Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, a commercial biotech company, announced that its Board of Directors has authorized an intent to separate into two independent, publicly traded companies (Ironwood and “R&D Co.”). The separation is expected to be completed in the first half of 2019 and is anticipated to be tax-free to Ironwood shareholders.
- Following the separation, Ironwood anticipates being a profitable company, building on its commercial success to-date to accelerate growth of its in-market products and advance development programs targeting treatments for gastrointestinal (GI) diseases, uncontrolled gout, and abdominal pain.
- R&D Co. will harness the pioneering work in cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) pharmacology to advance an innovative sGC pipeline expected to focus on the treatment of serious and orphan diseases, led by Phase II clinical compounds praliciguat and olinciguat (IW-1701).
Peter Hecht, chief executive officer of Ironwood said, “Today’s announcement marks a transformative milestone for Ironwood. Since our founding 20 years ago, we have been driven by a simple mission: create and commercialize innovative drugs that can change patients’ lives and generate value for our shareholders. Ironwood today markets three commercial medicines, including LINZESS, a category leader, and is advancing a deep pipeline of drug candidates targeting severe and high unmet need diseases. We are pioneering two important areas: commercializing products in categories with millions of potential patients and innovating to discover and develop important new medicines. The positive Phase IIb data from IW-3718, combined with the significant progress within our sGC platform, including recent Phase IIa praliciguat data, catalyzed our ability to separate into two focused, durable businesses poised for long-term growth.”
Ironwood believes the planned separation will create, among other things:
- two nimbler, more productive businesses with strengthened competitive positions,
- separate and distinct management teams focused on each business’s unique strategic priorities, target markets, and corporate development opportunities,
- specifically tailored capital allocation strategies for each company, and
- sharpened investment theses that attract a long-term shareholder base suited to each business.
(Source: Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc.)
