– Mark Mallon to become CEO of Ironwood –
– Peter Hecht, founder and current CEO of Ironwood, to become CEO of
Cyclerion (R&D Co.) –
– Separation on track for completion in first half of 2019 –
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 4, 2019--
Ironwood
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: IRWD) today announced that the
Ironwood board of directors has appointed chief executive officers
(CEOs) of the two companies, effective at the time of Ironwood’s planned
separation which is on track to be completed in the first half of 2019.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190104005414/en/
Mark Mallon (Photo: Business Wire)
-
Industry veteran Mark Mallon will become CEO and a director of
Ironwood, a gastrointestinal (GI) healthcare company. Mr. Mallon is
joining Ironwood effective immediately as executive senior advisor,
working closely with Peter Hecht, founding CEO of Ironwood, through
the separation.
- Peter Hecht will become CEO and a director of Cyclerion Therapeutics,
Inc. (Cyclerion), the soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) biotechnology
business focused on the development of five sGC stimulators targeting
the treatment of serious and orphan diseases.
Terrance G. McGuire, Ironwood’s chairman of the board of directors,
commented, “We are delighted to name Mark and Peter to their new roles
following the separation, as each of them is uniquely suited to maximize
the value of the business they will lead. Mark’s extensive experience
building and shaping businesses, combined with his deep knowledge of GI,
will be invaluable as he works to take Ironwood to the next level and
create significant value for Ironwood stakeholders. Peter is an
incredible entrepreneur and leader, and his passion for creating drugs
that can change patients’ lives positions him and the team for success
at Cyclerion.”
Mr. Mallon joins Ironwood following a distinguished 24-year career at
AstraZeneca where he held a variety of senior executive positions. He
most recently served as a member of its executive committee, reporting
to the CEO, as executive vice president of global product and portfolio
strategy leading global marketing, commercial operations, pricing and
market access, medical affairs and corporate affairs for AstraZeneca’s
$18 billion pharmaceutical business. Mr. Mallon has a strong track
record of success building industry-leading businesses in the U.S. and
globally. Prior to his most recent role, he launched AstraZeneca’s
emerging market strategy and led its multi-billion-dollar international
business, including in China where AstraZeneca was the second largest
and fastest growing multinational pharmaceutical company. In his
leadership roles at AstraZeneca, including president of AstraZenecaChina, chief operating officer of AstraZeneca Japan, vice president of
U.S. sales and marketing operations and president of AstraZeneca Italy,
Mr. Mallon delivered several best-in-class new product launches. He is
also widely renowned for building leading GI franchises, earned from his
time leading the U.S. commercial and drug development programs for all
AstraZeneca GI products. During his tenure running U.S. GI therapeutics
for AstraZeneca, sales of PRILOSEC – already the largest selling
pharmaceutical in the world – grew 35% and the company successfully
launched NEXIUM®, ENTOCORT® EC and PRILOSEC OTC®
(with partner The Procter & Gamble Company). Mr. Mallon has a B.S. in
chemical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A.
in marketing and finance from the Wharton School of Business.
Peter Hecht has served as Ironwood’s CEO and director since co-founding
the company in 1998. Under his leadership, Ironwood has grown from nine
Ph.D. scientists to a commercial biotechnology company that discovered
and developed and is now commercializing LINZESS®
(linaclotide) – the branded prescription market leader in its class.
Additionally, during his tenure the company has pioneered new areas of
science, delivered a development portfolio with seven promising drug
candidates, and established a valuable network of global partnerships.
Prior to founding Ironwood, Dr. Hecht was a research fellow at Whitehead
Institute for Biomedical Research, an affiliate of Massachusetts
Institute of Technology. He earned his Ph.D. in molecular biology from
the University of California at Berkeley as well as a B.S. in
mathematics and an M.S. in biology from Stanford University.
“From day one, it has been a privilege to work with every one of our
teammates to build Ironwood into a thriving business that is on the cusp
of launching two exciting new companies. I look forward to completing
the separation and joining the Cyclerion team to help drive forward the
five development opportunities that have emerged from our pioneering
work in sGC pharmacology,” said Dr. Hecht. “I am thrilled that Mark is
joining as Ironwood’s CEO at this pivotal juncture, and I look forward
to cheering on him and his team as they build an industry-leading GI
business. I am working closely with Mark, our board and our entire
management team to complete the separation that we believe will create
two focused companies poised for long-term growth and well positioned to
help patients and create value for shareholders.”
