MannKind Corp. touted increased sales for its flagship drug Afrezza during its fourth quarter earnings report on Thursday, while pointing out its new direction toward therapies for lung and endocrine diseases.During the quarter, MannKind pulled in $10.1 million in revenue for Afrezza, its inhalable insulin, a 30 percent increase compared to sales in the same quarter of 2019.The Westlake Village biotech company reported an adjusted net loss of $13.2 million (-6 cents a share). That’s narrower than the net loss of $14.3 million (-7 cents) in the same period a year earlier. Revenue was $18.4 million, an increase from $16 million the same quarter the previous year.Analysts on average expected earnings equal to -4 cents on revenue of $16.2 million, according to Yahoo Finance.Total revenue for the year was $65.1 million, with Afrezza sales making up $32.3 million of that figure. Total revenue for 2019 was $63 million with $25.3 million from Afrezza.Chief Executive Michael Castagna told analysts on a conference call that the company’s acquisition of Pennsylvania-based QrumPharma and collaboration with Vertice Pharma in New Jersey, both announced in December, will help them develop new treatments.Qrum develops inhalable treatments for pulmonary infections; Vertice owns FDA-approved Thyquidity, an oral replacement therapy for hypothyroidism.Castagna added that United Therapeutics, which has a licensing and collaboration agreement with MannKind to develop a dry inhalable powder to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension, plans to submit a new drug application for Tyvaso DPI in April. The drug uses treprostinil, developed through the collaboration.Shares of MannKind (MNKD) closed Thursday down 37 cents, or more than 6 percent, to $5.61 on the Nasdaq.
Afrezza Quarterly Sales Increase, New Therapies on Horizon at MannKind
