IRONWOOD PHARMACEUTICALS INC - Annual Report: 2018 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10‑K

Commission File Number 001‑34620

IRONWOOD PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (617) 621‑7722

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☒  No ☐

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act. Yes ☐  No ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports) and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒  No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes ☒  No ☐

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b‑2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐  No ☒

Aggregate market value of voting stock held by non‑affiliates of the Registrant as of June 30, 2018: $2,802,656,540

As of February 12, 2019, there were 154,645,260 shares of Class A common stock outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE:

Portions of the definitive proxy statement for our 2019 Annual Meeting of Stockholders are incorporated by reference into Part III of this report.

 

 

 

NOTE REGARDING FORWARD‑LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10‑K, including the sections titled “Business,” “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” contains forward‑looking statements. All statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10‑K other than statements of historical fact are forward‑looking statements. Forward‑looking statements include statements regarding our future financial position, business strategy, budgets, projected costs, plans and objectives of management for future operations. The words “may,” “continue,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “will,” “believe,” “project,” “expect,” “seek,” “anticipate” and similar expressions may identify forward‑looking statements, but the absence of these words does not necessarily mean that a statement is not forward‑looking. These forward‑looking statements include, among other things, statements about:

Any or all of our forward‑looking statements in this Annual Report on Form 10‑K may turn out to be inaccurate. These forward‑looking statements may be affected by inaccurate assumptions or by known or unknown risks and uncertainties, including the risks, uncertainties and assumptions identified under the heading “Risk Factors” in this Annual Report on Form 10‑K. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward‑looking events and circumstances discussed in this Annual Report on Form 10‑K may not occur as contemplated, and actual results could differ materially from those anticipated or implied by the forward‑looking statements.

You should not unduly rely on these forward‑looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10‑K. Unless required by law, we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward‑looking statements to reflect new information or future events or otherwise. You should, however, review the factors and risks we describe in the reports we will file from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, after the date of this Annual Report on Form 10‑K.

NOTE REGARDING TRADEMARKS

LINZESS® and CONSTELLA® are trademarks of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ZURAMPIC® and DUZALLO® are trademarks of AstraZeneca AB. Any other trademarks referred to in this Annual Report on Form 10‑K are the property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

 

PART I

Item 1.    Business

Our Company

We are a commercial biotechnology company leveraging our proven development and commercial capabilities as we seek to bring multiple medicines to patients. In May 2018, we announced our intent to separate into two independent, publicly traded companies – Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc, or Ironwood. and Cyclerion Therapeutics, Inc., or Cyclerion. Following the completion of the planned separation, Ironwood will be a gastrointestinal, or GI, focused healthcare company leveraging our proven development and commercial capabilities as we seek to bring multiple medicines to patients. We are advancing innovative product opportunities in areas of large unmet need, capitalizing on our expertise in GI diseases. Cyclerion will be a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company harnessing the power of sGC pharmacology to discover, develop and commercialize breakthrough treatments for serious and orphan diseases.

Our commercial product, linaclotide, is available to adult men and women suffering from irritable bowel syndrome with constipation, or IBS‑C, or chronic idiopathic constipation, or CIC, in certain countries around the world. Linaclotide is available under the trademarked name LINZESS® to adult men and women suffering from IBS‑C or CIC in the United States, or the U.S., and Mexico, and to adult men and women suffering from IBS-C or chronic constipation in Japan. Linaclotide is available under the trademarked name CONSTELLA® to adult men and women suffering from IBS-C or CIC in Canada, and to adult men and women suffering from IBS-C in certain European countries.

We and our U.S. linaclotide partner Allergan plc (together with its affiliates), or Allergan, are exploring ways to enhance the clinical profile of LINZESS by studying linaclotide in additional indications, populations and formulations to assess its potential to treat various conditions. In July 2018, we announced the initiation of a Phase IIIb trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of linaclotide 290 mcg on multiple abdominal symptoms including pain, bloating and discomfort, in adult patients with IBS-C.

We and Allergan are also seeking to expand the clinical utility of linaclotide by demonstrating the pain-relieving effect of a delayed release formulation through the advancement of MD-7246 (linaclotide delayed release) in IBS with diarrhea, or IBS-D.

We are advancing another GI development program, IW-3718, a gastric retentive formulation of a bile acid sequestrant for the potential treatment of persistent gastroesophageal reflux disease, or persistent GERD. In June 2018, we initiated two Phase III clinical trials evaluating the safety and efficacy of IW-3718 in patients with persistent GERD.

The following table presents the status of selected key development programs in our pipeline:

 

The status of our development programs in the table above represents the ongoing phase of development and does not correspond to the completion of a particular phase. Drug development involves a high degree of risk and investment, and the status, timing and scope of our development programs are subject to change. Important factors that could adversely affect our drug development efforts are discussed in the “Risk Factors” section of this Annual Report on Form 10‑K.

We were incorporated in Delaware on January 5, 1998 as Microbia, Inc. On April 7, 2008, we changed our name to Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. To date, we have dedicated a majority of our activities to the research, development and commercialization of linaclotide and the commercialization of lesinurad, as part of our uncontrolled gout program, which we are in the process of discontinuing, as well as to the research and development of our other product candidates.

GI Programs

IBS‑C / CIC

IBS‑C and CIC are chronic, functional GI disorders that afflict millions of sufferers worldwide. As many as 13 million adults suffer from IBS‑C and as many as 35 million adults suffer from CIC in the U.S. alone, according to our analysis of studies including P Pare, et al. (published in 2001 in the American Journal of Gastroenterology) and J.F. Johanson, et al. (published in 2007 in Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics) and American College of Gastroenterology Chronic Constipation Task Force (2005), American Journal of Gastroenterology Vol. 100, No. S1, 2005. Symptoms of IBS‑C include abdominal pain, discomfort or bloating and constipation symptoms (e.g., incomplete evacuation, infrequent bowel movements, hard/lumpy stools), while CIC is primarily characterized by constipation symptoms.

Linaclotide—U.S.  In August 2012, the FDA approved LINZESS as a once‑daily treatment for adult men and women suffering from IBS‑C (290mcg dose) or CIC (145mcg dose). We and Allergan began commercializing LINZESS in the U.S. in December 2012. In January 2017, the FDA approved a 72 mcg dose of linaclotide for the treatment of adult men and women with CIC. Linaclotide is the first product approved by the FDA in a class of GI medicines called guanylate cyclase type‑C, or GC‑C, agonists. We and Allergan continue to explore ways to enhance the clinical profile of LINZESS by studying linaclotide in additional indications, populations and formulations to assess its potential to treat various conditions.

Additional Abdominal Symptom Claims.  We and Allergan have identified a development path with LINZESS intended to obtain abdominal symptom claims including bloating and discomfort, two highly bothersome symptoms associated with IBS-C, through a single Phase III trial. Greater than 65% of IBS-C patients suffer from bloating and/or discomfort at least one time per week, according to the Lieberman GI Patient Landscape Survey performed in 2010. In July 2018, we and Allergan initiated a Phase IIIb clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of linaclotide 290 mcg on multiple abdominal symptoms in addition to pain, including bloating and discomfort in adult patients with IBS-C.

Pediatrics.  We and Allergan have established a nonclinical and clinical post‑marketing plan with the FDA to understand the safety and efficacy of LINZESS in pediatric patients. We and Allergan are advancing clinical pediatric programs in IBS‑C patients age seven to 17 and functional constipation patients age six to 17.

LINZESS is covered by a U.S. composition of matter patent that expires in 2026, including patent term extension, as well as multiple additional patents covering the commercial formulation of LINZESS and methods of using this formulation to treat patients with IBS C or CIC, the latest of which expire in the early 2030s. We and Allergan have received Paragraph IV certification notice letters, or Notice Letters, regarding Abbreviated New Drug Applications, or ANDAs, submitted to the FDA by generic drug manufacturers requesting approval to engage in commercial manufacture, use, sale and offer for sale of linaclotide capsules (72 mcg, 145 mcg and 290 mcg), proposed generic versions of LINZESS. In 2018, we and Allergan entered into settlement agreements with three generic drug manufacturers. For additional information relating to such ANDAs and any resolution of related litigation, see Item 3, Legal Proceedings, elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Linaclotide—Global.  Allergan has rights to develop and commercialize linaclotide in all countries worldwide other than China, Hong Kong, Macau and Japan. In November 2012, the European Commission granted marketing authorization to CONSTELLA for the symptomatic treatment of moderate to severe IBS‑C in adults. CONSTELLA is

the first, and to date, only drug approved in the European Union, or E.U., for IBS‑C. CONSTELLA first became commercially available in certain European countries beginning in the second quarter of 2013. Allergan is commercializing CONSTELLA in a number of European countries, including the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain.

In December 2013 and February 2014, linaclotide was approved in Canada and Mexico, respectively, as a treatment for adult men and women suffering from IBS‑C or CIC. Allergan has exclusive rights to commercialize linaclotide in Canada as CONSTELLA and in Mexico as LINZESS. In May 2014, CONSTELLA became commercially available in Canada and in June 2014, LINZESS became commercially available in Mexico.

Astellas Pharma Inc., or Astellas, has rights to develop and commercialize linaclotide in Japan. In December 2016, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare approved LINZESS for the treatment of adults with IBS-C in Japan.  In March 2017, Astellas began commercializing LINZESS for the treatment of adults with IBS-C in Japan. In August 2018, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare approved LINZESS for the treatment of adults with chronic constipation in Japan. In September 2018, Astellas began commercializing LINZESS for the treatment of adult patients with chronic constipation in Japan.

We and AstraZeneca are co‑developing linaclotide in China, Hong Kong and Macau, with AstraZeneca having primary responsibility for the local operational execution. In January 2019, the National Medical Products Administration approved the marketing application for LINZESS for adults with IBS-C in China.

CONSTELLA is covered by European composition of matter patents, which expire in 2024. LINZESS is covered by Japanese composition of matter patents and commercial formulation patents which expire between 2024 and 2032. In addition, we have Chinese composition of matter patents and commercial formulation patents which expire between 2024 and 2032.

Abdominal Pain associated with IBS

MD-7246. There are an estimated 16 million Americans who suffer from symptoms of IBS-D, according to Grundmann and Yoon in Irritable Bowel Syndrome: epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment: an update for health-care practitioners (published in the Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology in 2010) and the United States Census Bureau.

We and Allergan are initially exploring MD-7246 as an oral, intestinal, non-opioid, pain-relieving agent for patients suffering from IBS with diarrhea.

Persistent GERD

IW‑3718.  There are an estimated 10 million Americans who suffer regularly from symptoms of GERD, such as heartburn and regurgitation, despite receiving treatment with the current standard of care, a proton pump inhibitor, to suppress stomach acid, according to a study published in 2010 by H. El-Sarag in Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics and 2015 U.S. census data. Research suggests some persistent GERD patients may experience reflux of bile from the intestine into the stomach and esophagus.

We are advancing IW‑3718, a gastric retentive formulation of a bile acid sequestrant, for the potential treatment of persistent GERD. Our clinical research has demonstrated that reflux of bile from the intestine into the stomach and esophagus plays a key role in the ongoing symptoms of persistent GERD. IW-3718 is a novel formulation of a bile acid sequestrant designed to release in the stomach over an extended period of time, bind to bile that refluxes into the stomach, and potentially provide symptomatic relief in patients with persistent GERD. In June 2018, we initiated two Phase III clinical trials evaluating the safety and efficacy of IW-3718 in patients with persistent GERD.    

Uncontrolled Gout Programs

In June 2016, we closed a transaction with AstraZeneca, or the Lesinurad Transaction, pursuant to which we received an exclusive license to develop, manufacture, and commercialize in the U.S. products containing lesinurad as an active ingredient, or the Lesinurad License, including ZURAMPIC® and DUZALLO® In January 2018, we commenced an initiative to evaluate the optimal mix of investments for our lesinurad franchise for uncontrolled gout, including DUZALLO and ZURAMPIC. As part of this effort, in 2018 we began re-allocating resources within our lesinurad franchise to systematically explore a more comprehensive marketing mix in select test markets (with paired controls), while continuing to build market presence for the lesinurad franchise across the country. In July 2018, we obtained and analyzed the results from the lesinurad franchise test markets. Data from the test markets did not meet expectations. In connection with the results, our Board of Directors determined on July 31, 2018 to terminate the lesinurad license agreement.

Cyclerion Therapeutics, Inc.

Cyclerion, the company that is expected to spin out of Ironwood following the completion of the planned separation, is expected to be a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company intended to harness the power of sGC pharmacology to discover, develop and commercialize breakthrough treatments for serious and orphan diseases. The company plans to focus on enabling the full therapeutic potential of next generation sGC stimulators. sGC stimulators are small molecules that act synergistically with nitric oxide on sGC to boost production of cyclic guanosine monophosphate, or cGMP. cGMP is a key second messenger that, when produced by sGC, regulates diverse and critical biological functions throughout the body including blood flow and vascular dynamics, inflammatory and fibrotic processes, metabolism and neuronal function. Cyclerion believes that the key to unlocking the full therapeutic potential of the nitric oxide cGMP pathway is to design differentiated next generation sGC stimulators that preferentially modulate pathway signaling in tissues of greatest relevance to the diseases they are developed to treat. This targeted approach is intended to maximize the potential benefits of nitric oxide cGMP pathway stimulation in disease relevant tissues.

Cyclerion’s portfolio is currently comprised of five sGC stimulators:

•olinciguat, currently in a Phase 2 trial as an oral, once-daily vascular sGC stimulator for patients suffering from sickle cell disease;

•praliciguat, in two distinct Phase 2 trials as an oral, once daily systemic sGC stimulator for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, or HFpEF, and for diabetic nephropathy, respectively;

•IW 6463, a central nervous system penetrant oral sGC stimulator in clinical development for serious neurodegenerative diseases; and

•two organ targeted programs to address serious diseases of the liver and lung, respectively.

Collaborations and Partnerships

As part of our strategy, we have established development and commercial capabilities that we plan to leverage as we seek to bring multiple medicines to patients. We intend to play an active role in the development and commercialization of our products in the U.S., either independently or with partners that have strong capabilities. We also intend to establish strong global brands by out‑licensing development and commercialization rights to our products in other key territories to high‑performing partners. We believe in the long‑term value of our drug candidates, so we seek collaborations that increase the value of our programs by providing meaningful economics and incentives for us and any potential partner. Furthermore, we seek partners who share our values, culture, processes and vision for our products, which we believe will enable us to work with those partners successfully for the entire potential patent life of our drugs. We intend to continue to expand our expertise in GI by accessing innovative externally developed products through strategic transactions and to leverage our existing capabilities to develop and commercialize these products in the U.S.

The following chart shows our revenue for the U.S. and territories outside of the U.S. as a percentage of our total revenue for each of the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017, and 2016.

