MannKind CEO Hakan Edstrom steps down

Hakan Edstrom has stepped down as chief executive of the Valencia-based biotech company MannKind Corp., the company said Friday.

In a statement, MannKind said the board of directors appointed Alfred Mann, founder of the company, as interim chief executive. Mann will also continue to serve as the company’s executive chairman.

A committee of the board will start an “immediate search” for a new chief executive, MannKind said.

The company did not explain the reason for the change.

MannKind is known for developing an inhaled insulin drug called Afrezza, which it began selling in February under a partnership with French drug company Sanofi.

But sales of the drug have been much lower than analysts expected, partly because the Food and Drug Administration requires users to pass lung-function tests before the drug can be prescribed. Insurers have required special authorization from doctors before they will cover Afrezza.

In a call with analysts this month, Edstrom reiterated his support for the drug.

“It may take a somewhat longer time to establish the utility of Afrezza, but we’re in it for the long haul,” he said.

Edstrom, 65, was recruited by Mann in 2001 to become president of a company that would later be called MannKind.

He led the company through the regulatory process resulting in the June 2014 approval of Afrezza and was named chief executive in January after Mann stepped aside to become executive chairman.

In addition to chief executive, Edstrom served as president and a director of the company and has also stepped down from those roles, MannKind said.

In an interview with The Times this month, Edstrom said he was thinking of retiring soon.

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