BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: IRWD), a biotechnology company developing and commercializing life-changing therapies for people living with gastrointestinal (GI) and rare diseases, today announced a streamlined strategic focus on advancing and realizing the potential of apraglutide for the treatment of short bowel syndrome (“SBS”) patients who are dependent on parenteral support. In line with this strategic update, Ironwood will be reducing its workforce by approximately 50%. This reorganization is intended to position the company for long-term growth.
“Ironwood’s long track record of success stems from our ability to be nimble as an organization by focusing on both significant medical needs and financial performance. While LINZESS continues to grow prescription demand, given the impact of ongoing pricing pressures, we are taking steps to reduce Ironwood costs that are predominantly associated with the brand. By doing so, we believe we can continue to generate profits and cash flows and support the successful development of apraglutide. LINZESS remains an important part of our strategy, along with continued investment in apraglutide for SBS patients who are dependent on parenteral support, which we believe will deliver value to our stakeholders and ultimately bring a new therapy to patients with great unmet need,” said Tom McCourt, chief executive officer of Ironwood.
“We have made important progress by initiating our rolling new drug application (“NDA”) submission and announcing new data from our open label extension study, STARS Extend, demonstrating an increased number of patients on apraglutide achieving enteral autonomy over time. We plan to include the long-term extension data in our NDA submission, in addition to the robust efficacy and tolerability data from STARS, the largest Phase 3 clinical trial ever conducted in SBS-IF patients. With these new data, we are even more encouraged about apraglutide’s potential to help SBS patients who are dependent on parenteral support,” said Mike Shetzline, M.D., Ph.D, chief medical officer, senior vice president and head of research and drug development at Ironwood.
"Our apraglutide launch planning is well underway. Under Tammi’s leadership we have strong commercial capabilities to support the future success of apraglutide, if approved. As a rare disease therapy, this will require a very targeted promotional effort while providing a robust patient hub service model,” Mr. McCourt added.
“While the reduction in force is particularly difficult, these changes are necessary to continue to progress apraglutide and maintain our profitability and cash flow goals, to support Ironwood’s long-term growth. I want to personally thank all the employees affected by this restructuring for their dedication to our mission and their many contributions to the company,” added Mr. McCourt.
Recent Pipeline and Corporate Updates:
Apraglutide Open Label Extension Study, STARS Extend:
- The extension study data demonstrate that more patients weaned off parenteral support with longer exposure to apraglutide.
- An analysis of long-term extension data also showed that 27 apraglutide-dosed patients achieved enteral autonomy, which is the ultimate goal of SBS patients who are dependent on parenteral support.
Strategic Reorganization:
- Reorganization is primarily driven by the elimination of Ironwood’s field force.
- Ironwood also has decided to wind down the Phase 2 exploratory study, STARGAZE, of apraglutide in Graft-versus-Host Disease to further focus its resources and investments.
- Ironwood expects to incur restructuring charges of approximately $20 to $25 million, which are anticipated to be incurred primarily in the first half of 2025.
- Ironwood expects to realize, as a result of the strategic reorganization, approximately $55 to $60 million of annual operating expense savings, resulting in $40 to $45 million benefit to annual profits, net of impact to collaborative arrangements revenue.
Leadership Updates:
- Greg Martini has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer. Greg joined Ironwood in 2017 and has served in roles of increasing responsibility, most recently as Vice President, Strategic Finance and Investor Relations since 2022.
- Tammi Gaskins has been appointed Senior Vice President, Chief Commercial Officer. Tammi joined Ironwood in 2020 and has been integral in shaping the apraglutide commercial launch plan and driving the performance of LINZESS. Prior to joining Ironwood, Tammi spent 20 years at AstraZeneca in various commercial leadership positions across different therapeutic areas.
Full Year 2025 Financial Guidance:
Ironwood is providing FY 2025 financial guidance.
FY 2025 Guidance
(January 2025) |
Value |
| LINZESS U.S. net sales |
$800 - $850 million |
| Total revenue 1 |
$260 - $290 million |
| Adjusted EBITDA 2 |
>$85 million |
1 Ironwood’s U.S. collaborative arrangements revenue includes reimbursement from AbbVie for a portion of Ironwood’s commercial expenses related to sales of LINZESS in the U.S. The FY2025 total revenue guidance accounts for the impact of the reduction to Ironwood’s commercial expenses and corresponding reimbursement from AbbVie due to Ironwood’s strategic reorganization.
