One BIG issue that hasn't been resolved. Unit-for-Unit pricing has Afrezza slightly higher than the RAA brands. But since your dosage would be roughly 2:1 with Afrezza vs RAA, it simply puts Afrezza into a Premium price range that insurers are not willing to pay. If you add correction doses to manage your Time-In-Range, the monthly price to insurers and patients (since most people have higher deductible plans these days) is, in my opinion, what has been holding Afrezza back from being accepted. I believe that the premium pricing is the number one factor behind the inexplicable refill rates. Doctor after Doctor is saying the same thing to their patients and to other doctors: Afrezza inhaled insulin costs way too much.
I understand that the benefits of being able to manage your BG levels at an unprecedented level of control equates to long-term health benefits. I also understand that the huge benefit in life style changes, coupled with the previous benefit, may justify the premium. Unfortunately, insurers don't see it that way and most patients simply cannot fork over that much out of pocket expense.
It's a sad state of of mind that has dominated management's thinking for far too long. First impressions are crucial to new drug launches and when MannKind launches its consumer marketing campaign, if they don't get the pricing right, they'll have missed a golden opportunity to propel Afrezza as an elite insulin at an affordable price. Sanofi set the price of Afrezza higher than RAA brands because they knew they and the other big pharmaceutical were about to enact a massive price increase for their RAA insulin brands.
I fear that MannKind's management was blinded by greed after Afrezza was returned to them and they currently want to capitalize on the current market's high insulin prices. "Better AND more affordable" is the message that is needed today to make Afrezza into a blockbuster tomorrow. I fail to understand why they don't get this. At a time when competitors are raising prices, what a powerful message you could send by announcing that you are lowering your price.
If you want to be greedy, then raise your price later, after Afrezza is dominating the prandial market. T
o maintain their current per unit premium prices is utter nonsense at this stage of the Afrezza life cycle.
Just my opinion. I continue to root for Afrezza to become successful. OneDrop has the right idea. I hope the new CEO of MannKind follows suit with a similar pricing strategy.
BTW, I don't read Spencer's articles, so my opinion should not be interpreted as supportive of his viewpoints which, as I understand it from members posts, focuses primarily on MannKind's finances. Perhaps another thread may have been a better place to post my viewpoint, but here it stays. K?
Good fortune all.