MannKind Corporation said that it has purchased an additional convertible note issued by Thirona Bio, and MannKind CEO Michael Castagna has joined the Thirona board of directors, extending a June 2021 deal between the two companies for development of an inhaled dry powder formulation of Thirona’s FBM5712 TGF-β inhibitor.
As part of that deal, MannKind acquired an option to license FBM5712 for development of the inhaled formulation, known as MNKD-501, for the treatment of fibrotic lung diseases. Preclinical studies of the DPI formulation are underway, with results from a PD study expected in the second quarter of this year.
MannKind Chief Scientific Officer Thomas Hofmann said “Our preliminary prototype powders utilized in a pharmacokinetic study in rats produced concentrations in the lungs that appear to persist long enough to suggest that the drug could perform as hoped. These early positive signals warrant further evaluation and if successful, will trigger IND-enabling toxicology work for the compound.”
Thirona founder and CEO Gordon Foulkes commented, “We are pleased to progress our collaboration with further investment and guidance from the team at MannKind. We’re thrilled with the momentum since last summer and look forward to advancing a promising new formulation of FBM5712 for fibrotic lung diseases.”
Read the MannKind Corporation press release.
