MannKind's Trendy New Insulin Inhalers: "The Dreamboat" and the "Screaming Cricket"

(MoneyWatch)  MannKind's big gamble on inhalable insulin for diabetics -- it's stepping into the breach exited by Pfizer's Exubera disaster with an equivalent product, Afresa -- has many skeptical. Those skeptics may want to take a look at the company's new line of trendy inhalers, still under development (pictured at top).

If inhalable insulin never takes off, the company might want to redeploy its assets as a device designer. These Apple-esque inhalers look much cooler than the usual "medical devices" that stigmatize asthmatics (middle).

The company says:

We have begun clinical studies of a new delivery system, identified internally as Project Dreamboat.

"Dreamboat" isn't the only wacky name MannKind has come up with. Check out its one-time-use disposable inhaler, the "Screaming Cricket" (bottom). The Cricket is for emergency use, MannKind says:

... the drug is contained within a very small device and a simple push button readies the device for use. It is intended for therapies that are acute in nature and it offers greater simplicity to the patient.

Hat tip to CNBC's Mike Huckman

• Previously:
• MannKind Has Mountain to Climb If FDA Approves Afresa and TechnoSphere
• MannKind Down to Its Last $28 Million; No Revenue in Sight
• In Exubera's Shadow: Generex Bets Oral Spray Is Next Big Thing for Diabetics
• Pfizer Burns More Money on the Inhaled Insulin Bonfire
• Pfizer's Race to the Bottom