What exactly is the Technosphere® Platform?

One of the largest organs in your body are the lungs. Picture the size of a full tennis court and that is roughly the surface area of both lungs in a typical adult. Running through those lungs are airways whose total length measures 1,500 miles – that’s the distance between Chicago and Las Vegas, New York to Albuquerque, and Los Angeles to Nashville.

Simply put, the lungs create a wonderful platform for effective drug delivery. MannKind’s Technosphere technology recognizes this and provides the distinct advantage of rapid, deep lung drug delivery. The effect is similar to intravenous delivery (I.V.; within a vein) and has the added benefit of bypassing the liver which can be especially helpful in reducing systemic side effects.

Examining it closer, it helps to look at inhalation, air flow travel, and the exhale. When you breathe in, air is drawn into the lung and flows down curving, narrowing airways that end in the air sacs or alveoli. When air is exhaled, the flow is reversed. Between the end of an inhalation and the start of exhalation, the air in the lung is stationary. To reach the deep lung, inhaled particles must be carried by the air stream and have enough momentum to continue through the stationary air to collide with the lung surface.

Particles that can reach the lung have aerodynamic diameters between 0.5 µm and 5-6 µm (1 µm is 1 micro-meter or about 0.00004 inches). Particles that are larger than 6 µm will leave the air stream and hit the back of your mouth and throat; smaller than 0.5 µm wouldn’t have the ability to reach the lungs and would simply get exhaled.

“The average Technosphere particle is about 2-2.5 µm which is in the middle of the respirable range,” explains Marshall Grant, PhD, MSc, Executive Director, Clinical Pharmacology & Research for MannKind Corporation. “The particle size distribution is a major reason Technosphere powders are highly efficient in delivering drug to the lungs than other dry powder inhalers (DPIs).”

The Technosphere particles in FDA-approved Afrezza® (insulin human) Inhalation Powder and Tyvaso DPI™ (treprostinil) Inhalation Powder are manufactured by different processes and possess different characteristics. But both are made up of small crystals of FDKP (fumaryl diketopiperazine), MannKind’s proprietary molecule. FDKP provides high solubility and fast dissolution at physiologic pH – and more importantly – can crystallize and form particles in the range appropriate for optimum delivery to the lungs.

When Technosphere powder reaches the lung surface, the FDKP and drug dissolve. The FDKP is then rapidly cleared from the lung into systemic circulation. The FDKP is not metabolized, but rather excreted primarily in the urine. Another value of Technosphere powders has been their versatility – they are compatible with a wide range of doses with different types of drugs.

MannKind’s Technosphere powders are delivered into the lung’s airstream via an inhalation device or DPI (dry powder inhaler). The breath-powered inhalers (Dreamboat® being the most common version) provide excellent delivery efficiency and are proven to deliver up to 70% of the dry-powder dose deep into the lungs. Our DPI are designed to be simple, easy to use and discreet. For patients, imagine having a drug in the convenient form of an inhaler that fits in the palm of your hand. This approach allows patients to not only take control of their health but do it while going about their day and enjoying life more humann.

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NTM Lung Disease on the Rise

“I cough every morning upon waking, so I don’t feel rested.” “Imagine not being able to breathe.” “Anxiety ruins everything about you – it’s not a normal life.” “You just exist from day to day and week to week.” These are a sampling of comments about the most bothersome symptoms from living with Nontuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) shared in a study from NTM Info & Research, Inc. The statements are unfortunately typical and those with NTM often have unpredictable day-to-day health functioning and reduced quality of life.

NTM lung disease is a serious infection that is caused by bacteria that are common in the environment and can cause lung damage. The reality is that we are all exposed to these bacteria in our day-to-day lives – more than 120 species of mycobacteria have been identified. These common bacteria exist in water and soil particles that are in the air, wet places like hot tubs, steamy bathrooms, dishwashers, and even the dewy ground we walk on at the park. But not everyone is at risk of getting NTM lung disease just because they are exposed.

Those predisposed often have underlying conditions such as asthma, COPD, and bronchiectasis, which makes them prone to NTM infection. NTM is not considered to be contagious. Women over the age of 65 make up the majority of those impacted, with a predominance in those of Caucasian and Asian descent.

A rare disease, NTM can often be difficult to diagnose. Many will experience coughing, fatigue, weight loss and shortness of breath – all of which are common with other lung disease symptoms and other conditions like tuberculosis. With NTM, symptoms often worsen, and that is a marker not to be ignored.

It is estimated that some 86,000 individuals are living with NTM lung diseases, and it is on the rise growing 8% each year. Coastal regions including Gulf States have higher rates of infection accounting for 70% of annual NTM cases.

While no cure is available, treatments to manage NTM are available. Treatment for NTM involves antibiotic and multidrug regimens with duration lasting from months to years with tolerability and adverse reactions to treatment which often leads to a lack of adherence to therapy.

There is a valuable need to develop medicines that are well tolerated and effective that lends to consistent patient use and alleviates symptoms of NTM lung disease. MannKind continues to progress MNKD-101 (Clofazimine) for the treatment of NTM.

