MannKind Corp. has hired a consulting firm to help find partners to develop new uses for Technosphere, its proprietary platform for delivering inhaled medications, the company said Monday.
To date, the Valencia biomedical company has focused on building a market for Afrezza, its inhaled insulin, which is delivered using the Technosphere inhaler.
The company has retained Locust Walk, a Boston-based life sciences transaction advisory firm focused on biopharmaceutical and medical technology companies.
“MannKind has focused its financial resources on the commercialization of Afrezza and is seeking alternate means to fund our other development programs for the Technosphere platform,” said Raymond Urbanski, MannKind’s chief medical officer, in the statement.
“I am excited to collaborate with Locust Walk, who has extensive global experience in pharmaceutical partnering, to help bring our product candidates to market,” he said.
These include treatments for anaphylaxis, pulmonary arterial hypertension, and chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting.
Technosphere “is characterized by an ultra-rapid onset of action, simple and needle-free administration, avoidance of hepatic metabolism, and improved bio-availability,” the company said.
Locust Walk will seek strategic partners and investors to advance the development of Technosphere-based therapies which demonstrate benefit across a variety of treatment areas, including but not limited to hypertension, anaphylactic shock, nausea, respiratory disease and pain.