 

Revenue attributable to our linaclotide partnerships comprised substantially all of our revenue for each of the years indicated. Further, we currently derive a significant portion of our revenue from our LINZESS collaboration with Allergan for the U.S. and believe that the revenues from this collaboration will continue to constitute a significant portion of our total revenue for the foreseeable future. In addition, our collaborative arrangements revenue and sale of API outside of the U.S. has fluctuated for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017, and 2016, and may continue to fluctuate as a result of the timing and amount of sales of linaclotide API to certain of our partners, license fees and clinical and commercial milestones received and recognized under our current and future strategic partnerships outside of the U.S., as well as the timing and amount of royalties from the sales of linaclotide in the markets in which it is currently approved, or any other markets where linaclotide receives approval.

Linaclotide

We have pursued a partnering strategy for commercializing linaclotide that has enabled us to retain significant oversight over linaclotide’s development and commercialization worldwide, share the costs with collaborators whose capabilities complement ours, and retain a significant portion of linaclotide’s future long‑term value. As of December 31, 2018, licensing fees, milestones, royalties and related equity investments from our linaclotide partners cumulatively totaled approximately $415.6 million. In addition, we and Allergan jointly fund the development and commercialization of LINZESS in the U.S., sharing equally in any net profits or losses, and we and AstraZeneca jointly fund the development and commercialization of linaclotide in China, Hong Kong and Macau, with AstraZeneca receiving 55% of the net profits or incurring 55% of the net losses until a certain specified commercial milestone is achieved, at which time profits or losses will be shared equally thereafter. Such reimbursements for our development and commercialization costs received from Allergan in the U.S. or AstraZeneca in China, Hong Kong, and Macau are excluded from the amount above.

Collaboration Agreement for North America with Allergan

In September 2007, we entered into a collaboration agreement with Allergan to develop and commercialize linaclotide for the treatment of IBS‑C, CIC and other GI conditions in North America. Under the terms of the collaboration agreement, we and Allergan are jointly and equally funding the development and commercialization of LINZESS in the U.S., with equal share of any profits or losses. Additionally, we granted Allergan exclusive rights to develop and commercialize linaclotide in Canada and Mexico for which we receive royalties in the mid-teens percent on net sales in those countries. Allergan is solely responsible for the further development, regulatory approval and commercialization of linaclotide in those countries and funding any costs. Total licensing, milestone payments, and related equity investments under the Allergan collaboration agreement for North America could total up to $330.0 million, including the $205.0 million that Allergan has already paid to us in license fees and all six development‑related milestones and the $25.0 million of our capital stock that Allergan has already purchased.

License Agreement with Allergan (All countries other than the countries and territories of North America, China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Japan)

In April 2009, we entered into a license agreement with Almirall, or the European License Agreement, to develop and commercialize linaclotide in Europe (including the Commonwealth of Independent States and Turkey) for the treatment of IBS‑C, CIC and other GI conditions. In October 2015, Almirall transferred its exclusive license to develop and commercialize linaclotide in Europe to Allergan. Additionally, in October 2015, we and Allergan separately entered into an amendment to the European License Agreement relating to the development and commercialization of linaclotide in Europe. Pursuant to the terms of the amendment, (i) certain sales‑based milestones payable to us under the

European License Agreement were such that, when aggregated with the remaining commercial launch milestones, they could total up to $42.5 million, (ii) the royalties payable to us during the term of the European License Agreement were modified such that the royalties based on sales volume in Europe begin in the mid‑single digit percent and escalate to the upper‑teens percent by calendar year 2019, and (iii) Allergan assumed responsibility for the manufacturing of linaclotide API for Europe from us, as well as the associated costs.

In January 2017, we and Allergan entered into an amendment to the European License Agreement. The European License Agreement, as amended, extended the license to develop and commercialize linaclotide in all countries other than China, Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, and the countries and territories of North America.  On a country-by-country and product-by-product basis in such additional territory, Allergan is obligated to pay us a royalty as a percentage of net sales of products containing linaclotide as an active ingredient in the upper-single digits for five years following the first commercial sale of a linaclotide product in a country, and in the low-double digits thereafter.  The royalty rate for products in the expanded territory will decrease, on a country-by-country basis, to the lower-single digits, or cease entirely, following the occurrence of certain events. Allergan is also obligated to assume certain purchase commitments for quantities of linaclotide API under our agreements with third-party API suppliers. The amendment to the European License Agreement did not modify any of the milestones or royalty terms related to Europe.

License Agreement for Japan with Astellas

In November 2009, we entered into a license agreement with Astellas, as amended, to develop and commercialize linaclotide for the treatment of IBS‑C, CIC and other GI conditions in Japan. Astellas is responsible for development, regulatory approval and commercialization in Japan, as well as funding the associated costs. Astellas has paid us all licensing and milestone payments under the license agreement totaling $75.0 million. These payments consisted of a $30.0 million up‑front licensing fee and $45.0 million in development milestones. Astellas is obligated to pay us gross royalties which escalate based on sales volume in the Astellas territory, beginning in the low‑twenties percent, less the transfer price paid by Astellas to us for the API included in the product actually sold in Japan and other contractual deductions.

Collaboration Agreement for China, Hong Kong and Macau with AstraZeneca

In October 2012, we entered into a collaboration agreement with AstraZeneca to co‑develop and co‑commercialize linaclotide in China, Hong Kong and Macau. In January 2019, the National Medical Products Administration approved the marketing application for LINZESS for adults with IBS-C in China. Under the terms of the agreement, we and AstraZeneca are jointly funding the development and commercialization of linaclotide in the AstraZeneca territory, with AstraZeneca receiving 55% of the net profits or incurring 55% of the net losses until a certain specified commercial milestone is achieved, at which time profits or losses will be shared equally thereafter. If linaclotide is successfully developed and commercialized in the AstraZeneca territory, total licensing and milestone payments to us under the collaboration agreement could total up to $150.0 million, including the $25.0 million that AstraZeneca has already paid to us.

Co-Promotion and Other Commercial Agreements

Commercial Agreement with Allergan

In January 2017, we and Allergan entered into a commercial agreement under which the adjustments to our or Allergan’s share of the net profits under the share adjustment provision of the collaboration agreement for linaclotide in North America relating to the contractually required calls on physicians in each year are eliminated, in full, in 2018 and all subsequent years. Pursuant to the commercial agreement, Allergan also appointed us, on a non-exclusive basis, to promote CANASA®, approved for the treatment of ulcerative proctitis, and DELZICOL®, approved for the treatment of ulcerative colitis, in the U.S. for approximately two years. The share adjustment relief will, in the case of Allergan’s termination for convenience and certain other specified circumstances, survive termination of the commercial agreement.

In August 2015, we and Allergan entered into a non-exclusive agreement for the co-promotion of VIBERZI® (eluxadoline) in the U.S., Allergan’s treatment for adults suffering from IBS-D or the VIBERZI Co-Promotion Agreement, which expired in December 2017. Under the terms of the VIBERZI Co-Promotion Agreement, our clinical sales specialists detailed VIBERZI to the same health care practitioners to whom they detailed LINZESS. Allergan was responsible for all costs and activities relating to the commercialization of VIBERZI outside of the co-promotion.

In December 2017, we entered into an agreement with Allergan to continue to promote VIBERZI through December 31, 2018 and to discontinue promoting DELZICOL effective January 1, 2018. We perform certain third position details and offer samples of CANASA to gastroenterology prescribers who are on the then-current call panel for LINZESS to which we provide first or second position details, and we purchase samples of CANASA from Allergan at the actual manufacturing cost.  Allergan is obligated to pay us a royalty in the mid-teens on incremental sales of CANASA above a mutually agreed upon sales baseline.  We commenced the promotion activities for CANASA on February 27, 2017. In addition, our clinical sales specialists detail VIBERZI to the same health care practitioners to whom they detail LINZESS. We have the potential to achieve milestone payments of up to $7.5 million based on the net sales of VIBERZI, provided we perform a minimum number of VIBERZI calls on physicians, and will also be compensated via reimbursements for medical education initiatives. In December 2018, we entered into an agreement with Allergan to discontinue our promotion of CANASA effective December 31, 2018, and to extend our promotion of VIBERZI through March 31, 2019, subject to our or Allergan’s rights of early termination.

Our Strategy

Our mission, following the planned separation, is to create a leading U.S. GI-focused healthcare company. To achieve this mission we intend to capitalize on our expertise in developing and commercializing GI therapies to bring innovative treatment options to patients. Key elements of our strategy include:

Competition

Linaclotide

Linaclotide competes globally with certain prescription therapies and over‑the‑counter, or OTC, products for the treatment of IBS‑C and CIC, or their associated symptoms.

OTC and generic laxatives make up the majority of the IBS-C and CIC treatment market, according to the Lieberman GI Patient Landscape Survey performed in 2010 and the 2018 U.S. Census. Polyethylene glycol (such as MiraLAX®) and lactulose account for the majority of prescription laxative treatments, according to 2015 data from IQVIA Inc. National Prescription Audit. Given the low barriers to access, many IBS-C and CIC sufferers try OTC fiber and laxatives, but according to this same patient landscape survey, less than half of them are very satisfied with the

ability of these OTC products to manage their symptoms. Two of the highest selling OTC laxatives in the U.S., based on 2017 U.S. sales volume data from IQVIA Inc. National Prescription Audit, are MiraLAX (PEG 3350) and Dulcolax®. In November 2018, the FDA withdrew approval for certain prescription products containing MiraLAX for occasional constipation. This change had no effect on OTC products containing MiraLAX for occasional constipation.

Until the launch of LINZESS, the only available branded prescription therapy for IBS‑C and CIC in the U.S. was AMITIZA® (lubiprostone), which was approved for the treatment of CIC in 2006, for the treatment of IBS‑C in 2008, and for the treatment of opioid‑induced constipation in 2013. AMITIZA is being commercialized in the U.S. by Takeda Pharmaceuticals Limited. Synergy Pharmaceuticals, Inc., or Synergy, obtained approval of TRULANCE® (plecanatide) in the U.S. for the treatment of CIC in adults in January 2017 and for the treatment of IBS-C in adults in January 2018. In December 2018, Bausch Health Companies agreed to acquire substantially all of Synergy’s assets, including all rights to TRULACE, dolcanatide and all related intellectual property in the context of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy process. The sale is subject to a competitive process and the Company’s receipt of higher and better offers. Shire plc obtained approval of Motegrity™ (prucalopride) in the U.S. for the treatment of CIC in adults in December 2018. AMITIZA is being commercialized for the treatment of adults with CIC in certain European countries, including the United Kingdom and Switzerland by Sucampo AG, and for the treatment of chronic constipation in Japan by Mylan N.V.

Manufacturing and Supply

We currently manage our global supply and distribution of linaclotide through a combination of contract manufacturers and collaboration partners. It is our objective to produce safe and effective medicine on a worldwide basis, with redundancy built into critical steps of the supply chain. We believe that we have sufficient in‑house expertise to manage our manufacturing and supply chain network to meet worldwide demand.

Linaclotide production consists of three phases—manufacture of the API (sometimes referred to as drug substance), manufacture of drug product and manufacture of finished goods. We and certain of our partners have entered into commercial supply agreements with multiple third-party manufacturers for the production of linaclotide API. We believe our commercial suppliers have the capabilities to produce linaclotide API in accordance with current good manufacturing practices, or GMP, on a sufficient scale to meet our development and commercial needs. Our commercial suppliers are subject to routine inspections by regulatory agencies worldwide and also undergo periodic audit and certification by our quality department.

Each of Allergan and Astellas is responsible for drug product and finished goods manufacturing for its respective territories, and distribution of finished goods to their customers. We have an agreement with an independent third party to serve as a source of drug product manufacturing of linaclotide for our partnered territories and we have worked with our partners to achieve sufficient redundancy in this component of the linaclotide supply chain. Under our collaboration with AstraZeneca, we are accountable for drug product and finished goods manufacturing for China, for drug product manufacturing for Hong Kong and Macau, with AstraZeneca accountable for finished goods manufacturing for Hong Kong and Macau.

Prior to linaclotide, there was no precedent for long‑term room temperature shelf storage formulation for an orally dosed peptide to be produced in millions of capsules per year. Our efforts to date have led to a formulation that is both cost effective and able to meet the stability requirements for commercial pharmaceutical products. Our work in this area has created an opportunity to seek additional intellectual property protection around the linaclotide program. In conjunction with Allergan and Astellas, we have filed patent applications in the U.S. and foreign jurisdictions and have been issued multiple U.S. patents to protect the current commercial formulation of linaclotide as well as related formulations. These issued U.S. patents expire in the early 2030s. If issued, the pending patent applications would expire in 2029 or later in the U.S. and foreign jurisdictions and would be eligible for potential patent term adjustments or patent term extensions in countries where such extensions may be available.

Sales and Marketing

For the foreseeable future, we intend to develop and commercialize our drugs in the U.S. alone or with partners, and expect to rely on partners to commercialize our drugs in territories outside the U.S. In executing our strategy, our goal is to retain oversight over the worldwide development and commercialization of our products by playing an active role in their commercialization or finding partners who share our vision, values, culture and processes.

We built our commercial capabilities, including marketing, reimbursement, patient engagement and sales, with the intent to leverage these capabilities for future internally and externally developed products. To date, we have established a high‑quality commercial organization dedicated to bringing innovative, highly‑valued healthcare solutions to our customers, including patients, payers, and healthcare providers.

We are also coordinating efforts with our linaclotide partners to ensure that we launch and maintain an integrated, global linaclotide brand. By leveraging the knowledge base and expertise of our experienced commercial team and the insights of each of our linaclotide commercialization partners, we continually improve our collective marketing strategies.

Patents and Proprietary Rights

We actively seek to protect the proprietary technology that we consider important to our business, including pursuing patents that cover our products and compositions, their methods of use and the processes for their manufacture, as well as any other relevant inventions and improvements that are commercially important to the development of our business. We also rely on trade secrets that may be important to the development of our business.

Our success will depend significantly on our ability to obtain and maintain patent and other proprietary protection for the technology, inventions and improvements we consider important to our business; defend our patents; preserve the confidentiality of our trade secrets; and operate without infringing the patents and proprietary rights of third parties.

Linaclotide Patent Portfolio

Our linaclotide patent portfolio is currently composed of ten U.S. patents listed in the FDA publication, “Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations”, or the Orange Book, three granted European patents, all of which have been validated in each of 31 European countries, nine granted Japanese patents, five granted Chinese patents, 38 issued patents in other foreign jurisdictions, and numerous pending U.S., foreign and Patent Cooperation Treaty, or PCT, patent applications. We own or jointly own all of the issued patents and pending applications.

