MannKind Corporation announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track designation of Clofazimine Inhalation Suspension (MNKD-101) for the treatment of nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) lung disease. Fast track designation is intended to facilitate the development, and expedite the review, of medicines to treat serious conditions and fill an unmet medical need. ICoN-1 is a multi-national, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Clofazimine Inhalation Suspension when added to guideline-based therapy in adults with refractory NTM lung disease caused by Mycobacterium Avium Complex (MAC), followed by an open-label extension.

This single registrational study anticipates getting underway in June 2024 in the U.S., and internationally in the second half of 2024. The U.S. FDA previously designated Clofazimine Inhalation Suspension as both an orphan drug and a qualified infectious disease product (QIDP) for the treatment of pulmonary NTM infections. A drug that receives orphan drug exclusivity receives seven years of exclusivity, and one that also earns QIDP designation, may receive an additional five years of market exclusivity.