Jefferies: MannKind's Consumer Ads For Afrezza May Increase Awareness

MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ: MNKD)'s plans for direct-to-consumer advertising for its Afrezza inhaled insulin product may gradually increase awareness of the product, an analyst said Thursday.

The biopharma company recently traded at $5.93, up about 7 percent.

Early sales of Afrezza have disappointed Wall Street with just $1.1 million in its first two months on the market.

"Not a good start for a drug that some analysts expected to top $1 billion in annual sales," the Los Angeles Times noted Wednesday.

But Jefferies' Shaunak Deepak said MannKind's plan to roll out print advertising in diabetes-specific periodicals during the third quarter will help boost sales.

Deepak surveyed 120 doctors last month and found that 35 percent were unaware of the drug's existence.

MannKind offered a presentation at a conference sponsored by Jefferies on Wednesday, and Deepak reiterated a Buy recommendation and $9 target.

MannKind, which will undertake the advertising with its larger Afrezza partner Sanofi SA (NYSE: SNY), also recently launched an education program designed to teach patients on how to optimally use Afrezza.

Afrezza sales have been hurt by a regulatory requirement that patients pass lung-function tests before they can use the drug, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Regulators also required a warning that the drug could cause health complications for people with lung disease, and that smokers should not use the drug.

Deepak warned that weekly prescription data for Afrezza may be hurt by Memorial Day and by a physician conference of the American Diabetes Association in Boston next week.

If the data looks choppy in coming weeks "we wouldn't be overly concerned," Deepak said.

Nine analysts maintain an average rating of Hold on Mannkind, with a price target of $6.92, according to FactSet.