The issued U.S. patents, which will expire between 2024 and 2033, contain claims directed to the linaclotide molecule, pharmaceutical compositions thereof, methods of using linaclotide to treat GI disorders, processes for making the molecule, and room temperature stable formulations of linaclotide and methods of use thereof. The granted European patents, which will expire between 2024 and 2027, some of which are subject to potential patent term extension, contain claims directed to the linaclotide molecule, pharmaceutical compositions thereof, and uses of linaclotide to prepare medicaments for treating GI disorders. The granted Chinese patents, which will expire between 2024 and 2032, the granted Japanese patents, which will expire between 2024 and 2035, some of which are subject to potential patent term extension, and the granted patents in other foreign jurisdictions, which will expire between 2024 and 2032, some of which may be subject to potential patent term extension, contain claims directed to the linaclotide molecule, pharmaceutical compositions of linaclotide for use in treating GI disorders, and room temperature stable formulations of linaclotide.

We have pending patent applications in certain countries worldwide that, if issued, will expire between 2024 and 2032 and which include claims covering the linaclotide molecule, methods of using linaclotide to treat GI disorders, the current commercial formulation of linaclotide and uses thereof to treat GI disorders.

We have pending applications directed to linaclotide products, including MD-7246, that, if issued, will expire in 2037 or later. We also have pending U.S., foreign and PCT applications directed to linaclotide and related molecules, pharmaceutical formulations thereof, methods of using linaclotide to treat various diseases and disorders and processes for making the molecule. These additional patent applications, if issued, will expire between 2024 and 2037.

The patent term of a patent that covers an FDA‑approved drug is also eligible for patent term extension, which permits patent term restoration as compensation for some of the patent term lost during the FDA regulatory review process. The Hatch‑Waxman Act permits a patent term extension of a single patent applicable to an approved drug for up to five years beyond the expiration of the patent but the extension cannot extend the remaining term of a patent beyond a total of 14 years from the date of product approval by the FDA. The United States Patent and Trademark

Office, or USPTO, has issued a Certificate of Patent Term Extension for U.S. Patent 7,304,036, which covers linaclotide and methods of use thereof. As a result, the patent term of this patent was extended to August 30, 2026, 14 years from the date of linaclotide’s approval by the FDA. Similar provisions are available in Europe and certain other foreign jurisdictions to extend the term of a patent that covers an approved drug. We have received patent term extensions in Japan for several of our linaclotide patents. We have also received patent term extensions, called supplementary protection certificates, for certain linaclotide patents from several national patent offices in Europe.

We and Allergan have received Notice Letters regarding ANDAs submitted to the FDA by generic drug manufacturers requesting approval to engage in commercial manufacture, use, sale and offer for sale of linaclotide capsule (72 mcg, 145 mcg and 290 mcg), proposed generic versions of LINZESS. In 2018, we and Allergan entered into settlement agreements with three generic drug manufacturers. For additional information relating to such ANDAs and any resolution of related litigation, see Item 3. Legal Proceedings, elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

IW-3718

Our pipeline patent portfolio relating to our IW-3718 development program is currently composed of one issued U.S. patent and eight issued patents in foreign jurisdictions; and numerous pending provisional, U.S. non-provisional, foreign and PCT patent applications. We own all of the issued patents and pending applications. The issued U.S. patent expires in 2031. The foreign issued patents expire in 2027. The pending patent applications, if issued, will expire between 2027 and 2038.

Additional Intellectual Property

In addition to the patents and patent applications related to linaclotide, and IW-3718, we currently have 11 issued U.S. patents; 27 patents granted in foreign jurisdictions, including European and Eurasian patents that have each been validated in several countries; and a number of pending U.S. foreign and PCT applications directed to other GC‑C agonist and sGC stimulator molecules and uses thereof. We also have other issued patents and pending patent applications relating to our other research and development programs.

The term of individual patents depends upon the legal term of the patents in the countries in which they are obtained. In most countries in which we file, the patent term is 20 years from the date of filing the non‑provisional application. In the U.S., a patent’s term may be lengthened by patent term adjustment, which compensates a patentee for administrative delays by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in granting a patent, or may be shortened if a patent is terminally disclaimed over an earlier‑filed patent. We also expect to apply for patent term extensions for some of our patents once issued, depending upon the length of clinical trials and other factors involved in the submission of a New Drug Application, or NDA.

Cyclerion Intellectual Property 

There are eight issued U.S. patents, 21 pending U.S. patents applications, 10 pending PCT applications, and numerous foreign patents and pending patent applications covering the product candidates that Cyclerion expects to advance following completion of the planned separation of Ironwood and Cyclerion. The olinciguat patent portfolio in the U.S. includes three U.S. patents, four pending U.S. patent applications, three PCT applications and one provisional application. The praliciguat patent portfolio in the U.S. includes three U.S. patents, six pending U.S. patent applications, three PCT applications and one provisional application. The IW-6463 portfolio includes pending PCT, U.S. and foreign applications. The technology underlying the sGC patents and pending patent applications has been developed by us and was not acquired from any in-licensing agreement. We own all of the issued patents and pending applications.

Government Regulation

Our business is subject to government regulation in both the U.S. and in other countries. In the U.S., pharmaceutical products are subject to extensive regulation by the FDA. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and other federal and state statutes and regulations, as well as similar foreign regulations, govern, among other things, the research, development, testing, manufacture, storage, recordkeeping, approval, labeling, promotion and marketing, distribution, post-marketing requirements and assessments, post‑approval monitoring and reporting, sampling, and import and export of pharmaceutical products. The FDA and other regulatory authorities have very broad enforcement authority and failure to abide by applicable regulatory requirements can result in administrative or judicial sanctions

being imposed on us, including warning letters, refusals of government contracts, clinical holds, civil penalties, injunctions, restitution, disgorgement of profits, recall or seizure of products, total or partial suspension of production or distribution, withdrawal of approval, refusal to approve pending applications, and civil or criminal prosecution.

FDA Approval Process

We believe that our product candidates will be regulated by the FDA as drugs. No company may market a new drug until it has submitted an NDA to the FDA, and the FDA has approved it. The steps required before the FDA may approve an NDA generally include:

Nonclinical tests include laboratory evaluation of the product candidate, as well as animal studies to assess the potential safety and efficacy of the product candidate. The conduct of the nonclinical tests must comply with federal regulations and requirements including GLP. We must submit the results of the nonclinical tests, together with manufacturing information, analytical data and a proposed clinical trial protocol to the FDA as part of an Investigational New Drug Application, or IND, which must become effective before we may commence human clinical trials in the U.S. The IND will automatically become effective 30 days after its receipt by the FDA, unless the FDA raises concerns or questions before that time about the conduct of the proposed trial. In such a case, we must work with the FDA to resolve any outstanding concerns before the clinical trial can proceed. We cannot be sure that submission of an IND will result in the FDA allowing clinical trials to begin, or that, once begun, issues will not arise that will cause us or the FDA to modify, suspend or terminate such trials. The study protocol and informed consent information for patients in clinical trials must also be submitted to an institutional review board, or IRB, for approval. An IRB may also require the clinical trial at the site to be halted, either temporarily or permanently, for failure to comply with the IRB requirements or if the trial has been associated with unexpected serious harm to subjects. An IRB may also impose other conditions on the trial. For studies conducted outside of the U.S., similarly, we are subject to local regulations which may differ from the U.S. and local regulations must be followed appropriately.

Clinical trials involve the administration of the product candidate to humans under the supervision of qualified investigators, generally physicians not employed by or under the trial sponsor’s control. Clinical trials are typically conducted in three sequential phases, though the phases may overlap or be combined. In Phase I, the initial introduction of the drug into healthy human subjects, the drug is usually tested for safety (adverse effects), dosage tolerance and

pharmacologic action, as well as to understand how the drug is taken up by and distributed within the body. Phase II usually involves studies in a limited patient population (individuals with the disease under study) to:

Phase III trials generally further evaluate clinical efficacy and test for safety within an expanded patient population. The conduct of clinical trials is subject to extensive regulation, including compliance with GCP regulations and guidance, and regulations designed to protect the rights and safety of subjects involved in investigations.

The FDA may order the temporary or permanent discontinuation of a clinical trial at any time or impose other sanctions if it believes that the clinical trial is not being conducted in accordance with FDA requirements or presents an unacceptable risk to the clinical trial patients. We may also suspend clinical trials at any time on various grounds.

The results of the nonclinical and clinical studies, together with other detailed information, including the manufacture and composition of the product candidate, are submitted to the FDA in the form of an NDA requesting approval to market the drug. The FDA approval of the NDA is required before marketing of the product may begin in the U.S. If the NDA contains all pertinent information and data, the FDA will “file” the application and begin review. The review process, however, may be extended by FDA requests for additional information, nonclinical or clinical studies, clarification regarding information already provided in the submission, or submission of a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy. The FDA may refer an application to an advisory committee for review, evaluation and recommendation as to whether the application should be approved. The FDA is not bound by the recommendations of an advisory committee, but it considers such recommendations carefully when making decisions. Before approving an NDA, the FDA will typically inspect the facilities at which the product candidate is manufactured and will not approve the product candidate unless current GMP compliance is satisfactory. The FDA also typically inspects facilities responsible for performing animal testing, as well as clinical investigators who participate in clinical trials. The FDA may refuse to approve an NDA if applicable regulatory criteria are not satisfied, or may require additional testing or information. The FDA may also limit the indications for use and/or require post‑marketing testing and surveillance to monitor the safety or efficacy of a product. Once granted, product approvals may be withdrawn if compliance with regulatory standards is not maintained or problems are identified following initial marketing.

The testing and approval process requires substantial time, effort and financial resources, and our product candidates may not be approved on a timely basis, if at all. The time and expense required to perform the clinical testing necessary to obtain FDA approval for regulated products can frequently exceed the time and expense of the research and development initially required to create the product. The results of nonclinical studies and initial clinical trials of our product candidates are not necessarily predictive of the results from large‑scale clinical trials, and clinical trials may be subject to additional costs, delays or modifications due to a number of factors, including difficulty in obtaining enough patients, investigators or product candidate supply. Failure by us or our collaborators, licensors or licensees, including Allergan, Astellas and AstraZeneca, to obtain, or any delay in obtaining, regulatory approvals or in complying with requirements could adversely affect commercialization and our ability to receive product or royalty revenues.

Hatch‑Waxman Act

The Hatch‑Waxman Act established abbreviated approval procedures for generic drugs. Approval to market and distribute these drugs is obtained by submitting an ANDA with the FDA. The application for a generic drug is “abbreviated” because it need not include nonclinical or clinical data to demonstrate safety and effectiveness and may instead rely on the FDA’s previous finding that the brand drug, or reference drug, is safe and effective. In order to obtain approval of an ANDA, an applicant must, among other things, establish that its product is bioequivalent to an existing approved drug and that it has the same active ingredient(s), strength, dosage form, and the same route of administration. A generic drug is considered bioequivalent to its reference drug if testing demonstrates that the rate and extent of absorption of the generic drug is not significantly different from the rate and extent of absorption of the reference drug when administered under similar experimental conditions.

The Hatch‑Waxman Act also provides incentives by awarding, in certain circumstances, certain legal protections from generic competition. This protection comes in the form of a non‑patent exclusivity period, during which the FDA may not accept, or approve, an application for a generic drug, whether the application for such drug is submitted through an ANDA or a through another form of application, known as a 505(b)(2) application.

The Hatch‑Waxman Act grants five years of exclusivity when a company develops and gains NDA approval of a new chemical entity that has not been previously approved by the FDA. This exclusivity provides that the FDA may not accept an ANDA or 505(b)(2) application for five years after the date of approval of previously approved drug, or four years in the case of an ANDA or 505(b)(2) application that challenges a patent claiming the reference drug (see discussion below regarding Paragraph IV Certifications). The Hatch‑Waxman Act also provides three years of exclusivity for approved applications for drugs that are not new chemical entities, if the application contains the results of new clinical investigations (other than bioavailability studies) that were essential to approval of the application. Examples of such applications include applications for new indications, dosage forms (including new drug delivery systems), strengths, or conditions of use for an already approved product. This three‑year exclusivity period only protects against FDA approval of ANDAs and 505(b)(2) applications for generic drugs that include the innovation that required new clinical investigations that were essential to approval; it does not prohibit the FDA from accepting or approving ANDAs or 505(b)(2) NDAs for generic drugs that do not include such an innovation.

Paragraph IV Certifications.  Under the Hatch‑Waxman Act, NDA applicants and NDA holders must provide information about certain patents claiming their drugs for listing in the Orange Book. When an ANDA or 505(b)(2) application is submitted, it must contain one of several possible certifications regarding each of the patents listed in the Orange Book for the reference drug. A certification that a listed patent is invalid, unenforceable or will not be infringed by the sale of the proposed product is called a “Paragraph IV” certification.

Within 20 days of the acceptance by the FDA of an ANDA or 505(b)(2) application containing a Paragraph IV certification, the applicant must notify the NDA holder and patent owner that the application has been submitted, and provide the factual and legal basis for the applicant’s opinion that the patent is invalid or not infringed. The NDA holder or patent holder may then initiate a patent infringement suit in response to the Paragraph IV notice. If this is done within 45 days of receiving notice of the Paragraph IV certification, a 30‑month stay of the FDA’s ability to approve the ANDA or 505(b)(2) application is triggered. The FDA may approve the proposed product before the expiration of the 30‑month stay only if a court finds the patent invalid or not infringed, and the court may shorten or lengthen the 30-month stay under certain limited circumstances.

Patent Term Restoration.  Under the Hatch‑Waxman Act, a portion of the patent term lost during product development and FDA review of an NDA or 505(b)(2) application is restored if approval of the application is the first permitted commercial marketing of a drug containing the active ingredient. The patent term restoration period is generally one‑half the time between the effective date of the IND and the date of submission of the NDA, plus the time between the date of submission of the NDA and the date of FDA approval of the product. The maximum period of patent term extension is five years, and the patent cannot be extended to more than 14 years from the date of FDA approval of the product. Only one patent claiming each approved product is eligible for restoration and the patent holder must apply for restoration within 60 days of approval. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, in consultation with the FDA, reviews and approves the application for patent term restoration.

Other Regulatory Requirements

After approval, drug products are subject to extensive continuing regulation by the FDA, which include company obligations to manufacture products in accordance with current GMP, maintain and provide to the FDA updated safety and efficacy information, report adverse experiences with the product, keep certain records and submit periodic reports, obtain FDA approval of certain manufacturing or labeling changes, and comply with FDA promotion and advertising requirements and restrictions. Failure to meet these obligations can result in various adverse consequences, both voluntary and FDA‑imposed, including product recalls, withdrawal of approval, restrictions on marketing, and the imposition of civil fines and criminal penalties against the NDA holder. In addition, later discovery of previously unknown safety or efficacy issues may result in restrictions on the product, manufacturer or NDA holder.

We and any manufacturers of our products are required to comply with applicable FDA manufacturing requirements contained in the FDA’s current GMP regulations. Current GMP regulations require, among other things, quality control and quality assurance as well as the corresponding maintenance of records and documentation. The manufacturing facilities for our products must meet current GMP requirements to the satisfaction of the FDA pursuant to a pre‑approval inspection before we can use them to manufacture our products. We and any third‑party manufacturers are also subject to periodic inspections of facilities by the FDA and other authorities, including procedures and operations used in the testing and manufacture of our products to assess our compliance with applicable regulations.

