Mannkind plans to cut 41% of workforce on drug delays

MannKind Corp., the unprofitable biotechnology company that failed to win U.S. approval last month to market its first product, said it will cut about 41 percent of its workforce.

The firings will be completed by mid-April and reduce the number of company employees to 257, Valencia, California-based MannKind said today in a regulatory filing.

MannKind, founded by billionaire inventor Alfred Mann, is restructuring its operations to focus on winning Food and Drug Administration approval for Afrezza, an inhaled insulin for diabetes, Mann said today in a statement. The FDA on Jan. 19 asked the company for two new studies of the device in patients with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

“The year ahead will be focused on the activities that are necessary to secure the approval of Afrezza,” said Mann, the company’s chairman and chief executive officer.

MannKind fell as much as 5.9 percent to $4.76 in extended trading after declining 8 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $5.06 before the announcement.