Look Ma! No Bong! Afrezza Inhaled Insulin Device is a Cool Gadget

UPDATE (1/5/2016): Sanofi terminated its license agreement related to the development and commercialisation of MannKind's inhaled insulin therapy Afrezza, MannKind said today (here). MannKind noted that the deal will be terminated no later than six months from the effective date of Sanofi's notice or July 4. MannKind added that it "is reviewing its strategic options for Afrezza as a result of the termination."

In the post below I noted the exuberance of the diabetes community for this device and I gave Sanofi kudos for engaging this community via social media. I guess not even the best efforts to mobilize patients via social media in support of a product is guaranteed to be successful.

Also, Sanofi attributed the lower-than-expected sales of Afrezza to the FDA's requirement that patients undergo lung tests before starting treatment and while using the therapy as well as the broader need to raise awareness about the product (see "Sales of Afrezza Inhaled Insulin Stymied by FDA Says Sanofi").

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Sanofi and MannKind Corporation announced today that Afrezza® (insulin human) Inhalation Powder, the only inhaled insulin, is now available by prescription in U.S. retail pharmacies nationwide. Afrezza is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to control high blood sugar in adults with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

Afrezza is a drug–device combination product that consists of a dry formulation of human insulin delivered from a small and portable inhaler to help patients achieve blood sugar control. Afrezza is rapidly absorbed and has a short duration of action. It is administered at the beginning of a meal.

This is a vast improvement over the Exubera "Bong" that Pfizer attempted to launch back in 2007. In June of that year, Amy Tenderich, author behind award-winning blog Diabetes Mine, wrote:

"Because for any PWD [person with diabetes] with an actual social life, Exubera inhaled insulin is looking like a bomb. As I told the reps at the ADA conference frankly, the science behind it IS revolutionary, and we PWDs are grateful for strides in alternative insulin delivery, of course! But the Exubera Inhaler Device really is as bad as it looks in pictures. Worse, because the bulky 'white' plastic portions are not white at all, but that hospital-grade biege that reminds you of walkers and bedpans. An aesthetic nightmare, in the age of cool gadgetry" (see "Are you happy to see me, or is that just your Exubera Bong?").

The Afrezza device is definitely a cool bit of gadgetry! This may be the first time that a drug/device was designed based on fostering relations with patients via social media, something that Pfizer may have learned too late. How so?

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