In what has become a bit of a tradition (and will likely remain one as long as the company's forward progress continues to outpace the stock price each year), I am once again making MannKind Corp. (MNKD) my "Top Pick" for more aggressive investors in 2025, advises Nate Pile, editor of Nate’s Notes.
MannKind's lead product is Afrezza, an inhalable form of insulin for both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics. Though it has been on the market for a longer period of time, the main driver of the company's growing revenue stream at the moment is Tyvaso DPI. It is an inhalable form of treprostinil used to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease (PH-ILD).
This drug, which is based on MannKind's Technosphere drug delivery technology, is manufactured by MannKind for its partner on the project, United Therapeutics Corp. (UTHR). UTHR is responsible for all marketing and sales of the drug.
Per the terms of the licensing agreement between the two companies, along with receiving revenues from United Therapeutics for manufacturing the drug, MannKind also receives 10% of all sales of the drug. It should be noted that MannKind has, in turn, sold 1/10th of its share of the royalty component of the revenue stream to a third party for $150 million (and perhaps more if sales grow large enough). That provides some perspective on how large this drug and its associated revenue stream is expected to become.
Along with these two revenue-generating drugs, MannKind is also leveraging its technology and expertise in the area of inhalable medications to build out what has the potential to become a quite lucrative pipeline in the area of orphan lung diseases. The company's two lead products in this area are MNKD-101 (clofazamine inhalation suspension) for the treatment of nontuberculosis mycobacterial lung disease and MNKD-201 (nintedanib DPI) for the treatment of idiopahtic pulmonary fibrosis.
Though both products are still in the development stage, both have shown good promise in the clinical trials that have been done so far. If they are eventually approved, both have the potential to generate significant revenues for the company.
To be sure, the stock is nowhere near as cheap as it was when it was trading for "just a buck" a mere five years ago. But given how the story is shaping up on a number of fronts...along with the fact that the stock appears to be breaking out of a base that has been nine(!) years in the making...I believe 2025 could be shaping up to be another great year for shareholders.