MannKind Corp. announced on Thursday that it has earned $50 million in milestone payments in connection with its licensing agreement with Sanofi for production of the drug Afrezza. The Valencia biotech signed an agreement in September with the Paris-based drug company to commercialize Afrezza, an inhalable insulin. As part of the deal, MannKind received a $150 million upfront payment from Sanofi. The $50 million payment is the result of hitting manufacturing milestones under the agreement. MannKind is eligible to earn up to $725 million in further development, regulatory and sales milestone payments, in addition to a share of profits. Afrezza was approved for sale by the Food and Drug Administration in July to treat both Type 1, formerly called juvenile, and Type 2, formerly called adult-onset, diabetes. MannKind plans to seek regulatory approvals in foreign countries. MannKind has another Afrezza agreement with a second French company, Amphastar France Pharmaceuticals S.A.S., which is making the recombinant human insulin for Afrezza from 2015 to 2019. The minimum order is for $161 million of insulin during the five-year period. Shares of MannKind closed up 13 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $5.78 on the Nasdaq.