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Post by mindovermatter on Feb 17, 2016 13:15:42 GMT -5
"Should MannKind find a deep pocket partner to take over costs associated with Technosphere, or sell off Technosphere, in order to significantly reduce operating expenses and focus on making Afrezza a success in the diabetes community?" Even if it should, I am not optimistic it could. IMO, history has demonstrated that industry interest in TS is underwhelming. The fact that Mannkind has yet to sign anyone for a TS deal, a technology it has had for about a decade, other than Afrezza --and that was only done after approval-- tells us all we need to know about what the industry thinks about it or more about partnering with Al.
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Post by mindovermatter on Feb 16, 2016 8:44:54 GMT -5
I guess that MNKD management has already drawn up both the timeline of approval in UK and continental EU and their trials to show superiority. Without superiority they can forget about meaningful sales in Europe. Big Pharma is well positioned in EU and UK. Might be that they can get some sales in Middle east or China to improve cash situation, but even that should need several months to kick in. MNKD success will be decided this year and short-term EU and UK are irrelevant. On a side note, I hope Mannkind is using the fact that Sanofi did nothing to get EU approval for Afrezza as a evidence that Sanofi sat on Afrezza to extract a nice parting paycheck from SNY.
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Post by mindovermatter on Feb 15, 2016 16:05:49 GMT -5
Could Novartis be the perfect buyer / Partner for MannKind?
they are focused in finding cures beyond the typical insulin injections. They have partnered with JDRF like MannKind has in the past. Perhaps this might be a good fit. NVS is looking beyond insulin injections. They are focused on cell regeneration as a cure or solution. This is the point that Both Edelman and Al Mann has made about Afrezza giving the Pancreas a break. Seems that there might be something good that both companies have the same goals and Novartis has the clout to make Afrezza a winning blockbuster drug. They seem to maybe compliment what MannKind brings to the table.
search for this story: www.novartis.com/stories/discovery/stepping-toward-regenerative-medicine-diabetes
I am sure MNKD management said the same thing the day Sanofi dumped Afrezza.
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Post by mindovermatter on Feb 14, 2016 13:43:23 GMT -5
That 60% of prescriptions were not refilled is no big surprise to someone who has fought for coverage on this drug. Look at the coverage rates on the thread that is updated weekly. We have been stuck at coverage for individual people at LESS than 40% since Afrezza emerged. When a person has to spend $350 on a drug every month when an injectable has a $10 co-payment, there is bound to be drop outs. That there have only been 60% means that there are people (like we used to be) that paid for this drug out of pocket. Imagine when there is better coverage? Clearly, I'm still looking at this as the glass half full. We just need to have enough cash to allow this process to proceed. Let's hope there is some sort of settlement from Sanofi that gives us a year! Good point about insurance issues and getting refills. The one thing that Sanofi wouldn't get into nor the WSJ dared to investigate is what caused the 35% refill rate to be so low. Mannkind would be derelict in their managerial positions if they didn't drill down into the main reasons why patients didn't renew their prescriptions. I am betting they do and why Matt is spoke confidently that they can fix the problem. My guess is that the issue wasn't that people didn't like Afrezza (not counting those who didn't properly administer the drug) but all the hurdles just to keep on it. The issue is whether or not Mannkind as the ability to fix those problems themselves.
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Post by mindovermatter on Feb 14, 2016 8:51:32 GMT -5
My joining a class action would not be about winning. Simply put, my goal would be to rip both companies a new doorway for their incompetent handling of the product and the partnership. That's why it is extremely important to see what happened on the ground floor with the sales team. If their efforts started to wane because they were not seeing the fruits of their labor, then it was encumbant on MannKind and Sanofi to employ risk management plans that should have been in place BECAUSE a launch of a new product comes with risk. What was plan B? What was plan C? Were they enacted? Sanofi ended the partnership fully 2 years before they should have. Any graph for any blockbuster will tell you so. This was total incompetence on both sides and it should be exposed in a court of law and in the public domain. You are seriously naive if you think you'll be "ripping the doorway for their incompetent handling" by joining a class action. You won't be doing anything other than getting the class action lawyers rich and wasting the company's time dealing with it. Mannkind has already gone through such a CA lawsuit and settled prior to FDA approval of Afrezza. Did that do anything? No, it did Nothing other than reminding Al he needed to keep his mouth shut which didn't always work as both Hakan and Matt had to continue to clear up things Al said in calls and show and tells. We both agree that management of Mannkind is pathetic and hurting not only their shareholders but the patients they keep claiming they want to help by miscalculating business moves. But to think suing them via a class action is going to do anything is beyond foolish. The only thing that is typically useful in changing a company is a new outside CEO and large holder activist shareholders. A new outside CEO was hired but we know what happened with him and instead, an insider with strong ties to Al was named. The jury is out on whether or not Matt will be up to the task. And the company is tightly controlled by Al and his abundance of shares for any outside investor to shake things up. Mannkind was originally to be a big budget tent pole hollywood movie that has now been paired down to a B Horror Slasher movie with bad actors and horrible special effects.