With respect to post‑market product advertising and promotion, the FDA imposes a number of complex regulations on entities that advertise and promote pharmaceuticals, which include, among others, standards for direct‑to‑consumer advertising, prohibitions on promoting drugs for uses, conditions or diseases, or in patient populations that are not consistent with the drug’s approved labeling (known as “off‑label use”), and principles governing industry‑sponsored scientific and educational activities. Failure to comply with FDA requirements can have negative consequences, including adverse publicity, warning or untitled letters from the FDA, mandated corrective advertising or communications with doctors or patients, and civil or criminal penalties. Although physicians may prescribe legally available drugs for off‑label uses, manufacturers may not market or promote such off‑label uses.

Changes to some of the conditions established in an approved application, including changes in indications, labeling, or manufacturing processes or facilities, require submission and FDA approval of a new NDA or NDA supplement before the change can be implemented. An NDA supplement for a new indication typically requires clinical data similar in type and quality to the clinical data supporting the original application for the original indication, and the FDA uses similar procedures and actions in reviewing such NDA supplements as it does in reviewing NDAs.

Adverse event reporting and submission of periodic reports is required following FDA approval of an NDA. The FDA also may require post‑marketing testing, known as Phase IV testing, risk evaluation and mitigation strategies, and surveillance to monitor the effects of an approved product or to place conditions on an approval that restrict the distribution or use of the product.

Outside the U.S., our and our collaborators’ abilities to market a product are contingent upon receiving marketing authorization from the appropriate regulatory authorities. The requirements governing the conduct of clinical trials, marketing authorization, pricing and reimbursement vary widely from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. At present, foreign marketing authorizations are applied for at a national level, although within the E.U. registration procedures are available to companies wishing to market a product in more than one E.U. member state. We are subject to U.S. federal and foreign anti-corruption laws. Those laws include the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or FCPA, which prohibits U.S. corporations and their representatives from offering, promising, authorizing, or making payments to any foreign government official, government staff member, political party or political candidate in an attempt to obtain or retain business abroad. The scope of the FCPA encompasses certain healthcare professionals in many countries. We are also subject to similar laws of other countries that have enacted anti-corruption laws and regulations.

Pricing and Reimbursement

Within the U.S., significant uncertainty exists regarding the coverage and reimbursement status of products approved by the FDA. Sales of our products depend, in part, on the extent to which our products will be covered by third-party payors, such as government health programs, commercial insurance and managed healthcare organizations. The process for determining whether a third-party payor will provide coverage for a drug product typically is separate from the process for setting the price of a drug product or for establishing the reimbursement rate that the payor will pay for the drug product once coverage is approved. Third-party payors may limit coverage to specific drug products on an approved list, also known as a formulary, which might not include all of the FDA-approved drugs for a particular indication. A decision by a third-party payor not to cover our products or to restrict coverage of our products could reduce utilization of our products. Moreover, a third-party payor’s decision to provide coverage for a drug product does not imply that an adequate reimbursement rate will be approved. Adequate third-party reimbursement may not be available to enable us to maintain price levels sufficient to realize an appropriate return on our investment in product development. Additionally, coverage and reimbursement for drug products can differ significantly from payor to payor. One third-party payor’s decision to cover a particular drug product or service does not ensure that other payors will also provide coverage for the medical product or service, or will provide coverage at an adequate reimbursement rate.

The containment of healthcare costs has become a priority of federal and state governments, and the prices of drugs have been a focus in this effort.  Federal and state governments have shown significant interest in implementing cost-containment programs, including restrictions on reimbursement and requirements for substitution of generic products. Adoption of new or enhanced cost-containment measures could limit our net revenue and results.  Third party payors are increasingly challenging the prices charged for medical products and services and examining the medical necessity and cost effectiveness of medical products and services, in addition to their safety and efficacy.  Restrictions in coverage or decreases in third-party reimbursement for our products could have a material adverse effect on our sales, results of operations and financial condition. We expect that the pharmaceutical industry will experience pricing pressures due to the increasing influence of managed care (and related implementation of managed care strategies to control utilization), additional federal and state legislative and regulatory proposals to regulate pricing of drugs, limit coverage of drugs or reduce reimbursement for drugs, and public scrutiny of drug pricing.  While we cannot predict what executive, legislative and regulatory proposals will be adopted or other actions will occur, such events could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and profitability.  For additional information relating to pricing and reimbursement, see Item 1A, Risk Factors, elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Sales and Marketing

 

The marketing and sale of pharmaceutical products are subject to comprehensive governmental regulation both within and outside the U.S.

 

Within the U.S., numerous federal, state and local authorities have jurisdiction over, or enforce laws related to, such activities, including the FDA, U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Department of Justice, state Attorneys General, state departments of health and state pharmacy boards.

 

We are subject to the requirements of the FDC Act and accompanying regulations that prohibit pharmaceutical companies from promoting a drug prior to approval from the FDA and from promoting an approved drug in a manner inconsistent with the approved label.

 

We are also subject to various federal and state laws pertaining to health care “fraud and abuse,” including anti-kickback laws and false claims laws, for activities related to sales of any of our products or product candidates that may in the future receive marketing approval.  Anti-kickback laws generally prohibit persons from soliciting, receiving or providing remuneration, directly or indirectly, to induce either the referral of an individual, for an item or service or the purchasing or ordering of a good or service, for which payment may be made under federal healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.  Although the specific provisions of these laws vary, their scope is generally broad and there may not be regulations, guidance or court decisions that apply the laws to particular industry practices.  False claims laws prohibit, among other things, individuals or entities from knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, information or claims for payment from Medicare, Medicaid, or other third-party payers that are false or fraudulent.  Violations of fraud and abuse laws may be punishable by criminal or civil sanctions, including fines and civil monetary penalties, and/or exclusion from federal health care programs (including Medicare and Medicaid).

 

Laws and regulations have been enacted by the federal government and various states to regulate the sales and marketing practices of pharmaceutical manufacturers with marketed products.  The laws and regulations generally limit financial interactions between manufacturers and health care providers and/or require disclosure to the government and public of such interactions. Many of these laws and regulations contain ambiguous requirements or require administrative guidance for implementation.

 

Employees

As of December 31, 2018, we had 515 employees. Approximately 26 were scientists engaged in discovery research, 173 were in our drug development organization, 214 were in our sales and commercial team, and 102 were in general and administrative functions. None of our employees are represented by a labor union, and we consider our employee relations to be good.

During the year ended December 31, 2018, we commenced certain reductions in our workforce. In February 2019, following further analysis of our strategy and core business needs, and in an effort to further strengthen the operational efficiency of its organization, we commenced a reduction in our workforce by 35 employees, primarily based

in the home office.  Refer to Note 18, Workforce Reduction and Note 20, Subsequent Events, to our consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further details.

Certain Ironwood employees are expected to transition to Cyclerion upon the planned separation into two, independent publicly traded companies.  

Executive Officers of the Registrant

The following table sets forth the name, age and position of each of our executive officers as of February 25, 2019:

 

Peter M. Hecht has served as our chief executive officer and a director since co-founding the company in 1998, during which he has built a highly respected leadership team and culture that worked together to discover, develop and commercialize LINZESS®, a novel first-in-mechanism therapeutic that quickly became the branded prescription market leader in its class and has been taken by millions of patients for irritable bowel syndrome with constipation and chronic idiopathic constipation. Additionally, the team has pioneered new areas of science, produced a development portfolio with multiple innovative drug candidates, and established a valuable network of global partnerships. Through a combination of private and public equity, structured debt, and partnerships, Dr. Hecht and his team raised over one billion dollars to fund these efforts.  Prior to founding Ironwood, Dr. Hecht was a research fellow at Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. Dr. Hecht serves on the advisory board of Ariadne Labs. He earned a B.S. in mathematics and an M.S. in biology from Stanford University, and holds a Ph.D. in molecular biology from the University of California at Berkeley. Dr. Hecht's experiences as one of our founders and his tenure as our chief executive officer make him a valuable member of our board of directors.

Gina Consylman has served as our senior vice president, chief financial officer since November 2017. Ms. Consylman previously served as our interim Chief Financial Officer from September 2017 to November 2017, and as our Vice President of Finance and Chief Accounting Officer from August 2015 to November 2017. She also previously served as our Vice President, Corporate Controller and Chief Accounting Officer from June 2014 to July 2015. Ms. Consylman currently serves on the Board of Directors of Verastem Oncology. Prior to joining Ironwood, Ms. Consylman served as Vice President, Corporate Controller and Principal Accounting Officer of Analogic Corporation (which was acquired by funds affiliated with Altaris Capital Partners, LLC), a publicly held healthcare and security technology solutions company, from February 2012 to June 2014, where she oversaw Analogic’s global accounting team. Prior to joining Analogic, Ms. Consylman served in various corporate accounting roles at Biogen Inc., a publicly held global biotechnology company, from November 2009 to February 2012, culminating in her service as Senior Director, Corporate Accounting where she was responsible for the accounting teams for the corporate and U.S. commercial business units. Ms. Consylman has also served in various other finance and accounting roles, including Corporate Controller at Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates, Inc. (subsequently acquired by Applied Materials, Inc.). Ms. Consylman, a Certified Public Accountant, began her career in public accounting at Ernst & Young LLP. She holds a B.S. in accounting from Johnson & Wales University and a M.S. in taxation from Bentley University.

Mark G. Currie serves as our senior vice president, chief scientific officer and president of research and development, and has led our research and development efforts since joining us in 2002. Prior to joining Ironwood, Dr. Currie directed cardiovascular and central nervous system disease research as vice president of discovery research at Sepracor Inc. Previously, Dr. Currie initiated, built and led discovery pharmacology and also served as director of arthritis and inflammation at Monsanto Company. Dr. Currie earned a B.S. in biology from the University of South Alabama and holds a Ph.D. in cell biology from the Bowman‑Gray School of Medicine of Wake Forest University.

Halley E. Gilbert joined Ironwood in 2008 as the founding member of our legal department, and also established our company’s compliance function as Ironwood grew from a privately-held, research-based organization to a publicly-traded, fully-integrated commercial biotechnology company. Ms. Gilbert has over twenty years of experience navigating biopharmaceutical companies through transformational change, as well as expertise in corporate transactions, corporate governance, employment law and legal and operational issues relevant to launching new medicines into specialty and primary care markets. Prior to joining Ironwood, Ms. Gilbert was Vice President, Deputy General Counsel at Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. from 2002 to 2008, where she supported the launch of Cubist’s first acute care antibiotic, and she served as Corporate Counsel at Genzyme Corp. from 1999 to 2001. Ms. Gilbert began her career at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, where she specialized in mergers and acquisitions and securities law. She serves on the board of directors of Achaogen, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel antibacterials, and holds a J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law and a B.A. from Tufts University.

William Huyett serves as our chief operating officer. Prior to joining Ironwood in December 2017, Mr. Huyett spent 30 years with McKinsey and Company, Inc., in its Washington D.C., Zurich, and Boston offices. During his tenure at McKinsey, Mr. Huyett served clients in the life sciences, industrial and other technology-intensive sectors. He has been a Senior Partner Emeritus at McKinsey since December 2015, and was previously a Senior Partner from July 1998 to December 2015. As a Senior Partner, Mr. Huyett was a leader in the firm’s pharmaceutical and medical products and its strategy and corporate finance practices. He also served on McKinsey’s Shareholder’s Council (its board of directors), serving as chair of its Finance Committee. Prior to joining McKinsey, Mr. Huyett held a variety of line management positions in the automation industry with Allen-Bradley (now Rockwell Automation, Inc.). Mr. Huyett is the non-executive chair of the board of directors of the London Stock Exchange-listed Georgia Healthcare Group PLC and an independent director of the London Stock Exchange-listed Georgia Capital. He serves on several not-for-profit boards, including The Rockefeller University and the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. He earned his B.S. in electronics engineering and his M.B.A. from the University of Virginia.

Mark Mallon serves as executive senior advisor to Ironwood.  Prior to joining Ironwood in January 2019, Mr. Mallon was a member of the senior executive team of AstraZeneca PLC and led its strategic functions, Global Product and Portfolio Strategy, Global Medical Affairs, and Corporate Affairs. Mr. Mallon held a number of senior sales and marketing roles at AstraZeneca, which he joined in 1994, including Executive Vice President, International from January 2013 to April 2017 and Executive Vice President, Global Product and Portfolio Strategy from August 2016 to December 2018.  Mr. Mallon started his career in the biopharmaceutical industry in management consulting.  He earned his B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and his M.B.A. in marketing and finance from the Wharton School of Business.

Thomas A. McCourt has served as our senior vice president of marketing and sales and chief commercial officer since joining Ironwood in 2009. Prior to joining Ironwood, Mr. McCourt led the U.S. brand team for denosumab at Amgen Inc. from April 2008 to August 2009. Prior to that, Mr. McCourt was with Novartis AG from 2001 to 2008, where he directed the launch and growth of Zelnorm for the treatment of patients with IBS‑C and CIC and held a number of senior commercial roles, including vice president of strategic marketing and operations. Mr. McCourt was also part of the founding team at Astra Merck Inc., leading the development of the medical affairs and science liaison group and then serving as brand manager for Prilosec® and NEXIUM®. Mr. McCourt serves on the board of directors of Acceleron Pharma Inc. and has a degree in pharmacy from the University of Wisconsin.

Available Information

You may obtain free copies of our Annual Reports on Form 10‑K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10‑Q and Current Reports on Form 8‑K, and amendments to those reports, as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronically filed or furnished to the SEC, on the Investors section of our website at www.ironwoodpharma.com or by contacting our Investor Relations department at (617) 374‑5082. The contents of our website are not incorporated by reference into this report and you should not consider information provided on our website to be part of this report.

Item 1A.  Risk Factors

 

In addition to the other information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, any of the factors described below could significantly and negatively affect our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects. The trading price of our common stock may decline due to these risks.

 

Risks Related to Our Business and Industry

 

We are highly dependent on the commercial success of LINZESS in the U.S. for the foreseeable future; we cannot guarantee when, or if, we will attain profitability or positive cash flows.

 

We and our partner, Allergan plc (together with its affiliates), or Allergan, began selling LINZESS in the U.S. during December 2012. Revenues from our LINZESS collaboration constitute a significant portion of our total revenue, and we believe they will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.  The commercial success of LINZESS depends on a number of factors, including:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our revenues from the commercialization of LINZESS are subject to these factors, and therefore may be unpredictable from quarter-to-quarter. Ultimately, we may never generate sufficient revenues from LINZESS to reach or maintain profitability for our company or to sustain our anticipated levels of operations.

 

Our products may cause undesirable side effects or have other properties that could limit their commercial potential. 

