Biotech Stock Mailbag: Generex (PFE, MNKD)

BOSTON (TheStreet) -- Do diabetics hate insulin injections so much that a more convenient alternative to needle sticks could be commercially lucrative?

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) found the answer to be a resounding "No" when the launch of its Exubera inhaled insulin device crashed and burned soon after hitting the market in 2006. Diabetes patients found the insulin dosing required for Exubera to be confusing, concerns about lung problems lingered, and the design of the Exubera device was embarrassingly bad. It looked exactly like a medium-sized bong -- not exactly something diabetics wanted to carry around with them.

MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) is also developing an inhaled insulin device called Afrezza that is much smaller, easier (and less embarrassing?) to use than Exubera, the company claims. Whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration agrees and approves Afrezza, however, is a matter of significant debate that got murkier this week after Mannkind's conference call Tuesday.