MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ:MNKD) is said to be exploring strategic options for its future and a sale of the company is one of the considerations. Thoughts about MannKind possibly selling itself in the near future are surfacing following the termination of the company’s collaboration deal with Sanofi SA (NYSE:SNY). There are also fears that MannKind could go bankrupt at any moment considering that it is quickly running low on cash and is already deep in the red.

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MannKind management isn’t commenting on the possibility of selling the company. The closest that the CEO, Matthew Pfeffer, came to hinting at a new direction for MannKind was a comment that they were exploring new partnerships post the Sanofi deal termination. In particular, Pfeffer talked about seeking new sales and distribution partners for Afrezza, the company’s flagship insulin inhaler.

Trying to convey the message that it was working to remain steady, MannKind recently entered into a new deal with Receptor Life Sciences. The deal revolves around developing and commercializing inhaled drug products for inflammation, pain and others.

As much as MannKind’s management is trying to remain vague about the ultimate fate of the company, a number of analysts are convinced that a sale could be the best way out of the quagmire. Rumors of MannKind selling itself were received well in the market, leading to a rare 14% uptick in its stock price.

However, shares of MannKind have nosedived since the announcement of termination of the deal with Sanofi and are currently trade close to their 52-week lows. Perhaps MannKind’s beaten down market cap of less than $400 million could attract fellow drug companies interested in its assets and networks.

$44 million owed to Sanofi

MannKind’s Q3 losses surged to $31.9 million. The company also owed Sanofi about $44 million at the end of the last quarter.

MannKind and Sanofi have agreed to an orderly end of their partnership.