 

The most commonly reported adverse reaction since linaclotide became commercially available, as well as in the clinical trials for linaclotide in IBS-C and CIC, has been diarrhea. In the linaclotide Phase III IBS-C and CIC trials, severe diarrhea was reported in 2% or less of the linaclotide-treated patients and its incidence was similar between the IBS-C and CIC populations. Linaclotide has been prescribed to millions of patients since its launch in the U.S. and other territories beginning in December 2012, and, as a result, it has been used in wider populations and in less rigorously controlled environments than in the clinical studies supporting its approval.

 

 

Further, as we and our partners conduct clinical trials, including in new or existing territories, indications, populations or formulations, as well as explore potential combination products, the number of patients treated with our products within and outside of such products’ currently approved indications and patient populations has grown and continues to do so.

 

As patient experience increases and expands, we and others may identify previously unknown side effects, known side effects may be found to be more frequent or severe than in the past, and we and others may detect unexpected safety signals for our products or any products perceived to be similar to our products.  The foregoing, or the perception of the foregoing, may have the following effects, among others:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Any of the above occurrences would harm or prevent sales of our products, increase expenses and impair our and our partners’ ability to successfully commercialize our products.

 

In June 2016, we entered into a license agreement for exclusive rights to commercialize products containing lesinurad in the U.S., which license agreement we refer to as the Lesinurad License Agreement, and in August 2018, delivered to AstraZeneca a notice of termination of the Lesinurad License Agreement, which termination was made

with respect to all products under the lesinurad license agreement.  The most commonly reported adverse reactions in the clinical trials for lesinurad (in combination with a xanthine oxidase inhibitor, or XOI) for the treatment of hyperuricemia associated with uncontrolled gout were headache, influenza, increased blood creatinine and gastroesophageal reflux disease. ZURAMPIC and DUZALLO were launched in October 2016 and October 2017, respectively.  As a result, such products have been used in wider populations and in less rigorously controlled environments than in the clinical studies supporting their approval.  Additionally, because such products are approved for use in combination with an XOI for the treatment of hyperuricemia associated with uncontrolled gout, and DUZALLO is a fixed-dose combination treatment of lesinurad and allopurinol (an XOI), our patients may experience side effects and adverse reactions associated with the use of XOIs.  Notwithstanding ZURAMPIC’s U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, -approved label, if ZURAMPIC is taken without an XOI, patients may experience new or increased risk of adverse reactions, including the heightened risk of acute renal failure.

 

In addition, LINZESS, ZURAMPIC and DUZALLO each contain a boxed warning about their use.  The FDA-approved label for LINZESS contains a boxed warning about its use in pediatric patients. LINZESS is contraindicated in pediatric patients up to six years of age based on nonclinical data from studies in neonatal mice approximately equivalent to human pediatric patients less than two years of age. There is also a warning advising physicians to avoid the use of LINZESS in pediatric patients six to less than 18 years of age. This warning is based on data in young juvenile mice and the lack of clinical safety and efficacy data in pediatric patients of any age group. We and Allergan have established a nonclinical and clinical post-marketing plan with the FDA to understand the safety and efficacy of LINZESS in pediatric patients, which is discussed below.

 

The FDA-approved label for DUZALLO contains a boxed warning about the risk of acute renal failure with DUZALLO, and the FDA-approved label for ZURAMPIC contains a boxed warning about the risk of acute renal failure with ZURAMPIC, which is more common when ZURAMPIC is used without an XOI.  ZURAMPIC and DUZALLO are both contraindicated in patients with severe renal impairment or end-stage renal diseases, kidney transplant recipients, patients on dialysis or patients with tumor lysis syndrome or Lesch-Nyhan syndrome.  In addition, DUZALLO is contraindicated in patients with a known hypersensitivity to allopurinol.  The FDA has required that a post-marketing clinical study be conducted to further evaluate the renal and cardiovascular safety of lesinurad, which is discussed below.

 

We rely entirely on contract manufacturers, our partners and other third parties to manufacture and distribute linaclotide. If they are unable to comply with applicable regulatory requirements, unable to source sufficient raw materials, experience manufacturing or distribution difficulties, or are otherwise unable to manufacture and distribute sufficient quantities to meet demand, our commercialization efforts may be materially harmed.  

 

We have no internal manufacturing or distribution capabilities. Instead, we rely on a combination of contract manufacturers and our partners to manufacture active pharmaceutical ingredient, or API, and final drug product.  We rely on our partners to store and distribute linaclotide to third party purchasers. We and certain of our partners have commercial supply agreements with independent third parties to manufacture the linaclotide API used to support all of our partnered territories. Each of Allergan and Astellas is responsible for linaclotide drug product and finished goods manufacturing (including bottling and packaging) for its respective territories, and distributing the finished goods to wholesalers. Under our collaboration with AstraZeneca, we are accountable for drug product and finished goods manufacturing for China, for drug product manufacturing for Hong Kong and Macau, with AstraZeneca accountable for finished goods manufacturing for Hong Kong and Macau.  Neither we nor AstraZeneca have experience manufacturing linaclotide on a commercial scale and we and AstraZeneca are working to achieve sufficient redundancy in this component of the linaclotide supply chain.

 

Each of our API and drug product manufacturers must comply with current good manufacturing practices, or GMP, and other stringent regulatory requirements enforced by the FDA and foreign regulatory authorities in other jurisdictions. These requirements include, among other things, quality control, quality assurance and the maintenance of records and documentation, which occur in addition to our own quality assurance releases. Manufacturers of our products may be unable to comply with these GMP requirements and with other regulatory requirements. We have little control over our manufacturers’ or partners’ compliance with these regulations and standards.

 

Our manufacturers may experience problems with their respective manufacturing and distribution operations and processes, including for example, quality issues, such as product specification and stability failures, procedural deviations, improper equipment installation or operation, utility failures, contamination and natural disasters. In addition, the raw materials necessary to make API for our products are acquired from a limited number of sources. Any delay or disruption in the availability of these raw materials or a change in raw material suppliers could result in production disruptions, delays or higher costs with consequent adverse effects on us.

 

The manufacture of pharmaceutical products requires significant expertise and capital investment, including the development of advanced manufacturing techniques and process controls. Manufacturers of pharmaceutical products often encounter difficulties in commercial production. These problems include difficulties with production costs and yields, quality control, including stability of the product and quality assurance testing, and shortages of qualified personnel, as well as compliance with federal, state and foreign regulations and the challenges associated with complex supply chain management. Even if our manufacturers or partners do not experience problems and commercial manufacturing is achieved, their maximum or available manufacturing capacities may be insufficient to meet commercial demand. Finding alternative manufacturers or adding additional manufacturers requires a significant amount of time and involves significant expense. New manufacturers would need to develop and implement the necessary production techniques and processes, which along with their facilities, would need to be inspected and approved by the regulatory authorities in each applicable territory.

 

If our API or drug product manufacturers fail to adhere to applicable GMP or other regulatory requirements, experience delays or disruptions in the availability of raw materials or experience manufacturing or distribution problems, we will suffer significant consequences, including product seizures or recalls, loss of product approval, fines and sanctions, reputational damage, shipment delays, inventory shortages, inventory write-offs and other product-related charges and increased manufacturing costs. If we experience any of these results, or if our manufacturers’ maximum or available capacities are insufficient to meet demand, we may not be able to successfully commercialize our products.

 

The transition of lesinurad to AstraZeneca has been and continues to be a significant undertaking that could require additional substantial financial and managerial resources, and we may not be successful. 

 

We have encountered and may continue to encounter costs and delays related to transitioning lesinurad to AstraZeneca. We have never undertaken the process of transitioning a marketed product to a third party, and we may encounter challenges and costs that we do not currently anticipate. Our reputation with patients or physicians may be harmed as a result of transitioning lesinurad, and unforeseen complications with the FDA or other regulatory agencies

could arise. In addition, we are still in discussions with AstraZeneca regarding the costs involved in the termination and transition process and have not reached an agreement. If we are unable to reach agreement with AstraZeneca, this could potentially lead to costly administrative procedures or litigation, distract management from other business activities, and could have an adverse impact on our financial condition. For additional information relating to our costs and expenses of exiting lesinurad, see Note 18, Workforce Reduction, to our condensed consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

If any of our linaclotide partners undergoes a change in control or in management, this may adversely affect our collaborative relationship or the success of the commercialization of linaclotide in the U.S. or in the other countries where it is approved, or the ability to achieve regulatory approval, launch and commercialize linaclotide in other territories.

 

We work jointly and collaboratively with each of our partners on many aspects of the development, manufacturing and commercialization of linaclotide. In doing so, we have established relationships with several key members of the management teams of our linaclotide partners in functional areas such as development, quality, regulatory, drug safety and pharmacovigilance, operations, marketing, sales, field operations and medical science. Further, the success of our collaborations is highly dependent on the resources, efforts and skills of our partners and their key employees. As we and our partners commercialize linaclotide in the U.S. and the other countries where it is approved, and develop, launch and commercialize linaclotide in other parts of the world, the drug’s success becomes more dependent on us maintaining highly collaborative and well aligned partnerships. If any of our linaclotide partners undergo a change of control or in management in the future, we would need to reestablish many relationships and confirm continued alignment on our development and commercialization strategy for linaclotide. Further, in connection with any change of control or in management, there is inherent uncertainty and disruption in operations, which could result in distraction, inefficiencies, and misalignment of priorities. As a result, in the event of a change of control or in management at one of our linaclotide partners, we cannot be sure that we will be able to successfully execute on our development and commercialization strategy for linaclotide in an effective and efficient manner and without disruption or reduced performance. Finally, any change of control or in management may result in a reprioritization of linaclotide within a partner’s portfolio, or such partner may fail to maintain the financial or other resources necessary to continue supporting its portion of the development, manufacturing or commercialization of linaclotide.

 

If any of our linaclotide partners undergoes a change of control and the acquirer either (i) is unable to perform such partner’s obligations under its collaboration or license agreement with us or (ii) does not comply with the divestiture or certain other provisions of the applicable agreement, we have the right to terminate the collaboration or license agreement and reacquire that partner’s rights with respect to linaclotide. If we elect to exercise these rights in such circumstances, we will need to either establish the capability to develop, manufacture and commercialize linaclotide in that partnered territory on our own or we will need to establish a relationship with a new partner. We have assembled a team of specialists in manufacturing, quality, sales, marketing, payer, pricing and field operations, and specialized medical scientists, who represent the functional areas necessary for a successful commercial launch of a high potential, gastrointestinal, or GI, therapy and who support the commercialization of LINZESS in the U.S. If Allergan was subject to a change of control that allowed us to further commercialize LINZESS in the U.S. on our own, and we chose to do so, we would need to enhance each of these functional aspects to replace the capabilities that Allergan was previously providing to the collaboration. Any such transition might result in a period of reduced efficiency or performance by our operations and commercialization teams, which could adversely affect our ability to commercialize LINZESS.

 

Although many members of our global operations, commercial and medical affairs teams have strategic oversight of, and a certain level of involvement in, their functional areas globally, we do not have corresponding operational capabilities in these areas outside of the U.S. If Allergan, Astellas or AstraZeneca was subject to a change of control that allowed us to continue linaclotide’s development or commercialization anywhere outside of the U.S. on our own, and we chose to do so rather than establishing a relationship with a new partner, we would need to build operational capabilities in the relevant territory. In any of these situations, the timeline and likelihood of achieving regulatory approval and, ultimately, the commercialization of linaclotide could be negatively impacted.

 

We must work effectively and collaboratively with Allergan to market and sell LINZESS in the U.S. in order for it to achieve its maximum commercial potential.

 

We are working closely with Allergan to execute our joint commercialization plan for LINZESS. The commercialization plan includes an agreed upon marketing campaign that targets the physicians who see patients who could benefit from LINZESS treatment. Our marketing campaign also targets the adult men and women who suffer from IBS-C or CIC. Our commercialization plan also includes an integrated call plan for our sales forces to optimize the education of specific gastroenterologists and primary care physicians on whom our and Allergan’s sales representatives call, and the frequency with which the representatives meet with them.

 

In order to optimize the commercial potential of LINZESS, we and Allergan must execute upon this commercialization plan effectively and efficiently. In addition, we and Allergan must continually assess and modify our commercialization plan in a coordinated and integrated fashion in order to adapt to the promotional response. Further, we and Allergan must continue to focus and refine our marketing campaign to ensure a clear and understandable physician-patient dialogue around IBS-C, CIC and the potential for LINZESS as an appropriate therapy. In addition, we and Allergan must provide our sales forces with the highest quality support, guidance and oversight in order for them to continue to effectively promote LINZESS to gastroenterologists and primary care physicians. If we and Allergan fail to perform these commercial functions in the highest quality manner and in accordance with our joint commercialization plan and related agreements, LINZESS will not achieve its maximum commercial potential and we may suffer financial harm. Our efforts to further target and engage adult patients with IBS-C or CIC may not effectively increase appropriate patient awareness or patient/physician dialogue, and may not increase the revenues that we generate from LINZESS.

 

We are subject to uncertainty relating to pricing and reimbursement policies in the U.S. which, if not favorable for our products, could hinder or prevent our products’ commercial success.  

 

Our and our partner’s ability to commercialize our products successfully depend in part on the coverage and reimbursement levels set by governmental authorities, private health insurers and other third-party payers. In determining whether to approve reimbursement for our products and at what level, we expect that third-party payers will consider factors that include the efficacy, cost effectiveness and safety of our products, as well as the availability of other treatments including generic prescription drugs and over-the-counter alternatives. Further, in order to obtain and maintain acceptable reimbursement levels and access for patients at copay levels that are reasonable and customary, we may face increasing pressure to offer discounts or rebates from list prices or discounts to a greater number of third-party payers or other unfavorable pricing modifications. Obtaining and maintaining favorable reimbursement can be a time consuming and expensive process, and there is no guarantee that we or Allergan will be able to negotiate or continue to negotiate pricing terms with third-party payers at levels that are profitable to us, or at all. Certain third-party payers also require prior authorization for, or even refuse to provide, reimbursement for our products, and others may do so in the future.  Our business would be materially adversely affected if we and our partners are not able to receive approval for reimbursement of our products from third-party payers on a broad, timely or satisfactory basis; if reimbursement is subject to overly broad or restrictive prior authorization requirements; or if reimbursement is not maintained at satisfactory levels or becomes subject to prior authorization. In addition, our business could be adversely affected if government healthcare programs, private health insurers, including managed care organizations, or other reimbursing bodies or payers limit or reduce the indications for or conditions under which our products may be reimbursed.

 

We expect to experience pricing pressures in connection with the sale of our current and future products due to the healthcare reforms discussed below, as well as the trend toward programs aimed at reducing healthcare costs, the increasing influence of managed care, the scrutiny of pharmaceutical pricing, the ongoing debates on reducing government spending and additional legislative proposals. There have been several recent federal and state efforts to address drug costs, which generally have focused on increasing transparency around drug costs or limiting drug prices or price increases. Healthcare reform efforts or any future legislation or regulatory actions aimed at controlling and reducing healthcare costs, including through measures designed to limit reimbursement, restrict access or impose unfavorable pricing modifications on pharmaceutical products, could impact our and our partners’ ability to obtain or maintain reimbursement for our products at satisfactory levels, or at all, which could materially harm our business and financial results.

