ironwood pharmaceuticals inc (I76) Snapshot

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that its launched Ironwood's drug to treat irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in Germany, the UK and the Nordic countries. The drug, linaclotide, which was approved in the U.S. last August to treat moderate to severe IBS with constipation and is marketed here by the name, Linzess. The same drug, called Constella abroad, was approved last November in Europe and is being marketed there by Barcelona-based Almirall S.A. It's the first approved drug for that condition in Europe, according to a statement from Almirall. IBS is a chronic, relapsing gastrointestinal disorder affecting more than 10% of the European population, and about a third of IBS patients suffer from abdominal pain, discomfort, bloating and constipation. Almirall further announced the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has accepted Constella for restricted use in moderate to severe IBS-C adult patients who have not responded adequately to or cannot tolerate other suitable treatment options.

On June 11, 2013, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Almirall S.A. amended the license agreement, dated as of April 30, 2009, by and between Ironwood and Almirall, related to the development and commercialization of linaclotide in Europe. Pursuant to the terms of the amendment: the $4.0 million milestones payable to Ironwood for commercial launches in each of Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain were modified to be contingent, in amount and timing of payment, upon the reimbursement amount that Almirall achieves when it seeks pricing and reimbursement approval from the relevant regulatory authority in such country, and as a result, the total potential commercial launch milestones for all major countries in the Almirall territory, which were up to $20.0 million in the original agreement, are now up to $17.0 million, sales-based milestone payments to Ironwood were added to the agreement which, when aggregated with the commercial launch milestones, could total up to $43.0 million, and Almirall will pay Ironwood gross royalties based on sales volume in the Almirall territory, beginning in the low-20% and escalating to the mid-20% through April 2017, and thereafter beginning in the mid-20% and escalating to the mid-40% at lower sales volume triggers than in the period through April 2017, in each case less the transfer price paid for the active pharmaceutical ingredient included in the product actually sold in the Almirall territory.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Presents at Jefferies 2013 Global Healthcare Conference, Jun-03-2013 03:30 PM. Venue: Grand Hyatt Hotel, 109 East 42nd Street at Grand Central, New York, New York, United States. Speakers: Michael J. Higgins, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Principal Accounting Officer and Senior Vice President.