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MannKind Refocuses Pipeline Resources in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., March 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ: MNKD), a company focused on the development and commercialization
About this update from Mannkind Corporation
[{"type":"text","content":"WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., March 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ: MNKD), a company focused on the development and commercialization of inhaled therapeutic products, today announced that it is adjusting research and development resources that were reserved for its pipeline of investigational products for treating serious lung diseases, with the goal of prioritizing work on new compounds that may have the potential to address the morbidity and mortality associated with respiratory viral infections, such as COVID-19. \n Specifically, MannKind has initiated a collaboration with Immix Biopharma, Inc. to prepare a dry powder formulation of a compound with the potential to treat acute respiratory distress syndrome, a complication of COVID-19. The immediate focus of this effort is to rapidly develop prototype powders, which will then be assessed for their potential to be used therapeutically. Other collaborations are being actively explored at this time. MannKind is committed to joining the global effort to overcome the COVID-19 crisis. MannKind’s formulation and drug development expertise as well as its excess manufacturing capacity will be deployed as necessary to help protect humankind from this global health crisis. Formulations for Pulmonary DeliveryMannKind’s Technosphere® technology is an innovative, dry-powder formulation technology that allows medication to be delivered to the lungs. MannKind has successfully prepared Technosphere formulations of anionic and cationic drugs, hydrophobic and hydrophilic drugs, proteins, peptides and small molecules. Technosphere powders are based on a proprietary excipient, fumaryl diketopiperazine (FDKP), which is a pH-sensitive organic molecule that self-assembles into small particles under acidic conditions. Active pharmaceutical ingredients can be loaded onto these particles, which are then dried to powder form. The resulting powder has a consistent and narrow range of particle sizes with good aerodynamic properties that enable efficient delivery deep into the lungs. Technosphere powders dissolve quickly when the particles contact the moist lung surface with its neutral pH, releasing the drug molecules to diffuse across a thin layer of cells into the arterial circulation, bypassing the liver to provide excellent systemic exposure. Drug Delivery DevicesMannKind has als...