“I am deeply honored to join Ironwood at this critical moment and to
work with the team to build a leading GI franchise, which begins with
accelerating the commercial success to-date with LINZESS and advancing
our late-stage, first-in-category development candidates for persistent
GERD and intestinal pain towards the market,” said Mr. Mallon. “Peter
and the team have done a tremendous job building Ironwood over these
past 20 years. The new Ironwood team now has an opportunity to build on
this strong foundation to drive further growth and innovation within the
GI market and to deliver a profitable business focused on bringing
differentiated GI therapies to patients. Peter and I are already working
together with the team toward a smooth transition and to launch this
exciting new company.”
Ironwood is on track to complete the separation in the first half of
2019, subject to customary conditions, including a favorable opinion
with respect to the tax-free nature of the transaction, and final
approval of Ironwood’s board of directors.
About Ironwood Pharmaceuticals
Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: IRWD) is a commercial biotechnology
company focused on creating medicines that make a difference for
patients, building value for our fellow shareholders, and empowering our
passionate team. We discovered, developed and are commercializing
linaclotide, the U.S. branded prescription market leader for adults with
irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) or chronic idiopathic
constipation (CIC). Our pipeline priorities for linaclotide include a
Phase IIIb trial evaluating its efficacy and safety on multiple
abdominal symptoms, including abdominal bloating, pain, and discomfort
in adult patients with IBS-C, as well as research into a formulation of
linaclotide designed to relieve pain across all IBS subtypes.
We are also advancing a pipeline of innovative product candidates in
areas of significant unmet need, including persistent gastroesophageal
reflux disease, diabetic nephropathy, heart failure with preserved
ejection fraction and sickle cell disease. Ironwood was founded in 1998
and is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass. We intend to separate into two
independent, publicly traded companies (Ironwood and Cyclerion), a
transaction expected to be completed in the first half of 2019. For more
information, please visit www.ironwoodpharma.com
or www.twitter.com/ironwoodpharma;
information that may be important to investors will be routinely posted
in both these locations.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Investors are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements, including statements about the leadership of each of
Ironwood and Cyclerion following the separation, the strength and value
thereof, and the leadership’s anticipated impact on Ironwood and
Cyclerion’s businesses, growth, business strategies, pipeline
advancement, productivity and the potential of their products and
product candidates, as well as statements about the timing of any of the
foregoing; the proposed separation of our operations into two
independent, publicly traded companies, including the status, structure,
completion and timing of the separation; the business and operations
of Ironwood and Cyclerion and any benefits or costs of the separation,
including the tax treatment; the business and operations of each company
and the benefits of a potential separation, including with respect to
Ironwood’s and Cyclerion’s competitive position, attractiveness to
investors and enhanced operational, commercial and scientific
effectiveness; and expectations and timing regarding Ironwood’s ability
to achieve profitability. Each forward-looking statement is subject to
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those expressed or implied in such statement. Applicable
risks and uncertainties include those related to the risk that the
management of the Company and Cyclerion will be different than currently
contemplated; the possibility that we may not complete the separation on
the terms or timeline currently contemplated, if at all, that we may not
achieve the expected benefits of a separation, and that a separation
could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition;
the risk that we may be unable to make, on a timely or cost-effective
basis, the changes necessary to operate as independent companies;
Cyclerion’s lack of independent operating history and the risk that its
accounting and other management systems may not be prepared to meet the
financial reporting and other requirements of operating as an
independent public company; the risk that a separation may adversely
impact our ability to attract or retain key personnel; and the risks
listed under the heading “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in Ironwood’s
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2018,
and in our subsequent SEC filings, including SEC filings related to the
proposed separation. These forward-looking statements (except as
otherwise noted) speak only as of the date of this press release, and
Ironwood undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking
statements.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190104005414/en/
Source: Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Media and Investors:
Meredith Kaya, 617-374-5082
Vice
President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
mkaya@ironwoodpharma.com