Insulin competition.The leading companies in the race to develop an inhaled in·hale v. in·haled, in·hal·ing, in·hales v.tr. 1. To draw (air or smoke, for example) into the lungs by breathing; inspire. 2. insulin insulin, hormone secreted by the β cells of the islets of Langerhans, specific groups of cells in the pancreas. Insufficiency of insulin in the body results in diabetes. Insulin was one of the first products to be manufactured using genetic engineering. device, Pfizer, Sanofi-Aventis and NektarTherapeutics made headlines after the FDA's Endocrinologic and Metaboric Drugs Advisory Committee voted to recommend that the FDA FDA abbr. Food and Drug Administration FDA, n.pr See Food and Drug Administration. FDA, n.pr the abbreviation for the Food and Drug Administration. approve the pre-marketing application for Exubera. Although the committee recommendations are not binding, it's would be surprising for the FDA to not approve Exubera soon. Although this product will likely be the first on the market and will probably generate billions of dollars for the companies, the inhaled insulin market is far from cornered. Industry experts are paying a lot of attention to Eli Lilly Eli Lilly can refer to:
MannKind is still far behind its competitors, and has had problems raising the cash necessary for further development. The company raised $87.5 million in an initial public offering in September of 2004, but its stock price has fallen from $25 to under $10 since then. Last August MannKind's founder Alfred Mann agreed to contribute another $87.5 million to the company, half of a $175 million private placement the company struck with institutional investors Institutional Investor A non-bank person or organization that trades securities in large enough share quantities or dollar amounts that they qualify for preferential treatment and lower commissions. , which may be enough for the company to finish its phase III Noun 1. phase III - a large clinical trial of a treatment or drug that in phase I and phase II has been shown to be efficacious with tolerable side effects; after successful conclusion of these clinical trials it will receive formal approval from the FDA trials. Staff Reporter Jonathan Colburn can be reached at (818) 316-3124 or by email at jdcolburn@sfvbj.com. |
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