This previous Top Pick is trying to overcome a dismal 2016. The company received a $1 million milestone payment from Receptor Life Sciences, Inc. (RLS) at the end of the year, and analysts are forecasting 80%+ growth in 2017 for the company. However, be aware that this is a very speculative stock, so please make sure it comprises just a small portion of your overall portfolio.
MannKind Corp. (MNKD)
From Nate’s Notes
With a recognition that I will need to eat some crow—from behind the egg on my face—if the stock doesn’t finally gain some traction in the year ahead, I am making my Top Pick for 2017 the same one it has been for the past couple of years now - MannKind Corp. (MNKD).
With what turned out to be a less-than-optimal partnership with Sanofi now completely behind it (albeit with plenty of lost time on the books), I believe the company is ready to begin scaling-up the marketing presence of its lead product, Afrezza—a new form of inhalable form of insulin that is proving to have many benefits over existing mealtime insulins for diabetics.
Along with this lead product (which is already FDA approved), MannKind is also applying its Technosphere (TS) drug delivery platform to other drugs that may see an increase in efficacy and convenience if they can be delivered in an inhalable version as well, and the company’s lead clinical effort in this area is currently an inhalable version of epinephrine (the drug found the (in)famous epi-pen).
Finally, it should be noted that MannKind has also licensed its TS technology to a very secretive private company from the Seattle area that seems to be doing work on cannabis-related products. And though MannKind will “only” receive milestone payments and royalties on any products sold using the technology, the deal represents the first of what I believe will be many such licensing deals in the years ahead.
Nate Pile, Nate’s Notes, www.NotWallStreet.com, 707-433-7903, December 30, 2016