 

We and our linaclotide partners are subject to uncertainty relating to pricing and reimbursement policies outside the U.S., as well as risks relating to the improper importation of linaclotide and sale of counterfeit versions of linaclotide. If such policies are not favorable, or if linaclotide is improperly imported or is counterfeited, our business and financial results could be adversely affected.  

 

In some foreign countries, particularly Canada, the countries of Europe and Japan, the pricing and payment of prescription pharmaceuticals is subject to governmental control. In these countries, pricing negotiations with governmental authorities can take six to 12 months or longer after the receipt of regulatory approval and product launch. Reimbursement sources are different in each country, and each country may include a combination of distinct potential payers, including private insurance and governmental payers.  Some countries may restrict the range of medicinal products for which their national health insurance systems provide reimbursement and control the prices of medicinal products for human use.  To obtain favorable reimbursement for the indications sought or pricing approval in some countries, we and our partners may be required to conduct a clinical trial that compares the cost and clinical effectiveness of linaclotide to other available therapies. In addition, in countries in which linaclotide is the only approved therapy for a particular indication, such as CONSTELLA as the only prescription product approved for the symptomatic treatment of moderate to severe IBS-C in adults in Europe and LINZESS as the only prescription treatment approved for the treatment of adults with IBS-C in Japan, there may be disagreement as to what the most comparable product is, or if there even is one. Further, several countries have implemented government measures to either freeze or reduce pricing of pharmaceutical products. Many third-party payers and governmental authorities also consider the price for which the same product is being sold in other countries to determine their own pricing and reimbursement strategy, so if linaclotide is priced low or gets limited reimbursement in a particular country, this could result in similarly low pricing and reimbursement in other countries. If reimbursement for linaclotide is unavailable in any country in which reimbursement is sought, limited in scope or amount, or if pricing is set at or reduced to unsatisfactory levels, our and our partners’ ability to successfully commercialize linaclotide in such country would be impacted negatively. Furthermore, if these measures prevent us or any of our partners from selling linaclotide on a profitable basis in a particular country, they could prevent the commercial launch or continued sale of linaclotide in that country.

 

CONSTELLA was first launched in certain European countries for the symptomatic treatment of moderate to severe IBS-C in adults in the second quarter of 2013 and our partner Allergan is currently commercializing CONSTELLA in a number of European countries, including the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain.  LINZESS was first launched in Japan for the treatment of IBS-C in adults in the first quarter of 2017, and for the treatment of chronic constipation in adults in the third quarter of 2018, and our partner Astellas is currently commercializing LINZESS in Japan. The pricing and reimbursement strategy is a key component of our partners’ commercialization plans for CONSTELLA in Europe and LINZESS in Japan. Our revenues may suffer if our partners are unable to successfully and timely conclude reimbursement, price approval or funding processes and market CONSTELLA in key member states of the E.U. or LINZESS in Japan, or if coverage and reimbursement for either CONSTELLA or LINZESS is limited or reduced. If our partners are not able to obtain coverage, pricing or reimbursement on acceptable terms or at all, or if such terms change in any countries in its territory, our partners may not be able to, or may decide not to, sell either CONSTELLA or LINZESS in such countries.

 

We and our partners also face the risk that linaclotide is imported or reimported into markets with relatively higher prices from markets with relatively lower prices, which would result in a decrease of sales and any payments we receive from the affected market.  Additionally, third parties may illegally produce, distribute and/or sell counterfeit or otherwise unfit or adulterated versions of linaclotide.  In either case, we and our partners may not be able to detect or, if detected, prevent or prohibit the sale of such products, which could result in dangerous health consequences for patients, loss of confidence in us, our partners and our products, and adverse regulatory or legal consequences.  Any of the foregoing or other consequences could adversely impact our reputation, financial results and business.

 

Because we work with partners to develop, manufacture and commercialize our products, we are dependent upon third parties, and our relationships with those third parties, in our efforts to obtain regulatory approval for, and to commercialize, our products, as well as to comply with regulatory and other obligations with respect to such products.

 

Allergan played a significant role in the conduct of the clinical trials for linaclotide and in the subsequent collection and analysis of data, and Allergan holds the new drug application, or NDA, for LINZESS. In addition, we are commercializing LINZESS in the U.S. with Allergan. Allergan is also responsible for the development, regulatory approval and commercialization of linaclotide in countries worldwide other than Japan, China, Hong Kong and Macau.  Allergan is commercializing LINZESS in Mexico and CONSTELLA in Canada, as well as commercializing

CONSTELLA in certain countries in Europe. Astellas, our partner in Japan, is responsible for completing the clinical programs and obtaining regulatory approval of linaclotide in its territory. Astellas is commercializing LINZESS in Japan. Further, we are jointly overseeing the development, and will jointly oversee the commercialization, of linaclotide in China, Hong Kong and Macau through our collaboration with AstraZeneca, with AstraZeneca having primary responsibility for the local operational execution. Each of Astellas, AstraZeneca and Allergan is responsible for commercializing linaclotide in its respective territory, if approved. Each of our partners is responsible for reporting adverse event information from its territory to us. Finally, each of our partners, other than AstraZeneca, is responsible for drug product manufacturing of linaclotide and making it into finished goods (including bottling and packaging) for its respective territory, and AstraZeneca is responsible for finished goods manufacturing for China, Hong Kong and Macau. The integration of our efforts with our partners’ efforts is subject to the uncertainty of the markets for pharmaceutical products in each partner’s respective territories, and accordingly, these relationships must evolve to meet any new challenges that arise in those regions.

 

These integrated functions may not be carried out effectively and efficiently if we fail to communicate and coordinate with our linaclotide partners, and vice versa. Our linaclotide partnering strategy imposes obligations, risks and operational requirements on us as the central node in our global network of partners. If we do not effectively communicate with each partner and ensure that the entire network is making integrated and cohesive decisions focused on the global brand for linaclotide, linaclotide will not achieve its maximum commercial potential.  Further, we have limited ability to control the amount or timing of resources that our partners devote to linaclotide. If any of our partners fails to devote sufficient time and resources to linaclotide, or if its performance is substandard, it will delay the potential submission or approval of regulatory applications for linaclotide, as well as the manufacturing and commercialization of linaclotide in the particular territory. A material breach by any of our partners of our collaboration or license agreement with such partner, or a significant disagreement between us and a partner, could also delay the regulatory approval and commercialization of linaclotide, potentially lead to costly litigation, and could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition. Moreover, although we have non-compete restrictions in place with each of our linaclotide partners, they may have competitive products or relationships with other commercial entities, some of which may compete with us. If any of our partners competes with us or assists our competitors, it could harm our competitive position.

 

In addition, adverse event reporting requires significant coordination with our partners and third parties.  We are the holder of the global safety database for linaclotide responsible for coordinating the safety surveillance and adverse event reporting efforts worldwide with respect to linaclotide, and an AstraZeneca partner is the holder of the global safety database for lesinurad responsible for coordinating the safety surveillance and adverse event reporting efforts worldwide with respect to lesinurad. If we or AstraZeneca’s partner fails to perform such activities and maintain each safety database or if such parties do not report adverse events related to our products, or fail to do so in a timely manner, we may not receive the information that we are required to report to the FDA regarding such products.  Furthermore, we or such parties may fail to adequately monitor, identify or investigate adverse events, or to report adverse events to the FDA or foreign regulatory authority accurately and within the prescribed timeframe. If we or such parties are unsuccessful in any of the foregoing due to poor process, execution, systems, oversight, communication, adjudication or otherwise, then we may suffer any number of consequences, including the imposition of additional restrictions on the use of our products, removal of our products from the market, criminal prosecution, the imposition of civil monetary penalties, seizure of our products, or delay in approval of future products. 

 

Even though LINZESS is approved by the FDA, it faces post-approval development and regulatory requirements, which present additional challenges. 

 

In August 2012, the FDA approved LINZESS as a once-daily treatment for adult men and women suffering from IBS-C or CIC.  LINZESS is subject to ongoing FDA requirements, including those governing the testing, manufacturing, labeling, packaging, storage, advertising, promotion, sale, distribution, recordkeeping and submission of safety and other post-market information.

 

LINZESS is contraindicated in pediatric patients up to six years of age based on nonclinical data from studies in neonatal mice approximately equivalent to human pediatric patients less than two years of age. There is also a boxed warning advising physicians to avoid the use of LINZESS in pediatric patients six to less than 18 years of age. This warning is based on data in young juvenile mice and the lack of clinical safety and efficacy data in pediatric patients of any age group. We and Allergan have established a nonclinical and clinical post-marketing plan with the FDA to understand the safety and efficacy of LINZESS in pediatric patients, are advancing clinical pediatric programs in IBS-C patients age seven to 17 and functional constipation patients age six to 17. Our ability to conduct clinical studies in

younger pediatric patients will depend, in part, on the safety and efficacy data from our clinical programs in older pediatric patients. Our ability to ever expand the indication or label information for LINZESS to pediatrics will depend on, among other things, our successful completion of pediatric clinical programs. We and Allergan have also committed to certain nonclinical and clinical studies aimed at understanding: (a) whether orally administered linaclotide can be detected in breast milk, (b) the potential for antibodies to be developed to linaclotide, and if so, (c) whether antibodies specific for linaclotide could have any therapeutic or safety implications. We expect to complete these studies over the next two to four years.

 

In addition, as the holder of the approved NDA for each of ZURAMPIC and DUZALLO, we are obligated to monitor and report adverse events and any failure of such products to meet the specifications in the applicable NDA, to submit new or supplemental applications and to obtain FDA approval for certain changes to such products, including changes to product labeling and manufacturing processes. The FDA has required a post-marketing clinical study to further evaluate the renal and cardiovascular safety of lesinurad, and has required that enrollment include patients with moderate renal impairment. In connection with the exit of the lesinurad license, we are in the process of ending the post-marketing clinical study.

 

These post-approval requirements impose burdens and costs on us.  Failure to effectively, appropriately and timely conduct and complete the required studies relating to our products, monitor and report adverse events and meet our other post-approval commitments would lead to negative regulatory action at the FDA, which could include withdrawal of regulatory approval of our products for their currently approved indications and patient populations. 

 

Manufacturers of drug products and their facilities are subject to continual review and periodic inspections by the FDA and other regulatory authorities for compliance with GMP and other applicable regulations. If we or a regulatory agency discovers previously unknown problems with a product, such as adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency, or problems with a facility where the product is manufactured, a regulatory agency may impose restrictions on that product or the manufacturer, including withdrawal of the product from the market or suspension of manufacturing. If we, our partners or the manufacturing facilities for our products fail to comply with applicable regulatory requirements, a regulatory agency may take the following actions, among others:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even though linaclotide is approved for marketing in the U.S. and in a number of other countries, we or our partners may never receive approval to commercialize linaclotide in additional parts of the world.

 

In order to market any products outside of the countries where linaclotide is currently approved, we or our partners must comply with numerous and varying regulatory requirements of other jurisdictions regarding, among other things, safety and efficacy. Approval procedures vary among jurisdictions and can involve product testing and administrative review periods different from, and greater than, those in the U.S. and the other countries where linaclotide is approved. Potential risks include that the regulatory authorities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If any of the foregoing were to occur, our receipt of regulatory approval in the applicable jurisdiction could be delayed or we may never receive approval at all. Further, regulatory approval in one jurisdiction does not ensure regulatory approval in another, but a failure or delay in obtaining regulatory approval in one jurisdiction may have a negative effect on the regulatory processes in others. If linaclotide is not approved for all indications or patient populations or with the label requested, this would limit the uses of linaclotide and have an adverse effect on its commercial potential or require costly post-marketing studies.

 

We face potential product liability exposure, and, if claims brought against us are successful, we could incur substantial liabilities.

 

The use of our product candidates in clinical trials and the sale of marketed products expose us to product liability claims. If we do not successfully defend ourselves against product liability claims, we could incur substantial liabilities. In addition, regardless of merit or eventual outcome, product liability claims may result in:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We currently have product liability insurance coverage for the commercial sale of linaclotide and lesinurad and for the clinical trials of our product candidates which is subject to industry-standard terms, conditions and exclusions. Our insurance coverage may not be sufficient to reimburse us for expenses or losses associated with claims. Moreover, insurance coverage is becoming increasingly expensive, and, in the future, we may not be able to maintain insurance coverage at a reasonable cost or in sufficient amounts to protect us against losses. On occasion, large judgments have been awarded in lawsuits based on drugs that had unanticipated side effects. A successful product liability claim or series of claims could cause our stock price to decline and, if judgments exceed our insurance coverage, could decrease our cash and adversely affect our business.

 

We face competition and new products may emerge that provide different or better alternatives for treatment of the conditions that our products are approved to treat.

 

The pharmaceutical industry and the markets in which we operate are intensely competitive. We compete in the marketing and sale of our products, the development of new products and the acquisition of rights to new products with commercial potential.  Certain of our competitors have substantially greater financial, technical and human resources than us. Mergers and acquisitions in the pharmaceutical industry may result in even more resources being concentrated in our competitors. Competition may increase further as a result of advances made in the commercial applicability of technologies and greater availability of capital for investment in these fields.  Additionally, new developments, including

the development of other drug technologies and methods of preventing the incidence of disease, occur in the pharmaceutical and medical technology industries at a rapid pace. These developments may render our products obsolete or noncompetitive.

 

Our products compete with certain prescription therapies and over-the-counter products for the treatment of the indications for which they are approved, or their associated symptoms, and in many cases with products that have attained significant levels of market acceptance. The availability of prescription competitors and over-the-counter products for such conditions could limit the demand, and the price we are able to charge, for our products unless we are able to achieve market acceptance among the medical community and patients and differentiate our products on the basis of their cost and/or actual or perceived benefits. For example, Takeda Pharmaceuticals Limited’s AMITIZA (lubiprostone) is approved by the FDA for sale in the U.S. for the treatment of IBS-C, CIC and opioid-induced constipation, Synergy Pharmaceuticals, Inc.’s, or Synergy, TRULANCE (plecanatide) is approved by the FDA for sale in the U.S. for the treatment of adults with IBS-C and CIC, and Shire plc’s MOTEGRITY (prucalopride) is approved by the FDA for sale in the U.S. for the treatment of CIC in adults.  Additionally, we believe other companies are developing products which could compete with our products, should they be approved by the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities. Currently, there are other compounds in late stage development and other potential competitors are in earlier stages of development for the treatment of the indications for which our products are approved. If our current or potential competitors are successful in completing drug development for their drug candidates and obtain approval from the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities, they could limit the demand for our products.

 

We will incur significant liability if it is determined that we are promoting any “off-label” uses of our products.

