MannKind Corporation is a

biopharmaceutical A biopharmaceutical, also known as a biological medical product, or biologic, is any pharmaceutical drug product manufactured in, extracted from, or semisynthesized from biological sources. Different from totally synthesized pharmaceuticals, t ...

company focusing on the discovery, development, and commercialization of therapeutic products for diseases such as

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

and pulmonary arterial hypertension. Based in

Danbury Danbury is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately northeast of New York City. Danbury's population as of 2022 was 87,642. It is the seventh largest city in Connecticut. Danbury is nicknamed the "Hat City ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

, the company was founded in February 1991. MannKind Corporation was named after its founder,

Alfred E. Mann Alfred E. Mann (1925 – February 25, 2016), also known as Al Mann, was an American physicist, inventor, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. Early life and education Mann was born and raised to a Jewish family in Portland, Oregon. His father was ...

History

Founded in February 1991, the company's present form is a result of a 2003 merger of three companies owned by Alfred E. Mann: Pharmaceutical Discovery Corporation (PDC), the cancer vaccine developer CTL ImmunoTherapies, Inc., and its sister company Allecure Corp, which was developing an allergy vaccine technology. Pharmaceutical Discovery was purchased in 2001 from Solomon Steiner; with that purchase MannKind acquired the Technosphere molecule and Medtone inhaler, upon which was developed its lead product, Afrezza (

inhalable insulin Inhalable insulin is a powdered form of insulin, delivered with an inhaler into the lungs where it is absorbed. In general inhaled insulins have been more rapidly absorbed than Subcutaneous injection, subcutaneous injected insulin, with faster peak ...

). The FDA approved Afrezza on June 27, 2014. On August 11, 2014 MannKind entered into an exclusive global licensing agreement with

Sanofi Sanofi S.A. is a French multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare company headquartered in Paris, France. Originally, the corporation was established in 1973 and merged with Synthélabo in 1999 to form Sanofi-Synthélabo. In 2004, Sanofi-Syn ...

for Afrezza sales. Under the agreement, MannKind received $150 million cash from Sanofi, in exchange for sharing profits and losses of sales of Afrezza, with 65% for Sanofi and 35% for MannKind. On January 5, 2016, MannKind Corporation announced the termination of the license and collaboration agreement with Sanofi. By December 2017, the company had lost 11% of its trading volume due to the poor sales. In March 2020, the company announced it was working with fellow pharmaceutical company Immix Biopharma to try to develop an inhalable treatment for

acute respiratory distress syndrome Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a type of respiratory failure characterized by rapid onset of widespread inflammation in the lungs. Symptoms include shortness of breath (dyspnea), rapid breathing (tachypnea), and bluish skin colo ...

, a lung disease.

Products and product candidates

The firm has developed Afrezza a rapid-acting

insulin Insulin (, from Latin ''insula'', 'island') is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the ''INS'' gene. It is considered to be the main anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabolism o ...

peaking 12 to 15 minutes after inhalation and exiting the body within 2–3 hours. The inhalation technology uses a miniature, breath-powered inhaler in combination with single-use cartridges containing pre-metered doses. Initial pharmacokinetic studies were followed by studies of safety and efficiency involving Technosphere formulations of different therapeutic proteins.

Leadership

Mann was

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

until January 12, 2015 when Hakan Edstrom became CEO and Mann transitioned to executive chairman. In November 2015, Hakan Edstrom stepped down as CEO and president. Company founder Alfred Mann stepped in as interim CEO on November 19, 2015. In May 2017, Michael Castagna was named CEO of MannKind Corporation.

Facilities

MannKind has a large corporate office in

Westlake Village, California Westlake Village is a city in Los Angeles County on its western border with Ventura County. The City of Westlake Village incorporated in 1981 becoming the 82nd municipality of Los Angeles County.Baker, Pam (2002). ''Thousand Oaks Westlake Vill ...

. The Afrezza manufacturing facility is in

Danbury, Connecticut Danbury is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately northeast of New York City. Danbury's population as of 2022 was 87,642. It is the seventh largest city in Connecticut. Danbury is nicknamed the "Hat City ...

. In 2022, the company moved its official headquarters to Danbury.

References

{{Reflist

External links

www.mannkindcorp.com

www.Afrezza.com
Biotechnology companies of the United States Companies listed on the Nasdaq Economy of Thousand Oaks, California Companies based in Danbury, Connecticut