UPDATE 1-MannKind says in new partnership talks on Afrezza

* Says opened talks with a few new parties

* Says reengaged in talks with a previous candidate

* Says has enough cash to last till at least Q1 2011

Feb 1 (Reuters) - MannKind Corp (MNKD.O) said it has opened partnership talks with "a few new parties" on its inhaled insulin product Afrezza and reengaged in talks with a previous candidate.

In a conference call with analysts, the company also said it currently has enough cash to fund operations till at least the first quarter of 2011.

As of Dec. 31, 2009, the company had cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $32.5 million. Last month, the company said U.S. regulators would delay a ruling on whether to approve its inhaled insulin product, Afrezza, until it completed the inspection of third-party manufacturing facilities.

MannKind, which also posted a wider-than-expected fourth-quarter loss on Monday, said it has not been given a new regulatory action date on Afrezza as the delay was due to an administrative issue on the regulator's part. [ID:nWNAB1264]

Afrezza, previously known as Afresa, is designed to deliver a more effective rapid-acting insulin than injectable products such as Eli Lilly & Co's (LLY.N) Humalog and Novo Nordisk's (NOVOb.CO) NovoLog. Shares of the company fell 1 percent to $10.03 in after-hours trade. They closed at $10.14 Monday on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Esha Dey in Bangalore; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)