Mannkind to lay off 41% of its workforce

Mannkind Corp., the Valencia biotech firm, announced that it would lay off 41% of its workforce and focus on receiving regulatory approval for its long-delayed insulin inhaler being developed for people with diabetes.

The company said it told 179 employees Thursday that they would be laid off by mid-April, reducing its workforce to 257 employees, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In a phone call with industry analysts Thursday, billionaire founder and Chief Executive Alfred Mann said the company would retain the staffing needed to “support the path to approval” for the drug, named Afrezza, which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration declined to approve last month.

“This was not a happy day for Mannkind Corp.,” Mann said. “We let go a lot of good people who have made important contributions to the company. However, we have no choice given the singular focus we must have.”

The company said last month that Afrezza would require two new clinical trials before regulators again considered approving the device. The FDA twice declined to approve Afrezza in 2010.

“We are requesting guidance from the FDA in order to clarify the regulatory path for Afrezza and we will promptly implement their recommendations as soon as possible,” Mann said in a statement. “We remain committed to our goal of making Afrezza available for the millions of patients with diabetes.”

After financial markets closed Thursday, the company reported a loss of $38.3 million, or 33 cents a share, and no revenue for the quarter that ended Dec. 31. During that period last year, the company reported a loss of $59.5 million, or 53 cents. For the year that ended Dec. 31, the company reported a loss of $170.6 million.

Mannkind shares fell 8 cents in regular trading to $5.06. In after-hours trading, shares dropped to $4.50.

stephen.ceasar@latimes.com