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Post by mindovermatter on Feb 13, 2016 16:39:48 GMT -5
Let me be very clear. The RLS deal is simply a proof of concept deal. RSL wants to see if TS works for one or possibly a few of their drugs. Because no one knows what milestones actually means money for MNKD, this deal is just like the other deals Mannkind struck back in 2014 that didn't have any up front money and were all based on milestone payments. To date, those two deals have amounted to nothing. So while some of you want to feel good about your investigative skills, let me remind you that the odds of Mannkind making anything from the RSL deal are very low. If RLS thought technosphere was the game changer that many of you think it is, it would have proved it by giving MNKD up front cash.
Many on here need to stop fooling yourselves. Unfortunately, it is quite obvious that you enjoy doing so.
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Post by mindovermatter on Feb 13, 2016 12:16:46 GMT -5
For those who don't know, Tucker is a Francis Ford Coppola movie from 1988 starring Jeff Bridges. It's a true story about a visionary engineer who builds a car that is faster, safer and more aerodynamically attractive than any passenger cars on the road or Big 3 drawing boards at the time. He and his team fight against incredible odds to build these cars, only to be undone by a government-industry conspiracy. There are remarkable parallels between what happened then and what's happening now with MannKind, with a very real possibility of a similar ending. I'm not sure if I'm depressed or inspired after watching the movie, but I'll do what I can to keep Afrezza from winding up as a museum exhibit. I'd love to hear what others who watch the movie think. One of the 50 Tucker cars that were built was sold in 2012 for $2.915 million. If MannKind does go away, hang onto your Dreamboats. When the rest of the world catches up, they could be worth more than you paid for your stock. Like Hollywood always does, it says, "BASED" on a real story which means they have taken great creative license to portray a story they want to tell but not always the real factual one. There are things we are not privy to in what is going on behind the scenes. And I am sure some that would make think a whole lot differently about Al Mann.
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Post by mindovermatter on Feb 13, 2016 7:52:27 GMT -5
You didn't read the entire thread regarding Omeros. Take your time before passing judgment. There were a lot more that pointed to Omeros direction. Even if it is Omros: what difference does it make to Mannkind's financial viability? They got 0$ upfront and we have no clue as to when they will get meaningful $s. It's rather comical that some are desperately trying to figure out who RLS is thinking that unmasking them is somehow going to save Mannkind. It is all academic. As you pointed out and I have been saying from the day the deal was announced was that the one thing Mannkind needed desperately was upfront cash and that wasn't part of the deal. So either Mannkind knows something is about to happen that will fund it (my guess is a lump sum payment from those French interlopers) or that Mannkind will be screwed and have to put itself up for sale before its cash dries up. Lakers should move on and go try to figure out where Lochness is, considering he's fond of lakes and such because at this point, it matters not one afrezza dreamboat who is behind RLS.
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Post by mindovermatter on Feb 12, 2016 11:55:48 GMT -5
I am not certain if the posts complaining to leave Al alone are directed at me but my post is only relaying the news of him stepping down from EYES. There is nothing else to interpret other than it could possibly be a sign he could be stepping down from Mannkind due to his age. Any other interpretation would be incorrect.
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Post by mindovermatter on Feb 12, 2016 7:16:54 GMT -5
So this chknj registered and posted the same thing twice within the span of a day or two and hasn't been heard from since. No replies to his post - so no further context. Sounds like bash and run. He's bashing Afrezza by so-called association with Exubera. Was going to reference that in my post. Again, not sure why the OP felt the need to post this at this time, a year AFTER Afrezza was officially available to be prescribed. Hate to say it but his post is a great example of FUD that was poorly executed.
