NYT's MannKind Story Needlessly Quoted a Competitor Bashing Afresa

(MoneyWatch)  Management at MannKind will doubtless be furious at a New York Times story over the weekend in which a vp for a rival company, Generex, was quoted casting doubt on MannKind's product. The story, under the rubric "novelties," summarized the case for MannKind's inhaled insulin product, Afresa. It quoted an analyst and a doctor, and then Dr. Gerald Bernstein (pictured).

BNET readers first met Bernstein in September 2008 when we published a Q&A with him. In addition to being a former president of the American Diabetes Association, Bernstein is currently vp medical affairs at Generex, which has an oral-spray insulin product in development, called Oral-Lyn. Bernstein was quoted by the Times as agreeing that "the long-term use of inhalable insulin might carry risks for some patients":

"It's counterintuitive to use the fragile cells of the alveoli," the tiny air sacs within the lungs, "to get insulin to the bloodstream," he said. "The lungs were developed to transport gases, not proteins."

The Times noted that Bernstein worked for a company producing an oral insulin product, but didn't make clear that if both Oral-Lyn and Afresa are approved they could find themselves in direct competition. That's a war Generex might win, because doctors have fewer concerns about the long-term safety of absorbing insulin through the cheek than through lung tissue. In addition, Bernstein has previously complained that the "cloud" hanging over inhaled insulin has reduced interest in potential acquirers or partners looking at Generex.

Put another way, asking a Generex exec to comment on MannKind's product is a bit like asking Steve Jobs to assess the new Windows 7 operating system from Microsoft. Such a review is unlikely to be kind.

One last aspect to the mystery: Why the author, Anne Eisenberg, needed to quote Bernstein in the first place. She had other non-conflicted experts already quoted in the piece, and diabetes commenters are not difficult to find.

• Previously:
• The Scoop on MannKind's Afresa Partnership Delay
• Will FDA Approve MannKind's Insulin Inhaler?
• MannKind's Trendy New Insulin Inhalers: "The Dreamboat" and the "Screaming Cricket"
• 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