, expect them to do their job. If they won't put their weight behind an outstanding product maybe it's time to look around for another pharma that will. Hakan Edstrom at the moment appears to be a very weak CEO. He needs to stand up and take charge of the company, create a vision, and organize a management team that achieve that vision. The milestone payments seem to be the only goals at the moment. Getting AFREZZA into the hands of those who need it as well as educating endos on the use and benefits should be the priority here. Hakan needs to think long term...no more excuses!
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Post by ezrasfund on May 21, 2015 16:47:48 GMT -5
The ASM has been pretty well summarized. Additionally...
Hakan indicated that prior authorization from insurers was the main issue slowing the uptake of Afrezza, even more than spirometry. One reason is that the recent Hep C treatment, at about $80K per dose, had taken insurers by surprise, and made prior authorization for new meds even more widespread.
What Matt said regarding e-mails is that if you want to communicate with SNY regarding Afrezza you should not mention that you are a MNKD shareholder. If you do your e-mail will just be forwarded by SNY to Matt without a response.
Most important to me management still seemed relaxed and confident. Someone asked Hakan if the stock price would have any effect on MNKD's ability to move forward even if it went below $1. Hakan said no without any hesitation, which I take to mean that they have no plans to issue more shares.
Matt did say that while they are, of course, aware of the large short position there is little they can do but execute their business plan, as has been the experience of other companies (OSTK?). If they were in communication with the SEC, which is mostly ineffective, they couldn't say anything about it anyway (wink, wink, nod, nod).
Great to meet you all from the board and rub shoulders with celebrities like Eric Fenar.
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Post by als57 on May 21, 2015 16:50:45 GMT -5
In talking with Hakan about script numbers, he said they were about 8 weeks behind Mannkind's projections, but was confident that numbers would go up with the clearing of impediments " Sanofi's" arena of expertise. He was asked if Sanofi's reps were pushing Afrezza, and stated that they were well incentivized and he gave examples, which to me sounded fuzzy!
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