 

Physicians are permitted to prescribe drug products and medical devices for uses that are not described in the product’s labeling and that differ from those approved by the FDA or other applicable regulatory agencies. Such “off-label” uses are common across medical specialties. Although the FDA and other regulatory agencies do not regulate a physician’s choice of treatments, the FDA and other regulatory agencies do restrict communications on the subject of off-label use. Companies are not permitted to promote drugs or medical devices for off-label uses. Accordingly, we do not permit promotion of any approved product that we develop, license, commercialize, promote, co-promote or otherwise partner for any indication, population or use not described in such product’s label. The FDA and other regulatory and enforcement authorities actively enforce laws and regulations prohibiting promotion of off-label uses and the promotion of products for which marketing approval has not been obtained. A company that is found to have promoted off-label uses will be subject to significant liability, including civil and administrative remedies as well as criminal sanctions.  Even if it is later determined that we were not in violation of these laws, we may be faced with negative publicity, incur significant expenses defending our actions and have to divert significant management resources from other matters.

 

Notwithstanding the regulatory restrictions on off-label promotion, the FDA and other regulatory authorities allow companies to engage in truthful, non-misleading, and non-promotional scientific exchange concerning their products. We intend to engage in medical education activities and communicate with healthcare providers in compliance with all applicable laws, regulatory guidance and industry best practices. Although we believe we have put in place a robust compliance program, which is designed to ensure that all such activities are performed in a legal and compliant manner, we cannot be certain that our program will address all areas of potential exposure and the risks in this area cannot be entirely eliminated.

 

If we fail to comply with healthcare and other regulations, we could face substantial penalties and our business, operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.

 

The products that we promote are marketed in the U.S. and/or covered by federal healthcare programs, and, as a result, certain federal and state healthcare laws and regulations pertaining to product promotion and fraud and abuse are applicable to, and may affect, our business. These laws and regulations include:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our global activities are subject to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act which prohibits corporations and individuals from paying, offering to pay, or authorizing the payment of anything of value to any foreign government official, government staff member, political party, or political candidate in an attempt to obtain or retain business or to otherwise influence a person working in an official capacity. We are also subject to similar anti-bribery laws in the other countries in which we do business.

 

In addition, we may be subject to privacy and security laws in the various jurisdictions in which we operate, obtain or store personally identifiable information. The legislative and regulatory landscape for privacy and data protection continues to evolve, and there has been an increasing focus on privacy and data protection issues with the potential to affect our business. For example, the processing of personal data in the European Economic Area, or the EEA, is subject to the General Data Protection Regulation, or the GDPR, which took effect in May 2018.  The GDPR increases obligations with respect to clinical trials conducted in the EEA, such as in relation to the provision of fair processing notices, exercising data subject rights and reporting certain data breaches to regulators and affected individuals, as well as how we document our relationships with third parties that process GDPR-covered personal data on our behalf.  The GDPR also increases the scrutiny applied to transfers of personal data from the EEA (including from our clinical trial sites in the EEA) to countries that are considered by the European Commission to lack an adequate level of data protection, such as the United States.  The compliance obligations imposed by the GDPR have required us to revise our operations.  In addition, the GDPR imposes substantial fines and other regulatory penalties for breaches of data protection requirements, and it confers a private right of action on data subjects and their representatives for breaches of data protection requirements.

 

If our operations are found to be in violation of any of the laws described above or any other laws, rules or regulations that apply to us, we will be subject to penalties, including civil and criminal penalties, damages, fines and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations. Any penalties, damages, fines, curtailment or restructuring of our operations could adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our financial results. Although compliance programs can mitigate the risk of investigation and prosecution for violations of these laws, rules or regulations, we cannot be certain that our program will address all areas of potential exposure and the risks in this area cannot be entirely

eliminated, particularly because the requirements and government interpretations of the requirements in this space are constantly evolving. Any action against us for violation of these laws, rules or regulations, even if we successfully defend against it, could cause us to incur significant legal expenses and divert our management’s attention from the operation of our business, as well as damage our business or reputation. Moreover, achieving and sustaining compliance with applicable federal and state privacy, security, fraud and reporting laws may prove costly.

 

Healthcare reform and other governmental and private payer initiatives may have an adverse effect upon, and could prevent, our products’ or product candidates’ commercial success.

 

The U.S. government and individual states have been aggressively pursuing healthcare reform designed to impact delivery of, and/or payment for, healthcare, which include initiatives intended to reduce the cost of healthcare.  For example, in March 2010, the U.S. Congress enacted the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as modified by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, or the ACA, which, among other things, expanded healthcare coverage through Medicaid expansion and the implementation of the individual health insurance mandate; included changes to the coverage and reimbursement of drug products under government healthcare programs; imposed an annual fee on manufacturers of branded drugs; and expanded government enforcement authority. We face uncertainties because there have been, and may be additional, federal legislative and administrative efforts to repeal, substantially modify or invalidate some or all of the provisions of the ACA.  Such efforts may lead to fewer Americans having more comprehensive health insurance compliant with the ACA, even in the absence of a legislative repeal. For example, tax reform legislation was enacted at the end of 2017 that includes provisions to eliminate the tax penalty for individuals who do not maintain sufficient health insurance coverage beginning in 2019.  The ACA has also been subject to judicial challenge.  In December 2018, a federal district court judge, in a challenge brought by a number of state attorneys general, found the ACA unconstitutional in its entirety. Pending appeals, which could take some time, the ACA is still operational in all respects.  Adoption of new healthcare reform legislation at the federal or state level could affect demand for, or pricing of, our products or product candidates if approved for sale.  However, we cannot predict the ultimate content, timing or effect of any healthcare reform legislation or action, or its impact on us, and healthcare reform could increase compliance costs and may adversely affect our future business and financial results.

 

In addition, other legislative changes have been adopted that could have an adverse effect upon, and could prevent, our products’ or product candidates’ commercial success.  More broadly, the Budget Control Act of 2011, as amended, or the Budget Control Act, includes provisions intended to reduce the federal deficit, including reductions in Medicare payments to providers through 2027. Any significant spending reductions affecting Medicare, Medicaid or other publicly funded or subsidized health programs, or any significant taxes or fees imposed as part of any broader deficit reduction effort or legislative replacement to the Budget Control Act, or otherwise, could have an adverse impact on our anticipated product revenues.

 

In addition to governmental efforts in the U.S., foreign jurisdictions as well as private health insurers and managed care plans are likely to continue challenging manufacturers’ ability to obtain reimbursement, as well as the level of reimbursement, for pharmaceuticals and other healthcare-related products and services. These cost-control initiatives could significantly decrease the available coverage and the price we might establish for our products, which would have an adverse effect on our financial results.

 

The Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007 also provides the FDA enhanced post-marketing authority, including the authority to require post-marketing studies and clinical trials, labeling changes based on new safety information, and compliance with risk evaluations and mitigation strategies approved by the FDA. We and Allergan have established a nonclinical and clinical post-marketing plan with the FDA to understand the safety and efficacy of LINZESS in pediatrics and we are in the process of ending the post-marketing clinical study for lesinurad, each of which is discussed above. The FDA’s exercise of this authority has resulted (and is expected to continue to result) in increased development-related costs following the commercial launch of our products, and could result in potential restrictions on the sale and/or distribution of our products, even in such products’ approved indications and patient populations.

 

If we are unable to successfully partner with other companies to develop and commercialize our products and/or product candidates, our ability to grow would be impaired and our business would be adversely affected.

 

As part of our business strategy, we may partner with pharmaceutical, biotechnology or other companies to develop and commercialize our products or product candidates.  Although we have entered into such arrangements with

respect to the development and commercialization of linaclotide worldwide, there can be no assurance that we will be able to do so in the future with respect to other products or product candidates or that we will be able to gain the interest of potential partners; establish and maintain development, manufacturing, marketing, sales or distribution relationships on acceptable terms; that such relationships, if established, will be successful or on favorable terms; or that we will gain market acceptance for such products or product candidates.  The process of proposing, negotiating and implementing a partnership arrangement is lengthy and complex.  If we enter into any partnering arrangements with third parties, any revenues we receive will depend upon the efforts of such third parties.  If we are unable to establish successful partnering arrangements, we may not gain access to the financial resources and industry experience necessary to develop, commercialize or successfully market our products or product candidates, may be forced to curtail, delay or stop a development program or one or more of our other development programs, delay commercialization, reduce the scope of our planned sales or marketing activities or undertake development or commercialization activities at our own expense, and therefore may be unable to generate revenue from our products or product candidates or do so to their full potential. 

 

In pursuing our growth strategy, we will incur a variety of costs and may devote resources to potential opportunities that are never completed or for which we never receive the benefit. Our failure to successfully discover, acquire, develop and market additional product candidates or approved products would impair our ability to grow and adversely affect our business.

 

As part of our growth strategy, we intend to explore further linaclotide development opportunities. We and Allergan are exploring development opportunities to enhance the clinical profile of LINZESS by studying linaclotide in additional indications, populations and formulations to assess its potential to treat various conditions. These development efforts may fail or may not increase the revenues that we generate from LINZESS. Furthermore, they may result in adverse events, or perceived adverse events, in certain patient populations that are then attributed to the currently approved patient population, which may result in adverse regulatory action at the FDA or in other countries or harm linaclotide’s reputation in the marketplace, each of which could materially harm our revenues from linaclotide.

 

We are also pursuing various other programs in our pipeline. We may spend several years and make significant investments in developing any current or future internal product candidate, and failure may occur at any point. Our product candidates are in various stages of development and must satisfy rigorous standards of safety and efficacy before they can be approved for sale by the FDA. To satisfy these standards, we must allocate resources among our various development programs and we must engage in costly and lengthy discovery and development efforts, which are subject to unanticipated delays and other significant uncertainties. Despite our efforts, our product candidates may not offer therapeutic or other improvement over existing competitive drugs, be proven safe and effective in clinical trials, or meet applicable regulatory standards. It is possible that none of the product candidates we are developing will be approved for commercial sale, which would impair our ability to grow.

 

We have ongoing or planned nonclinical and clinical trials for linaclotide and a number of our internal product candidates, and the strength of our company’s pipeline will depend in large part on the outcomes of these studies. Many companies in the pharmaceutical industry have suffered significant setbacks in clinical trials even after achieving promising results in earlier nonclinical or clinical trials. The findings from our completed nonclinical studies may not be replicated in later clinical trials, and our clinical trials may not be predictive of the results we may obtain in later-stage clinical trials or of the likelihood of regulatory approval. Results from our clinical trials and findings from our nonclinical studies could lead to abrupt changes in our development activities, including the possible limitation or cessation of development activities associated with a particular product candidate or program. Furthermore, our analysis of data obtained from nonclinical and clinical activities is subject to confirmation and interpretation by the FDA and other applicable regulatory authorities, which could delay, limit or prevent regulatory approval. Satisfaction of FDA or other applicable regulatory requirements is costly, time-consuming, uncertain and subject to unanticipated delays.

 

In addition, because our internal research capabilities are limited, we may be dependent upon pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academic scientists and other researchers to sell or license products or technology to us. The success of this strategy depends partly upon our ability to identify, select, discover and acquire promising pharmaceutical product candidates and products. The process of proposing, negotiating and implementing a license or acquisition of a product candidate or approved product is lengthy and complex. Other companies, including some with substantially greater financial, marketing and sales resources, may compete with us for the license or acquisition of product candidates and approved products. We have limited resources to identify and execute the acquisition or in-licensing of third-party products, businesses and technologies and integrate them into our current infrastructure.

Moreover, we may devote resources to potential acquisitions or in-licensing opportunities that are never completed, or we may fail to realize the anticipated benefits of such efforts. We may not be able to acquire the rights to additional products or product candidates on terms that we find acceptable, or at all.

 

In addition, such acquisitions may entail numerous operational and financial risks, including:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Furthermore, we may have little or no insight or control over the development and commercialization of any product that we in-license outside the licensed territory.  If other licensees do not effectively develop or commercialize any such product outside the licensed territory, our reputation or the reputation of any such product may be impacted.  Also, any product candidate that we acquire may require additional development efforts prior to commercial sale, including extensive clinical testing and approval by the FDA and applicable foreign regulatory authorities. All product candidates are prone to risks of failure typical of pharmaceutical product development, including the possibility that a product candidate will not be shown to be sufficiently safe and effective for approval by regulatory authorities.

 

The planned separation of our business into two independent, publicly traded companies is subject to various risks and uncertainties and may not be completed on the terms or timeline currently contemplated, if at all, and will involve significant time, effort and expense, which could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

 

In May 2018, we announced the intent to separate our soluble guanylate cyclase, or sGC, business from our commercial and GI business, resulting in two independent, publicly traded companies, Ironwood and Cyclerion Therapeutics, Inc., or Cyclerion. Following the separation, Ironwood is expected to focus on accelerating growth of LINZESS, and advance development programs targeting treatments in GI diseases and abdominal pain. Cyclerion is expected to focus on the sGC pipeline development programs for the treatment of serious and orphan diseases.

 

The separation is expected to be completed in the first half of 2019, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions.  Adverse market conditions, tax considerations or delays or difficulties effecting the planned separation could delay or prevent, or adversely impact the anticipated benefits from, the planned separation.  Consummation of the separation also will require final approval from our board of directors. We may not complete the separation on the terms or on the timeline that we announced, or may, for any or no reason and at any time until the planned separation is complete, abandon the separation or modify or change its terms. Any of the foregoing may result in our not achieving the operational, financial, strategic and other benefits we anticipate, and in each case, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.

 

We have incurred and will continue to incur significant expenses in connection with the planned separation, and such costs and expenses may be greater than we anticipate.  In addition, completion of the separation will require a significant amount of management time and effort which may disrupt our business or otherwise divert management’s attention from other aspects of our business, including strategic initiatives, discovery, development and

commercialization efforts and relationships with our partners and other third parties. Any of the foregoing could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

 

The planned separation may not achieve some or all of the anticipated benefits.

 

Even if the separation is completed, the anticipated operational, financial, strategic and other benefits of the separation may not be achieved. The combined value of the common stock of the two publicly-traded companies may not be equal to or greater than what the value of our common stock would have been had the separation not occurred. The combined value of the common stock of the two companies could be lower than anticipated for a variety of reasons, including the failure of either company to operate and compete effectively as an independent company.  The common stock price of each company may experience periods of extreme volatility. In addition, the two independent companies will be smaller and less diversified, with a narrower business focus, and may be more vulnerable to changing market conditions. The separation also presents a number of significant risks to our internal processes, including the failure to maintain an adequate control environment due to changes to our infrastructure technology systems and financial reporting processes.

 

Ironwood continues to assess the U.S. federal income tax consequences of potential structures to separate our business into two independent, publicly traded companies.  If the separation is not generally tax-free for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we and our stockholders could be subject to significant tax liabilities.

 

If not effected on a tax-free basis, the separation could result in both the use of Ironwood’s net operating losses and significant tax liability to Ironwood.  The separation could also give rise to a taxable dividend and, as such, may result in significant tax liability for Ironwood’s stockholders. 

