Friday, September 4, 2009

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals raises $25M VC round

By Rodney H. Brown

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Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Inc. is flush with funding after the maker of drugs to treat irritable bowel syndrome took in $25 million in its latest financing round, according to federal documents. The new financing pushes Ironwood over $315 million in total equity financing.

Cambridge-based Ironwood also has revenue coming in from a number of deals with other life sciences companies. In May, Ironwood secured a $40 million licensing agreement with Spanish pharmaceutical firm Laboratorios Almirall S.A. for European development and commercialization of Ironwood’s IBS drug linaclotide. Last October, Ironwood closed its most recent previous investment round to the tune of $50 million, led by Morgan Stanley. The company has a pair of ongoing Phase 3 trials testing linaclotide, one initiated through its partnership with Forest Laboratories, for IBS patients with constipation.

While the most recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission did not name the investors, listed as directors of the company in the document were Terry McGuire of Polaris Venture Partners and George Conrades, executive chairman of Akamai Technologies Inc. In addition to Polaris, the company’s massive list of equity investors over the years have included Venrock Associates, Fidelity Biosciences Group, Aberdare Ventures, Essex Investment Management Co., GGV Capital, Invus LP, Jennison Associates, Maverick Capital, Morgan Stanley Investment Management and Ridgeback Capital Management LLC.

Ironwood was founded in 1999 as Microbia Inc. and operates a subsidiary, now named Microbia Inc., which develops bioprocesses to produce specialty chemicals for both internal use and strategic partners. The company changed its name to Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in April of 2008.