Ironwood Announces FDA Advisory Committee Meeting Will Not Be Scheduled In Connection With New Drug Application For Linaclotide

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: IRWD) announced that it was informed this evening that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will not schedule an advisory committee meeting in connection with the its review of the New Drug Application (NDA) for linaclotide proposed for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) and chronic constipation (CC). On August 9, 2011, Ironwood, along with its partner Forest Laboratories, announced that they submitted the NDA for linaclotide to the FDA. Under the FDA’s Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA), the companies anticipate action by the FDA in June 2012, approximately 10 months from the submission date.

Ironwood and Forest submitted the NDA for linaclotide for the treatment of IBS-C and CC based upon efficacy and safety results from a Phase 3 program comprising four double-blind placebo-controlled trials and two open-label long term safety studies. A total of more than 2,800 patients received a once-daily dose of either linaclotide or placebo across the four clinical trials: two trials in patients with IBS-C and two trials in patients with CC. Additionally, over 3,200 patients have enrolled in ongoing open-label safety trials and more than 2,000 of those patients have received linaclotide for at least 12 months.

About Linaclotide

Linaclotide, an investigational drug, is an agonist of the guanylate cyclase type-C (GC-C) receptor located on the luminal surface of the intestine. In preclinical models, linaclotide reduced visceral hypersensitivity, increased fluid secretion, and accelerated intestinal transit. The effects on secretion and transit are mediated through cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP), which is also believed to modulate the activity of local nerves to reduce pain. Linaclotide is an orally delivered peptide that acts locally in the gut with no measurable systemic exposure at therapeutic doses and is intended for once-daily administration. An issued composition of matter patent for linaclotide provides protection to 2025 in the United States. Ironwood and Forest plan to co-promote linaclotide in the U.S. Ironwood has out-licensed linaclotide to Almirall for European development and commercialization, and to Astellas Pharma Inc. for development and commercialization in Japan, Indonesia, Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Thailand.