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Post by mindovermatter on Feb 12, 2016 7:15:26 GMT -5
I think some on here would call this post FUD. This time, I'd agree with them. I have no idea why this poster would post this at this time as it has absolutely nothing to do with Afrezza, Afrezza has been on the market for a year with no reported issues of hypos (if anything, it has drastically reduced them for many) AND it is one anecdotal story with no substantiation at all. Besides, hypos are a common side effect for ALL diabetics who take insulin. Nothing new to see here. Please move on.
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Post by mindovermatter on Feb 12, 2016 6:53:53 GMT -5
I have no way of knowing if this is foreshadowing the same move with Mannkind but Al is stepping down from his board position at Second Sight biz.yahoo.com/e/160212/eyes8-k.html
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Post by mindovermatter on Feb 11, 2016 17:49:05 GMT -5
A good point. The harsh reality is Adam Lasher is not a well known figure and that no one really cares about him and his diabetes other than those that might have the disease. Do you think some pre teen or teen age girl that lusts after him wants to read his tweets about how much he loves his Afrezza? What ever happened with Elizabeth Perkins? She tweeted once about it and then nothing ever again. Very few things ever go viral. Afrezza's odds of ever going viral via social media is slim to none. interestingly to this point... Adam Lasher had a tweet exchange with a PWD just today saying "Especially with only 4% lows and not having to count carbs or time dosings like with shots " and "with inhaled ultra rapid insulin and a cgm, life gets wayyy easier " He has 4,610 people following his tweets... and of those two comments, one got one retweet and the other got four retweets. [and I would not all be surprised to find that those retweets were from investors in MNKD following Adam since he became known on Proboards] Granted some have many more followers on social media, but 4600 is nothing to sneeze at. I think this illustrates how little people consider disease treatment to be a topic of social media interest. I'm sure blogs, patient groups and social media can play some role in spreading awareness... but it will take concerted coordinated effort and it will be far more gradual than many would like to believe. Placing one's focus on diabetes discussion groups shows that few if any are discussing Afrezza. Look at Tudiabetes or diabetesdaily. Not much talk about Afrezza. I am not on facecrook so I don't know if there is much there. Youtube. Nada. Matty has his vids but those only get so many views and he is the only one who has truly shown the power of Afrezza. Afrezzauser, from what I have been told, is working behind the scenes with other diabetics but that's still a small #. One can only hope that Mannkind can do the job that Sanofi couldn't. But if Sanofi couldn't get traction, its hard to believe Mannkind by itself will, especially considering it has a dwindling cash reserve that won't last the entire year.
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Post by mindovermatter on Feb 11, 2016 13:12:54 GMT -5
Why not target a few wealthy type areas? Some places like silicon valley, there have to be some diabetics in that population, and since many of them are innovators I would think they would be willing to try out some new therapy that shows great promise..........out of pocket drug costs shouldn't deter risk takers like that. And, you would just need a few high profile types to make the masses yearn for it...........hell, if a Kardashian was seen using a dreamboat, non-diabetics would want diabetes to be able to use it! You have a very different perspective on use of prescription drugs than I do. I just don't see that mattering much at all. There is someone on American Idol that has been supporting Afrezza on social media. That didn't seem to create a firestorm of interest. I just don't think what prescription someone famous uses is the type of thing that even their followers would retweet, etc. So I'm just not buying the "Did you hear Kim Kardashian is on Lipitor... I really have to get that" argument. The brand of shoes she just bought... I'm sure that happens. A good point. The harsh reality is Adam Lasher is not a well known figure and that no one really cares about him and his diabetes other than those that might have the disease. Do you think some pre teen or teen age girl that lusts after him wants to read his tweets about how much he loves his Afrezza? What ever happened with Elizabeth Perkins? She tweeted once about it and then nothing ever again. Very few things ever go viral. Afrezza's odds of ever going viral via social media is slim to none.
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Post by mindovermatter on Feb 11, 2016 12:56:27 GMT -5
He's only been on it for 5 weeks? Why did he wait so long to get on it?! I wonder if JDRF will start doing some soft pushing of it? It will also be interesting to see if he ends up ditching his pump.
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