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Case | HBS Case Collection | August 2017 (Revised July 2018)

MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work

by Elie Ofek and Amanda Dai

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Abstract

In June 2014, MannKind Corporation announced that after years of development and billions of dollars in expenses, the FDA had finally approved its drug, Afrezza. MannKind would thus be the only company with an inhalable insulin on the market. As an alternative to injectable rapid-acting (or mealtime) insulin, Afrezza boasted a potential market of at least 4 million diabetic patients. Shortly thereafter, Sanofi, a company with vast experience in the diabetic space, became MannKind’s marketing partner and helped launch Afrezza in February, 2015. Although the drug had a black box warning and required doctors to perform a lung test on patients, expectations were high, with some analysts predicting peak sales of up to $4 billion a year. However, those lofty hopes were quickly dashed when Afrezza generated lackluster first-year sales, driving Sanofi to terminate its short-lived contract with MannKind in January 2016. MannKind's management attributed the launch’s failure to a poor marketing approach, convinced that Sanofi, despite its strong global presence and experience, did not effectively address critical barriers to adoption. The company now planned to overhaul Afrezza’s entire marketing strategy. This included rethinking which patients and physicians to target, how to position the drug to engender interest and adoption, how to lower end consumer price, through which media to convey Afrezza's benefits, and how to streamline the process of performing the lung test and getting the drug into the hands of patients. But would all these changes and initiatives, no matter how well executed, be enough to turn sales around? Would Afrezza ever realize the potential that Alfred Mann, the late founder and former CEO, saw in the novel treatment?

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Product Launch; Product Positioning; Marketing Strategy; Adoption; Pharmaceutical Industry;

Language: English Format: Print 28 pages EducatorsPurchase

Citation:

Ofek, Elie, and Amanda Dai. "MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work." Harvard Business School Case 518-031, August 2017. (Revised July 2018.)

Related Work

  1. Case | HBS Case Collection | August 2017 (Revised July 2018)

    MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work

    Elie Ofek and Amanda Dai

    In June 2014, MannKind Corporation announced that after years of development and billions of dollars in expenses, the FDA had finally approved its drug, Afrezza. MannKind would thus be the only company with an inhalable insulin on the market. As an alternative to injectable rapid-acting (or mealtime) insulin, Afrezza boasted a potential market of at least 4 million diabetic patients. Shortly thereafter, Sanofi, a company with vast experience in the diabetic space, became MannKind’s marketing partner and helped launch Afrezza in February, 2015. Although the drug had a black box warning and required doctors to perform a lung test on patients, expectations were high, with some analysts predicting peak sales of up to $4 billion a year. However, those lofty hopes were quickly dashed when Afrezza generated lackluster first-year sales, driving Sanofi to terminate its short-lived contract with MannKind in January 2016. MannKind's management attributed the launch’s failure to a poor marketing approach, convinced that Sanofi, despite its strong global presence and experience, did not effectively address critical barriers to adoption. The company now planned to overhaul Afrezza’s entire marketing strategy. This included rethinking which patients and physicians to target, how to position the drug to engender interest and adoption, how to lower end consumer price, through which media to convey Afrezza's benefits, and how to streamline the process of performing the lung test and getting the drug into the hands of patients. But would all these changes and initiatives, no matter how well executed, be enough to turn sales around? Would Afrezza ever realize the potential that Alfred Mann, the late founder and former CEO, saw in the novel treatment?

    Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Product Launch; Product Positioning; Marketing Strategy; Adoption; Pharmaceutical Industry;

    Citation:

    Ofek, Elie, and Amanda Dai. "MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work." Harvard Business School Case 518-031, August 2017. (Revised July 2018.)  View Details
    CiteView DetailsEducatorsPurchase Related
  2. Teaching Note | HBS Case Collection | October 2018

    MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work

    Elie Ofek

    Citation:

    Ofek, Elie. "MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 519-040, October 2018.  View Details
    CiteView DetailsPurchase Related

About the Author

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Elie Ofek
T.J. Dermot Dunphy Professor of Business Administration
Marketing

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  • Case | HBS Case Collection | February 2017 (Revised December 2018)

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    Keywords: Innovation and Management; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Government and Politics; Economy; Equality and Inequality; Israel;

    Citation:

    Ofek, Elie, and Margot Eiran. "From Start-Up to Grown-Up Nation: The Future of the Israeli Innovation Ecosystem (Abridged)." Harvard Business School Case 517-103, February 2017. (Revised December 2018.)  View Details
    CiteView DetailsEducatorsPurchase Related
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    Israel at 70: Is it Possible to (re)Brand a Country?

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    In the spring of 2018, Israel was set to celebrate its 70th anniversary. While there was much to rejoice in reaching this milestone, the country’s brand image internationally was far from ideal. Past efforts to impact perceptions of Israel, spearheaded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as various Jewish organizations, were mainly aimed at “explaining” Israel’s political position and convincing the world that the country was acting in a just manner. However, a series of seminal market research studies revealed that many people in the U.S. and Europe primarily associated Israel with military imagery, held views of the country as steeped in conflict, and believed its people were devoutly religious and unwelcoming. Making matters worse, many expressed an indifferent attitude towards the country and felt that Israelis were dissimilar to them. In an attempt to change the situation, several individuals and entities embarked on various initiatives aimed at branding Israel differently and “broadening the conversation” about the country. These efforts included generating a brand book for Israel that suggested a guiding brand position of “creative energy”; inviting social media influencers to partake in trips focused on lifestyle interests; generating appealing, non-conflict related content linked to Israel and attracting online viewers to the content; appointing a goodwill ambassador to communicate the culture and day-to-day life in Israel; and multiple measures to draw in more tourists (Jewish and non-Jewish) to the country. Taking stock of these efforts revealed a mixed picture at best, and it was unclear whether Israel’s brand image among international audiences was indeed shifting in the intended direction. Several observers were further worried that the younger generation was finding Israel even less relevant and urged for devising a new approach. What should or could Israel’s brand positioning be? Were the recent efforts to change perceptions about Israel and Israelis on the right track and it was just a matter of time and scale before they bore fruit? What else could be done to break the indifference and emerging negative attitudes towards the country?

    Keywords: branding; Brand Management of Places; Nation Branding; brand positioning; Public Diplomacy; marketing communication; Brands and Branding; Marketing Communications; Perception; Change; Israel;

    Citation:

    Ofek, Elie, and Sarah Gulick. "Israel at 70: Is it Possible to (re)Brand a Country?" Harvard Business School Case 519-006, November 2018. (Revised December 2018.)  View Details
    CiteView DetailsEducatorsPurchase Related
  • Case | HBS Case Collection | December 2016 (Revised December 2018)

    From Start-Up to Grown-Up Nation: The Future of the Israeli Innovation Ecosystem

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    Citation:

    Ofek, Elie, and Margot Eiran. "From Start-Up to Grown-Up Nation: The Future of the Israeli Innovation Ecosystem." Harvard Business School Case 517-066, December 2016. (Revised December 2018.)  View Details
    CiteView DetailsEducatorsPurchase Related
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