What did LFD say in his response to Mike? (Please don't make me go to the SA site - it makes me feel dirty).
Cut and pasted below. It reads easier (better formatting) at the original source:
seekingalpha.com/article/4002856-mannkind-curtain-drawn-microphone-placeLooking For Diogenes , Contributor
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Dear Mr. Castagna,
I was pleased to receive your comments, as they relate to my ongoing commentary about MannKind. Over the years I’ve heard from various executives where I might have questioned the merits of their stock’s valuation. However, I’ve never garnered the benefit of having two executives, from the same company, where they felt they had to challenge my “opinion”. As it relates to your CEO’s prior effort to negate my “opinion”, your effort is being done at a time where the market-cap is still what I consider being over-inflated at the current $351 Million MC. When your CEO sallied forth with his effort, the stock was sporting a market-cap north of $3 billion---so please note, “maybe” my opinion had a small iota of reality.
Mr. Castagna, your company has a product that has some benefit for application in the market place. After all, we are talking about insulin. But that is where, in my opinion, the relevance of your products ceases to have any merit as a viable investment opportunity. Your opening comment about 70% of diabetics are not at goal----------yeah! I know this Mr. Castagna, because that is why I donate sums of money to the various foundations that strive for patients understanding what they face when addressing their disease. I hope you notice, at the end of each article I write about MannKind, I place a very sincere and wishful hope that Afrezza remains available for those patients needing options for addressing their medical condition. So please understand---my issue is with the viability of a stock and the merits, not necessarily the underlying product. A minor differentiation on my part—so I hope you will consider my effort for us meeting somewhere in the middle.
I have a natural curiosity about the health care system in our nation. In order that I might understand the complete machination of how drugs and medical procedures are created, I have visited medical schools so I can see how their training programs work. I have flown from coast-to-coast where I attended stock holder meetings where I can quiz the executives and scientist about their drugs. I have even attended an FDA hearing in Maryland in order that I might understand the process and deliberations on particular drugs. But at the end of the day, I concede that you probably know more about the drug industry, than I. But I’m still willing to debate the issues with you!
Mr. Castagna, I’m retired from a very rewarding career, where in my position I understood your job demands because I faced the same issues. Your decision for bragging about your marketing plan---I get it! I understand budgets, and I SURE understand the critical need for developing marketing plans---simply because, whereas, in your case you have one product that needs a marketing plan. In my profession I had to create marketing plans unique for individual states and a variety of different products. It wasn’t easy—so I hope we can at least be on the same page about this issue.
Mr. Castagna, facing stiff opposition for my articles about your company, even efforts for having me banned from writing “my opinion” here on SA, I have been consistent with my articles. Instead of simple conjecture on my part, I quote and cite public documentation for all of my articles. Your SEC filings are my favorite source of information. At the end of the day, it would please me greatly if I am wrong about my “opinion”, because that will result in my fellow humans getting the benefit of a medication that will ameliorate or neutralize their medical malady. I appreciate your effort to clarify the issues that I raise. However, wishing to ignore basic financial metrics by invoking Al Mann’s legacy, doesn’t negate the points that I consider as having merit. So please don’t try putting me on a guilt trip, as there is no doubt that the gentleman made great contributions to medical science. However, none of us are infallible! And Al Mann’s legacy has a history of this point being validated. The issue is Afrezza---and does it offer any beneficial contributions to humans suffering from diabetes. And can efficacy be accomplished with benefits that justify the underlying operational expenses that MannKind is operating under? Trust me, Mr. Castagna—Wall Street doesn’t run charity operations for corporations that don’t make money for them. If you want proof of this reality—look at what your stock is currently trading and the current market cap!
Over the last few days, I have been attempting to keep my golf game in some semblance for not embarrassing me with my playing partners. In the interim, I’ve noted the chant from the minion of true-believers has gone out, that I can’t or won’t respond to your comments here on Seeking Alpha. Ironically, I was considering my last article would embody my last effort for addressing my opinion about the future of MannKind. Now, what I find ironic, is the fact the nuggets of information and your spin on various material topics, it has given me pause to reflect and realize that NOW I have new material for at least one more article. So please note, over the coming days, I will once again respond to the assertions that I will shrink from offering “my opinion”. You might even consider Twitting out to your minion they shouldn’t goad me into responding—just a friendly suggestion on my part!
In closing and referencing in the beginning of my response to you, I cite that I’ve heard from other executives concerning “my opinion”. Sadly, your effort was an excellent effort, however, my favorite and the one I keep framed over my desk, is the one I got from the President and CEO of one of the nation’s largest mutual funds. I had contacted the Chairman of his parent multi-national corporation, where I spelled out what I thought was a “dubious” operation being supported and touted by one of their fund managers. Apparently “my opinion” presented to the Chairman instigated a demand for his President and CEO responding to my issues. The following is the most cogent rebuttal from this CEO---“Differences of opinion about securities are what make the stock market work. At the end of the day, we respect anyone’s right to hold a different opinion about a company, but we stand by our portfolio managers and their decisions, as they have demonstrated long-term track record of being right more often than they have been wrong.”
A few months later the portfolio manager no long found his CEO “standing by him” as he was given the opportunity for taking his demonstrated long-term track record elsewhere. The company in question, with no warning, merely shutdown their operation and filed bankruptcy. Investors lost more than $500,000,000.00. What is ironic, the issue I had with this company all boiled down to my rudimentary understanding of the science---in their case it was chemistry!
With the Highest of Best Regards,
Looking for Diogenes
PS: Always remember—my coming detailed response will be based on things you brought to my attention! Happy Labor Day---and please get some rest---responding to “MY OPINION” at 1:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. isn’t good for your health. Follow your recent comment where you stated you couldn’t run a company while paying minute by minute attention to those who waste your time with their incessant demands for you running TV ads for Afrezza.
-J