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Release Details

MannKind Presents New Scientific Data at 54th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes

10/03/18
PDF Version

Presentation 55  Total and severe hypoglycemia is reduced with use of inhaled Technosphere® Insulin (TI) relative to insulin aspart in type 1 diabetes

Poster 1046; PS 097  Diabetes duration, BMI, and HbA1c have greater effects on Pulmonary Function (PF) than inhaled Technosphere® Insulin (TI)  

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., Oct. 03, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MannKind Corporation (Nasdaq:MNKD), announced that it presented new scientific data in an oral and poster presentation at the 54th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Berlin, Germany. The oral presentation (presentation 55) and poster presentation (poster 1046; PS 097) both took place Tuesday, October 2, 2018. MannKind’s STAT study results were also presented at the conference in two poster presentations (Poster 813; PS 068 and Poster 677; PS 051).

Oral Presentation Highlights 
     
Title:   Total and Severe Hypoglycemia is Reduced with Use of Inhaled Technosphere Insulin (TI) Relative to Insulin Aspart in Type 1 Diabetes
     
Presenter:   David Kendall, MD, Chief Medical Officer, MannKind Corporation
     
Description:   A post-hoc regression analysis of a representative subset of the AFFINITY 1 (24-week treat-to-target in type 1 diabetics) evaluated overall and severe hypoglycemic event rates in patients with Afrezza relative to subcutaneous insulin.
     
Highlights:    
    • Individuals on Afrezza experienced significantly lower rates of hypoglycemia vs insulin aspart
    · Overall rates of hypoglycemia with Afrezza were 26% lower across all levels of HbA1c
    • Differences in the average achieved HbA1c do not account for the observed differences in hypoglycemia rate
    • Afrezza allows for greater HbA1c reduction with lower rates of hypoglycemia
    · HbA1c could be reduced from 8.0% to approximately 6.8% and meet treatment goal with no increase in hypoglycemia rate;
    · Patients already at 6.8% HbA1c would be expected to experience 4 fewer hypoglycemia events per month.
     
Conclusion:   The ultra-rapid time action profile of Afrezza provides tight glycemic control without increasing the risk of hypoglycemia. Switching to Afrezza as mealtime insulin therapy may also benefit the patients already at HbA1c goal by reducing the frequency of hypoglycemic events.
     
Poster Presentation Highlights 
     
Title:   Diabetes Duration, BMI, and HbA1c Have Greater Effects on Pulmonary Function (PF) Than Inhaled Technosphere® Insulin
     
Presenter:   Frank Pompilio, PharmD, VP, Medical Affairs, MannKind Corporation
     
Description:   Data from a pulmonary function study of patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes was utilized to evaluate the effects of diabetes duration, body mass index, and HbA1c on baseline PF and changes in PF during 24 months of treatment when compared in patients receiving Afrezza and usual care.
     
Highlights:    
    • The magnitude of Afrezza’s effect on FEV1 was comparable to those normally associated with diabetes-related factors such as high body mass index (BMI), elevated HbA1c and long-standing diabetes
    • None of these effects were clinically significant
    • Afrezza-related decreases in FEV1 were small, non-progressive and reversible after two years of treatment
     
Conclusion:   Diabetes-related factors are associated with reductions in pulmonary function that exceed the reversible changes seen with inhaled insulin treatment. The effects of Afrezza on pulmonary function are not clinically significant, do not increase with time, and have been demonstrated to resolve if treatment with Afrezza is stopped.
     

 

“These two presentations represent just two of the numerous disclosures we hope to publish in the coming months,” said David Kendall, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of MannKind Corporation. “These two studies are critical to helping build awareness of the potential clinical impact and longer term safety of Afrezza. These and other recently published data significantly advance our understanding of the treatment opportunity that Afrezza therapy may offer. MannKind’s medical, regulatory and safety teams are committed to ensuring that this information is made available to both individuals living with diabetes and the medical community alike, and we are pleased that we were able to share this data more broadly at EASD.”

About Afrezza®
Available by prescription, Afrezza® (insulin human) Inhalation Powder is a rapid-acting inhaled insulin indicated to improve glycemic control in adult patients with diabetes mellitus. Afrezza consists of a dry powder formulation of human insulin delivered from a small and portable inhaler. Administered at the beginning of a meal, Afrezza dissolves rapidly upon inhalation to the lung and passes quickly into the bloodstream (in less than one minute). This rapid absorption allows Afrezza to begin reducing blood sugar levels within about 12 minutes of administration.

Afrezza is available in 4-unit, 8-unit and 12-unit single-dose cartridges of insulin powder that can be used, as prescribed by a health care professional, in combination with other diabetes medications to achieve target blood sugar levels. For Afrezza doses exceeding 12 units, patients may use a combination of existing cartridge strengths. For more information on Afrezza, please visit www.afrezza.com.

About MannKind Corporation
MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ:MNKD) focuses on the development and commercialization of inhaled therapeutic products for patients with diseases such as diabetes and pulmonary arterial hypertension. MannKind is currently commercializing Afrezza® (insulin human) Inhalation Powder, the Company's first FDA-approved product and the only inhaled rapid-acting mealtime insulin in the United States, where it is available by prescription from pharmacies nationwide. MannKind is headquartered in Westlake Village, California, and has a state-of-the art manufacturing facility in Danbury, Connecticut. The Company also employs field sales and medical representatives across the U.S. For further information, visit www.mannkindcorp.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Words such as "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "intends," "will," "goal," "potential" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon MannKind's current expectations. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of various risks and uncertainties detailed in MannKind's filings with the SEC, including its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement, and MannKind undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release.

Company Contact:
Rose Alinaya
SVP, Investor Relations
818-661-5000
ir@mannkindcorp.com

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Source: MannKind