One Drop, MannKind ink partnership for connected, inhaled diabetes tech

MannKind Corp. (NSDQ:MNKD) and One Drop said today that the companies agreed to ink a collaborative deal to add MannKind’s Afrezza inhaled insulin to One Drop’s digital diabetes management platform.

The group plans to evaluate access and cost saving initiatives, customized patient coaching and innovative packaging for a reusable Afrezza inhaler integrated with Bluetooth tech.

“Against a backdrop of soaring insulin costs, this proposed collaboration is an essential step in the right direction,” One Drop founder & CEO Jeff Dachis said in prepared remarks. “One Drop began with the goal of bringing affordable, accessible diabetes care to everyone living with diabetes worldwide. Through this partnership with MannKind, we will continue to work tirelessly to empower everyone with diabetes to achieve better health outcomes through the use of modern delivery methods that reduce the burden of diabetes management and increase engagement in self-care.”

“The complexity and conflicting incentives of the United States healthcare system are not aligned to help people with diabetes on insulin achieve optimal outcomes, as we see that almost 7 out of 10 people on mealtime insulin are not at the ADA goal of <7% A1C,” MannKind chief commercial officer Michael Castagna added.  “Even though injectable insulins have been available for decades, 20% of users regularly skip injections.  We intend to empower people with diabetes to take charge of their health by trying something different.”

“We believe that diabetes care as a fully integrated digital service is the only way that we are going to bend the cost curve for payers and providers, while at the same time delivering evidence-based health outcomes that can scale,” Dachis said. “Working with an innovator like MannKind, with a clinically effective, non-invasive inhaled mealtime insulin product, offers up an exciting opportunity to further our mission of relentlessly improving the lives of everyone with diabetes and a smartphone.”

MNKD shares rose after news of the strategic partnership broke yesterday, closing up 2% at 72¢.