With the zeal of a young entrepreneur, 82-year-old Los Angeles billionaire and philanthropist Alfred Mann has bet nearly half of his estimated $2.2-billion fortune that he can develop an inhaled version of insulin for the nation’s 5 million diabetics. But Mann’s gamble is looking increasingly like a long shot, analysts and doctors say, and his huge personal investment may be in jeopardy. The latest blow came Wednesday when Valencia-based MannKind Corp.’s stock lost almost 60% of its value after pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. said a study showed that its failed version of inhaled insulin might increase the risk of lung cancer. For the full story visit http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-mannkind10apr10,1,1936229.story
