Afrezza developer has a new CEO -- with a twist

MannKind, the company that developed and manufactures Afrezza, has appointed Duane DeSisto as its new chief executive officer. Interestingly, DeSisto is the former CEO of Insulet, which manufactures the OmniPod tubeless insulin pump. While DeSisto may, and hopefully is, a great CEO, Insulet’s share price took a pretty big hit after the company’s new management reported that growth rates for the OmniPod were significantly lower than what prior management had led analysts to believe. The stock went from an all-time high of just over $50 per share down into the high $20s, and as is typical in such cases, many legal firms began efforts to bring legal action against the company for misleading shareholders. MannKind, and Afrezza, are on somewhat shaky financial ground. Hopefully, DeSisto will be able to lead the company to stability, and Afrezza’s future will not be threatened.

Wow, the MannKind corporate intrigue continues. The company announced this morning that it has withdrawn its offer to Duane DeSisto following objections from Insulet Corporation and instead appointed current chief financial officer Matthew Pfeffer to replace Al Mann as chief executive officer. No further drop in MNKD’s share price this morning, but it remains near its year low at 67 cents.

Lol yeah insulet objected on the grounds of a non-compete clause for desisto…

That’s pretty telling right there. Kinda the same thing the entire industry is trying to do. “But but, you can’t bring a superior product to market— it’d cost us millions!”