New inhaled Mannkind diabetes drug effective

Another groundbreaking inhaled insulin therapy has been found to be safe and effective amongst patients with diabetes, according to a new study.
The manufacturers of the drug, Mannkind Corp, are said to be delighted by the result, and released the news via a statement on PR Newswire . The company, who are based in Valencia, California, also presented the results on September 16th at a meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, located in Copenhagen .
The new Mannkind product will be in direct competition with Pfizer’s Exubera, approved this July, making it the first inhaled insulin therapy to market. Inhaled insulin is aimed at type 2 diabetics, who make up 90 per cent of the estimated 230 million global diabetic population. The market is, therefore, enormous.
Recent news has concentrated on the race between various large pharmaceutical companies and smaller biotechnological firms to secure a share in the emerging global market. Major players include Pfizer, Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and GlaxoSmithKline, but they are facing challenges from a number of less well known companies .
Shares in Mannkind rose 6.1 per cent in German trading, and 5.9 per cent on the New York Stock Exchange .