Sanofi to Market Mannkind Corp's Diabetes Inhalation Drug Afrezza

Drugmaking giants Sanofi and MannKind Corp have entered into a licensing deal to market inhalation powder for diabetes. Sanofi will pay $925 million to Mannkind for marketing rights over Afrezza, the powder.

Shares of Mannkind jumped 8 percent Monday following the announcement.

Under the agreement, MannKind Corporation will get $150 million upfront payment and additional payments upto $775 million. The payments are subjected to specific regulatory and development targets as well as sales threshold.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved MannKind Corp.'s Inhalation Powder  Afrezza for diabetes.

The companies plan to launch Afrezza in the U.S within the first few months of 2015.

The agency said that the inhalation powder was for people suffering from diabetes mellitus. People using the treatment must inhale the powder at the beginning of the meal or about 20 minutes after starting a meal.

"Afrezza is an innovative drug-device combination product consisting of a dry formulation of human insulin delivered through a small, discreet inhaler," said Pierre Chancel, Sanofi Senior Vice President Diabetes Division, according to a news release. "Afrezza is a further addition to our growing portfolio of integrated diabetes solutions. It is uniquely positioned to provide patients with another insulin therapy option to manage their diabetes but does not require multiple daily injections."

The inhalation powder offers an alternative to diabetes patients who can forgo the daily insulin injections. However, whether or not the new treatment will be accepted is still unclear as the risk of inhaling the powder into the lungs is quite high, Reuters reported.

The French drugmaker Sanofi currently holds second spot in the diabetes drug industry. The company will lose its patent over its top-selling medication Lantus next year.