MannKind’s Afrezza Remains in Sanofi’s Plans, RBC Says

Yesterday, Sanofi hosted a seminar on new medicines in Cambridge, Mass., and RBC’s Adnan Butt and team note that MannKind’s (MNKD) inhaled insulin Afrezza “featured prominently enough.” They summarize the highlights of the presentation:

Reuters

MannKind's partner reiterated prior guidance that a commercial launch is planned for 1Q:15. Some had feared this timing could be retracted. In terms of pricing, Sanofi underscored that the benchmark could be rapid acting, injectable insulin, which is in line with our forecasts…

Focus on patients driving demand also important. As part of launch prep, Sanofi has conducted patient preference studies which show 60% of those starting insulin and 57% of those who need more insulin liking Afrezza's profile. The market opportunity could be meaningful given 66% of patients resist moving to injected insulin with the period of resistance being ~5 years. Patients described as the initial candidates for Afrezza include those who are on two or more oral agents and resisting moving on to injectable insulin and those who need meal-time insulin, where combined patient populations could be ~3M. Even adjusting for smokers or those with pulmonary disorders shows the opportunity remains sizable but where
greater Street confidence could require execution for a few quarters post launch.

Among other highlights: Sanofi demonstrated how much easier Mannkind’s Afrezza is to use compared to Pfizer’s (PFE) infamous flop Exubera, Butt said, and that Sanofi was in negotiations with the FDA over post-approval studies that could expand Afrezza’s use.

Shares of MannKind have dropped 0.7% to $6.11 at 1:52 p.m. today, while Sanofi has risen 0.8% to $46.95 and Pfizer has fallen 0.4% to $30.31.

Amazon's quirky Echo is Siri in a speaker

ECHO... Echo... echo... NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Amazon's making another foray into the electronics business.

The online retailer unveiled a new personal assistant device Thursday called Amazon Echo.

The Echo essentially puts a Siri-like voice-controlled service inside a portable speaker. In addition to playing music, it connects to the Internet to do things like answer questions, provide news updates and set personal reminders for you.

Amazon (AMZN, Tech30) says Echo is built with microphones using noise cancellation and "far-field voice recognition," allowing them to pick up voice commands at normal speaking volume from across the room.

  Could this be Amazon's 'House of Cards?'

Bizarrely, Amazon is forcing prospective Echo owners to request an invitation before they can buy the product. It's selling for $199, or $99 for Amazon Prime members.

The question is whether it's worth shelling out that money for a product that basically does the same things as the voice command systems for iPhone and Android.

If you're a Prime member in the market for a new portable speaker, it might be worth a look. But like this year's crop of smartwatches, this may be another case of a product that you can render superfluous by simply taking your phone out of your pocket.

Fat pensions for outgoing lawmakers

Kay Hagan will receive a pension after serving just one term in the Senate. NEW YORK (CNNMoney) More than a dozen members of Congress were defeated on Tuesday night. But taxpayers will still have to keep sending most of them checks.

Members of Congress are eligible for a pension after just five years in office, so that means senators qualify for one after a single six-year term. But most can't start drawing full payments until age 62.

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North Carolina's Kay Hagan, for instance, lost her first bid for reelection. For senators and representatives with only six years in office, the annual pension is about 10% of annual pay -- in Hagan's case, that's $17,400 a year based on her annual salary of $174,000.

Colorado's first term senator, Mark Udall, also lost Tuesday. But he'll be paid about $47,000 a year since he also served five terms in the House.

Senior members with 32 years in office can earn 80% of their pay, or about $139,000 a year.

This year there are nine members of Congress leaving with 80% pay.

Many of them are already in their 80's, so they probably won't draw a pension for many years. But West Virginia's Nick Rahall, who was defeated Tuesday after serving 19 terms in the House, is only 65.

The pensions that lawmakers get are defined benefit plans, which means they are guaranteed to be paid a certain sum for as long as they're alive. Another perk: These benefits increase with the cost of living. Both are features that have become rare in private sector retirement plans.

While most former members of Congress have to wait until age 62 to start drawing their pension, those with 20 years of service can start receiving payments at 50.

Members of Congress also have a retirement savings plan similar to a 401(k), which matches up to 5% of what they contribute to it.

Georgia's Jack Kingston, age 59, is leaving the House after 11 terms following his defeat in the Senate primary. With 22 years in Congress, he'll be eligible for a pension of $62,640 starting next year.

Top Performing Industries For November 4, 2014

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At 11:30 am, the Dow dropped 0.29% to 17,315.57, the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index moved down 0.68% to 2,004.07 and the NASDAQ composite index fell 0.74% to 4,604.65.

The industries that are still afloat in the market today are:

Gold: The industry gained 17.94% by 11:30 am. The top performer in this industry was NovaGold Resources (NYSE: NG), which gained 4%. Gold futures fell 0.04% to trade at $1,169.30 an ounce.

Conglomerates: This industry moved up 8.21% by 11:30 am. The top performer in this industry was Lydall (NYSE: LDL), which gained 2%. Lydall is expected to report its Q3 earnings on November 5, 2014.

Property Management: This industry jumped 6.35% by 11:30 am. The top performer in this industry was AmBase (OTC: ABCP), which rose 2.4%. AmBase shares have gained 2.52% over the past 52 weeks, while the S&P 500 index has surged 14.46% in the same period.

Diversified Electronics: This industry rose 4.20% by 11:30 am ET. The top performer in this industry was Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ: AEIS), which gained 5.4%. Advanced Energy reported upbeat Q3 results

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Google Calendar now auto-creates events and appointments from Gmail

The new Google Calendar is now available for Android devices. NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Google Calendar is becoming more like a personal assistant.

A new version of the popular calendar app is now available for users of the new Android Lollipop operating system, Google announced Monday.

The biggest new feature is that the app can now scan your email and automatically create new events based on incoming messages. That means when you do things like buy concert tickets or book a flight, they'll show up right away on your calendar.

The events will update on your calendar if you receive additional emails about them -- for example, a notification that your flight's been delayed.

The new Calendar app will also make auto-complete suggestions based on previous events, and it automatically includes photos of where the event will take place.

The app will work on all devices running Android 4.1 or later, with an update coming in the Google Play store within a few weeks. The company says it's still at work on a version for iPhone.

Google (GOOGL, Tech30) also recently released a new version of its Gmail mobile app, which now lets you manage accounts from alternative email providers. Lollipop, meanwhile, is available for a handful of new devices, and will become available more widely in the coming months as hardware makers incorporate it into their designs.