MannKind (MNKD) is probably best known at this point in time for Afrezza, its inhalable form of mealtime insulin; the stock was my Top Pick for 2021 and the shares are up 35% year to date, explains Nate Pile, editor of Nate's Notes.

Afrezza offers a number of significant advantages over other mealtime insulins for both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics.

Meanwhile, the company has been getting a lot of attention lately thanks to the fact that United Therapeutics (UTHR) has filed a New Drug Application (NDA) with the FDA for Tyvaso DPI.

This is a new version of an existing drug for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease (PH-ILD) that has been made significantly better thanks to MannKind's Technosphere drug delivery technology.

No, this new drug will not be approved until later this year (assuming the FDA gives it a favorable review, of course), but the acceptance of the NDA is a big deal.

This not only further validates the value of the Technosphere platform, but also represents the potential for a nice royalty stream (plus manufacturing revenue) for MannKind (again, assuming the drug is eventually approved — something that can never be taken for granted when it comes to the FDA).

Along with United Therapeutics, a private company called Receptor Life Sciences has also  licensed Technsophere as part of its plans to develop and commercialize FDA-approved CBD products in the cannabinoid space, and as these partners continue to make progress and find success using the platform, I believe the list of licensees will only continue to grow.

Not only has the stock been acting well lately in response to the progress these partners have been making, it should also be noted that the company recently raised a little over $200 million in a convertible debt offering, and it has been signing deals with other small biotech companies at an accelerating clip over the past few months as part of its efforts to beef up its pipeline in the area of orphan lung diseases.

Though it is smaller than it was at its peak, there is still a sizable short interest in the stock, and I believe this "built-in buy order" will help move the stock higher as folks stuck on that side of the trade continue to close out their positions as time goes by. MNKD remains a very strong buy under $5 and a buy under $10.

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