MannKind shares rise ahead of clinical trial data

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Shares of MannKind Corp. jumped Monday as the biotechnology company prepares a presentation for investors about the late-stage development of its lead product candidate.

The company will make a presentation Tuesday morning in New York at the UBS Global Life Sciences conference. The stock rose 55 cents, or 17 percent, to $3.78 in afternoon trading. Shares have traded between $1.86 and $12.14 over the last 52 weeks.

MannKind is still a development-stage company, with its Technosphere Insulin System is in three late-stage clinical trials. The Valencia, Calif.-based company suspended partnership discussions in March on the inhaled insulin system, saying it would have to wait until late-stage data was available to get a fair price.

Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Alfred E. Mann, along with other executives, will review the program's progress on Tuesday.

The company previously has said it hopes to ask the Food and Drug Administration for approval by the end of the year.

Inhaled insulin has been tough to sell to investors, following the failure of Pfizer Inc.'s Exubera to gain ground in the market. The product was discontinued last year. Earlier this year, Eli Lilly & Co. canceled its AIR Insulin program, citing regulatory uncertainty.