2 Adjusted EBITDA is calculated by subtracting restructuring expenses, net interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization and stock-based compensation, from GAAP net income.
Conference Call Information
Ironwood will host a conference call and webcast at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, January 29, 2025 to discuss the recent corporate updates. Individuals interested in participating in the call should dial (888) 596-4144 (U.S. and Canada) or (646) 968-2525 (international) using conference ID number and event passcode 2530602. To access the webcast, please visit the Investors section of Ironwood’s website at www.ironwoodpharma.com. The call will be available for replay via telephone starting at approximately 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time on January 29, 2025, running through 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on February 12, 2025. To listen to the replay, dial (800) 770-2030 (U.S. and Canada) or (609) 800-9909 (international) using conference ID number 2530602.
About Ironwood Pharmaceuticals
Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: IRWD), an S&P SmallCap 600® company, is a biotechnology company developing and commercializing life-changing therapies for people living with gastrointestinal (GI) and rare diseases. Ironwood is advancing apraglutide, a next-generation, long-acting synthetic GLP-2 analog being developed for short bowel syndrome patients who are dependent on parenteral support. In addition, Ironwood has been a pioneer in the development of LINZESS® (linaclotide), the U.S. branded prescription market leader for adults with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) or chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC). LINZESS is also approved for the treatment of functional constipation in pediatric patients ages 6-17 years old.
Founded in 1998, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and has additional operations in Basel, Switzerland.
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About LINZESS (Linaclotide)
LINZESS® is the #1 prescribed brand in the U.S. for the treatment of adult patients with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (“IBS-C”) or chronic idiopathic constipation (“CIC”), based on IQVIA data.
LINZESS is a once-daily capsule that helps relieve the abdominal pain, constipation and overall abdominal symptoms of bloating, discomfort and pain associated with IBS-C, as well as the constipation, infrequent stools, hard stools, straining and incomplete evacuation associated with CIC. LINZESS relieves constipation in children and adolescents aged 6 to 17 years with functional constipation.
LINZESS is not a laxative; it is the first medicine approved by the FDA in a class called GC-C agonists. LINZESS contains a peptide called linaclotide that activates the GC-C receptor in the intestine. Activation of GC-C is thought to result in increased intestinal fluid secretion and accelerated transit and a decrease in the activity of pain-sensing nerves in the intestine.
LINZESS Important Safety Information
INDICATIONS AND USAGE
LINZESS® (linaclotide) is indicated for the treatment of both irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) and chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC) in adults and functional constipation (FC) in children and adolescents 6 to 17 years of age. It is not known if LINZESS is safe and effective in children with FC less than 6 years of age or in children with IBS-C less than 18 years of age.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
WARNING: RISK OF SERIOUS DEHYDRATION IN PEDIATRIC PATIENTS LESS THAN 2 YEARS OF AGE
LINZESS is contraindicated in patients less than 2 years of age. In nonclinical studies in neonatal mice, administration of a single, clinically relevant adult oral dose of linaclotide caused deaths due to dehydration.
Contraindications
- LINZESS is contraindicated in patients less than 2 years of age due to the risk of serious dehydration.
- LINZESS is contraindicated in patients with known or suspected mechanical gastrointestinal obstruction.
Warnings and Precautions
- LINZESS is contraindicated in patients less than 2 years of age. In neonatal mice, linaclotide increased fluid secretion as a consequence of age-dependent elevated guanylate cyclase (GC-C) agonism, which was associated with increased mortality within the first 24 hours due to dehydration.
Diarrhea
- In adults, diarrhea was the most common adverse reaction in LINZESS-treated patients in the pooled IBS-C and CIC double-blind placebo-controlled trials.
- In children and adolescents 6 to 17 years of age, diarrhea was the most common adverse reaction in 72 mcg LINZESS-treated patients in the FC double-blind placebo-controlled trial.
Common Adverse Reactions
- In IBS-C or CIC adult patients: diarrhea, abdominal pain, flatulence, and abdominal distension.
- In FC pediatric patients: diarrhea.
Please see full Prescribing Information including Boxed Warning:
https://www.rxabbvie.com/pdf/linzess_pi.pdf
LINZESS® and CONSTELLA® are registered trademarks of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Any other trademarks referred to in this press release are the property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.
Forward-Looking Statements
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