MannKind Shares Rise On Inhalable Insulin Outlook

Meanwhile, he brushed off any impact Sanofi-Aventis' purchase of a Pfizer Inc. insulin plant may have on MannKind. MannKind had agreed to buy the plant, but that was pending Sanofi-Aventis' decision to exercise certain rights to it.

The plant is not a necessity for MannKind, Simeonidis said, and the deal does not effect MannKind's purchase of $3 million worth of insulin.

Last year, Pfizer started switching its Exubera inhaled insulin patients to MannKind's experimental product. The company's had been partners until Pfizer pulled Exubera from the market in 2007 after it posted dismal sales.

Eli Lilly & Co. has also struggled with inhaled insulin. The company ended its development program in 2008, citing regulatory uncertainty.