Technosphere^® powders are based on our proprietary excipient, fumaryl diketopiperazine, which is a pH-sensitive organic molecule that self-assembles into small particles under acidic conditions. Certain drugs, such as insulin or treprostinil, can be loaded onto these particles by combining a solution of the drug with a solution or suspension of Technosphere^® material, which is then dried to powder form. The resulting powder has a consistent and narrow range of particle sizes with good aerodynamic properties that enable efficient delivery deep into the lungs. Technosphere® powders dissolve quickly when the particles contact the moist lung surface with its neutral pH, releasing the drug molecules to diffuse across a thin layer of cells into the arterial circulation, bypassing the liver to provide excellent systemic exposure.  

We have successfully prepared Technosphere^® formulations of anionic and cationic drugs, hydrophobic and hydrophilic drugs, proteins, peptides, and small molecules. We have also successfully formulated a wide variety of API, from small molecules to proteins (like insulin) to address a variety of health conditions. 

MannKind has also developed an innovative line of breath-powered, dry powder inhalers for use with Technosphere^® formulations. Our inhalers are easy to use, cost-effective and can be produced in both a reusable (chronic treatment) and a single-use (acute treatment) format. Both the reusable and single-use inhaler formats use the same internal air-flow design. Being breath-powered, our inhalers require only the patient’s inhalation effort to deliver the powder. To administer the inhalation powder, a patient loads a cartridge into our inhaler and inhales through the mouthpiece. Upon inhalation, the dry powder is lifted out of the cartridge and broken (or de-agglomerated) into small particles. The inhalers are engineered to produce an aggressive airstream that de-agglomerates the powder while keeping the powder moving relatively slowly. This slow-moving powder effectively navigates the patient’s airways to reach the deep lung with minimal deposition at the back of the throat. Our inhalers show very little change in performance (i.e., efficient cartridge emptying) over a wide range of inhalation efforts.