SNY Sanofi

MannKind Corp. on Monday said it appointed Chief Financial Officer Matthew Pfeffer chief executive, replacing founder Alfred Mann, and said it has withdrawn its offer to Duane DeSisto because of objections by his former company that his employment would violate its non-compete agreement.

Insulet Corp. said Mr. DeSisto's non-competition agreement remains in effect until Sept. 17.

Mr. Pfeffer, whose appointment became effective Sunday, will continue as chief financial officer and will take a vacant board seat.

Mr. Mann had been serving as interim chief executive since November when former chief executive Hakan Edstrom resigned after less than a year at the helm. The shake-up comes amid a steep drop in the company's stock, fueled by flagging sales of MannKind's key diabetes drug Afrezza. Shares have plunged 89% over the past 12 months, and the stock has erased more than half its value this month alone.

Last week, MannKind announced the termination of its licensing pact with Sanofi-Aventis in the U.S. for the development and sale of Afrezza and signaled that it might look to sell the drug.

On Monday, Kent Kresa, lead director of MannKind, said Mr. Pfeffer "understands the strategic and financial challenges that we face at this very important time for our company and has already begun to pursue a number of solutions."

Write to Anne Steele at Anne.Steele@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 11, 2016 10:45 ET (15:45 GMT)

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