 

Delays in the completion of clinical testing of any of our product candidates could result in increased costs and delay or limit our ability to generate revenues.

 

Delays in the completion of clinical testing could significantly affect our product development costs. We do not know whether planned clinical trials will be completed on schedule, if at all. The commencement and completion of clinical trials can be delayed for a number of reasons, including delays related to:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clinical trials may also be delayed as a result of ambiguous or negative interim results. In addition, a clinical trial may be suspended or terminated by us, an institutional review board overseeing the clinical trial at a clinical trial site (with respect to that site), the FDA, or other regulatory authorities due to a number of factors, including:

 

 

 

 

 

Additionally, changes in regulatory requirements and guidance may occur, and we may need to amend clinical trial protocols to reflect these changes. Each protocol amendment would require institutional review board review and approval, which may adversely impact the costs, timing or successful completion of the associated clinical trials. If we or our partners terminate or experience delays in the completion of any clinical trials, the commercial prospects for our product candidates may be harmed, and our ability to generate product revenues will be delayed. In addition, many of the factors that cause, or lead to, a delay in the commencement or completion of clinical trials may also ultimately lead to the denial of regulatory approval.

 

We may not be able to manage our business effectively if we lose any of our current management team or if we are unable to attract and motivate key personnel.

 

We may not be able to attract or motivate qualified management and scientific, clinical, operations and commercial personnel in the future due to the intense competition for qualified personnel among biotechnology, pharmaceutical and other businesses, particularly in the greater-Boston area. If we are not able to attract and motivate necessary personnel to accomplish our business objectives, we will experience constraints that will significantly impede the achievement of our objectives.

 

We are highly dependent on the drug discovery, development, regulatory, commercial, financial and other expertise of our management, particularly Peter M. Hecht, Ph.D., our chief executive officer; Mark Mallon, currently our executive senior advisor and expected to become our chief executive officer upon the completion of the planned separation; Gina Consylman, our senior vice president, chief financial officer, and treasurer; Mark G. Currie, Ph.D., our senior vice president, chief scientific officer and president of research and development; Halley E. Gilbert, our senior vice president, chief legal officer, and secretary; William Huyett, our chief operating officer; and Thomas A. McCourt, our senior vice president, marketing and sales and chief commercial officer. We currently anticipate that Dr. Hecht, Dr. Currie and Mr. Huyett will leave their positions at Ironwood to join the management team of Cyclerion upon completion of the separation, along with other key employees in critical functions across our organization.  These and other transitions in our senior management team and other key employees, including other changes that occur in connection with the planned separation of Ironwood and Cyclerion, may result in operational disruptions, and our business may be harmed as a result. In addition to the competition for personnel, the Boston area in particular is characterized by a high cost of living. We could have difficulty attracting experienced talent to our company and each of Ironwood and Cyclerion during and following the planned separation and we may be required to expend significant financial resources in our recruitment efforts, which may or may not be successful.

 

We also have scientific and clinical advisors who assist us in formulating our product development, clinical strategies and our global supply chain plans, as well as sales and marketing advisors who have assisted us in our commercialization strategy and brand plan for our products. These advisors are not our employees and may have commitments to, or consulting or advisory contracts with, other entities that may limit their availability to us, or may have arrangements with other companies to assist in the development and commercialization of products that may compete with ours.

 

Security breaches and other disruptions to our information technology structure could compromise our information, disrupt our business and expose us to liability, which would cause our business and reputation to suffer.

 

In the ordinary course of our business, we collect, process and store sensitive data, including intellectual property, our proprietary business information and that of our suppliers and business partners, as well as personally identifiable information of our patients, clinical trial participants and employees. We also rely to a large extent on information technology systems to operate our business, including to deliver our products.  We have outsourced elements of our confidential information processing and information technology structure, and as a result, we are managing independent vendor relationships with third parties who may or could have access to our confidential information. Similarly, our business partners and other third-party providers possess certain of our sensitive data. The secure maintenance of this information is critical to our operations and business strategy. Despite our security measures, our large and complex information technology and infrastructure (and those of our partners, vendors and third-party providers) may be vulnerable to attacks by hackers or breached due to employee error, malfeasance or other disruptions. We, our partners, vendors and other third-party providers could be susceptible to third party attacks on our, and their,

information security systems, which attacks are of ever-increasing levels of sophistication and are made by groups and individuals with a wide range of motives and expertise, including organized criminal groups, hacktivists, nation states and others.  While we have invested in information technology and security and the protection of confidential information, there can be no assurance that our efforts will prevent service interruptions or security breaches. Any such interruptions or breach would substantially impair our ability to operate our business and would compromise our, and their, networks and the information stored there could be accessed, publicly disclosed, lost or stolen. Any such access, disclosure or other loss of information could result in legal claims or proceedings, liability under laws that protect the privacy of personal information, disrupt our operations, and damage our reputation, any of which could adversely affect our business.  While we maintain cyber liability insurance, this insurance may not be sufficient to cover the losses that may result from an interruption or breach of our (or our partners’, vendors’ and third-party providers’) systems.

 

Our business could be negatively affected as a result of a proxy contest or certain other stockholder actions.

 

Responding to certain stockholder actions can be costly, disruptive and time-consuming, and could also impact our ability to attract, retain and motivate our employees. For example, a proxy contest for our annual meeting of stockholders relating to stockholder proposals or director nominees would require significant time and could divert the attention of our management, other employees and our board of directors.  In addition, a proxy contest would require us to incur significant costs, including legal fees and proxy solicitation expenses.

 

Our business involves the use of hazardous materials, and we must comply with environmental laws and regulations, which can be expensive and restrict how we do business.

 

Our activities involve the controlled storage, use and disposal of hazardous materials. We are subject to federal, state, city and local laws and regulations governing the use, manufacture, storage, handling and disposal of these hazardous materials. Although we believe that the safety procedures we use for handling and disposing of these materials comply with the standards prescribed by these laws and regulations, we cannot eliminate the risk of accidental contamination or injury from these materials. In the event of an accident, local, city, state or federal authorities may curtail the use of these materials and interrupt our business operations. We do not currently maintain hazardous materials insurance coverage.

 

Risks Related to Intellectual Property

 

Limitations on the patent rights relating to our products and our product candidates may limit our ability to prevent third parties from competing against us.

 

Our success depends on our ability to obtain and maintain patent protection for our products and product candidates, preserve our trade secrets, prevent third parties from infringing upon our proprietary rights and operate without infringing upon the proprietary rights of others.

 

The strength of patents in the pharmaceutical industry involves complex legal and scientific questions and can be uncertain. Patent applications in the U.S. and most other countries are confidential for a period of time until they are published, and publication of discoveries in scientific or patent literature typically lags actual discoveries by several months or more. As a result, we cannot be certain that we were the first to conceive inventions covered by our patents and pending patent applications or that we were the first to file patent applications for such inventions. In addition, we cannot be certain that our patent applications will be granted, that any issued patents will adequately protect our intellectual property, or that such patents will not be challenged, narrowed, invalidated or circumvented.

 

We have several issued patents and pending applications in the U.S. related to LINZESS, including a LINZESS composition of matter and methods of use patent (U.S. Patent 7,304,036) expiring in 2026. Additional U.S. patents and pending applications related to LINZESS include multiple patents relating to our commercial, room temperature stable formulation of linaclotide and methods of using this formulation, the latest of which expire in the early 2030s, as well as other patents and pending patent applications covering processes for making LINZESS, formulations and dosing regimens thereof, and molecules related to LINZESS. Although none of these issued patents currently is subject to a patent reexamination or review, we cannot guarantee that they will not be subject to reexamination or review by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, or the USPTO, in the future. We believe in the strength of our linaclotide patent portfolio and that it gives us sufficient freedom to operate; however, if any of our present or future patents is invalidated, this could have an adverse effect on our business and financial results.  In March 2013, an opposition to one of our granted

patents covering linaclotide was filed in Europe. In April 2015, the patent was upheld in its entirety by the European Patent Office, affirming the strength of our intellectual property and our belief that the opposition was without merit. The associated appeal was withdrawn by the opponent in January 2019.

 

Furthermore, the America Invents Act, which was signed into law in 2011, has made several major changes in the U.S. patent statutes. These changes permit third parties to challenge our patents more easily and create uncertainty with respect to the interpretation and practice of U.S. patent law.  Moreover, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled on several patent cases in recent years, narrowing the scope of patent protection available and weakening the rights of patent owners in certain circumstances. Depending on the impact of these decisions and other actions by the U.S. Congress, the federal courts, the USPTO, and their foreign counterparts, the laws and regulations governing patents may change, or their interpretation or implementation may change, in unpredictable ways that could impact, potentially adversely, our ability to obtain new patents or to enforce and defend patents that we have already obtained or that we might obtain in the future.  For example, such changes may increase the costs and complexity associated with obtaining, enforcing or defending our patents, including in abbreviated new drug application, or ANDA, litigation.

 

We also rely upon unpatented trade secrets, unpatented know-how and continuing technological innovation to develop and maintain our competitive position, which we seek to protect, in part, by confidentiality agreements with our employees and our partners and consultants. We also have agreements with our employees and selected consultants that obligate them to assign their inventions to us. It is possible, however, that technology relevant to our business will be independently developed by a person that is not a party to such an agreement. Furthermore, if the employees and consultants that are parties to these agreements breach or violate the terms of these agreements, we may not have adequate remedies, and we could lose our trade secrets through such breaches or violations. Additionally, our trade secrets could otherwise become known or be independently discovered by our competitors.

 

In addition, the laws of certain foreign countries do not protect proprietary rights to the same extent or in the same manner as the U.S., and, therefore, we may encounter problems in protecting and defending our intellectual property in certain foreign jurisdictions.

 

If we are sued for infringing intellectual property rights of third parties, it will be costly and time consuming, and an unfavorable outcome in such litigation could have a material adverse effect on our business.

 

Our commercial success depends on our ability, and the ability of our partners, to develop, manufacture, market and sell our products and use our proprietary technologies without infringing the proprietary rights of third parties. Numerous U.S. and foreign issued patents and pending patent applications, which are owned by third parties, exist in the fields in which we and our partners are developing products. As the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry expands and more patents are issued, the risk increases that our potential products may give rise to claims of infringement of the patent rights of others. There may be issued patents of third parties of which we are currently unaware that may be infringed by linaclotide or our product candidates. Because patent applications can take many years to issue, there may be currently pending applications which may later result in issued patents that linaclotide or our product candidates may infringe.

 

We may be exposed to, or threatened with, litigation by third parties alleging that linaclotide or our product candidates infringe their intellectual property rights. If linaclotide or one of our product candidates is found to infringe the intellectual property rights of a third party, we or our partners could be enjoined by a court and required to pay damages and could be unable to develop or commercialize linaclotide or the applicable product candidate unless we obtain a license to the intellectual property rights. A license may not be available to us on acceptable terms, if at all. In addition, during litigation, the counter-party could obtain a preliminary injunction or other equitable relief which could prohibit us from making, using or selling our products, pending a trial on the merits, which may not occur for several years.

 

There is a substantial amount of litigation involving patent and other intellectual property rights in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries generally. If a third party claims that we or our partners infringe its intellectual property rights, we may face a number of issues, including, but not limited to:

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have received notices of Paragraph IV certifications related to linaclotide in conjunction with ANDAs filed by generic drug manufacturers, and we may receive additional notices from others in the future.  We have, and may continue to, become involved in legal proceedings to protect or enforce intellectual property rights relating to our products and our product candidates, which could be expensive and time consuming, and unfavorable outcomes in such proceedings could have a material adverse effect on our business.

 

Competitors may infringe the patents relating to our products and our product candidates or may assert that such patents are invalid. To counter ongoing or potential infringement or unauthorized use, we may be required to file infringement claims, which can be expensive and time-consuming. Litigation with generic manufacturers has become increasingly common in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. In addition, in an infringement or invalidity proceeding, a court or patent administrative body may determine that a patent of ours is not valid or is unenforceable, or may refuse to stop the other party from using the technology at issue on the grounds that our patents do not cover the technology in question. Generic drug manufacturers were first able to file ANDAs for generic versions of LINZESS in August 2016, but we may not become aware of these filings for several months after any such submission due to procedures specified under applicable FDA regulations. When filing an ANDA for one of our products, a generic drug manufacturer may choose to challenge one or more of the patents that cover such product. As such, we have brought, and may bring in the future, legal proceedings against generic drug manufacturers.

 

We and Allergan have received Paragraph IV certification notice letters, or Notice Letters, regarding ANDAs submitted to the FDA by generic drug manufacturers requesting approval to engage in commercial manufacture, use, sale and offer for sale of linaclotide capsules (72 mcg, 145 mcg and 290 mcg), proposed generic versions of our FDA-approved drug LINZESS. For additional information relating to such ANDAs, see Item 3, Legal Proceedings, elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.  Frequently, innovators receive multiple ANDA filings.  Consequently, we expect to receive additional notice letters regarding ANDAs submitted to the FDA, and may receive amendments to the Notice Letters. 

 

After evaluation, we have in the past filed, and may, in the future, file, patent infringement lawsuits or take other action against companies making ANDA filings.  If a patent infringement suit has been filed within 45 days of receipt of a notice letter, the FDA is not permitted to approve any ANDA that is the subject of such lawsuit for 30 months from the date of the NDA holder’s and patent owner’s receipt of the ANDA filer’s notice letter, or until a court decides that the relevant patents are invalid, unenforceable and/or not infringed. In the case of suits filed before expiration of the new chemical entity, or NCE, exclusivity period for a particular drug, the 30-month stay would be calculated from the end of the applicable NCE exclusivity period.  In addition to shortening the 30-month stay based on a decision that the relevant patents are invalid, unenforceable and/or not infringed, a court can also shorten or lengthen the 30-month stay under certain limited circumstances.  The NCE exclusivity period for LINZESS expired on August 30, 2017, and the 30-month stay for each ANDA that is the subject of the current patent infringement lawsuits filed by us before such expiration date ends on February 29, 2020 (absent any of the foregoing adjustments).  We have filed patent infringement lawsuits against the companies making such ANDA filings, and we have entered into settlement agreements with three such companies.  For additional information relating to such lawsuits and settlements, see Item 3, Legal Proceedings, elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. 

 

Additionally, the validity of the patents relating to our products and our product candidates may be challenged by third parties pursuant to administrative procedures introduced by the America Invents Act, specifically inter partes 

review, or IPR, and/or post grant review, or PGR, before the USPTO. Generic drug manufacturers may challenge our patents through IPRs or PGRs instead of or in addition to ANDA legal proceedings.

 

Patent litigation (including any lawsuits that we file against generic drug manufacturers in connection with the receipt of a notice letter), IPRs and PGRs involve complex legal and factual questions and we may need to devote significant resources to such legal proceedings. We can provide no assurance concerning the duration or the outcome of any such patent-related lawsuits or administrative proceedings, including any settlements or other resolutions thereof which could, in addition to other risks, result in a shortening of exclusivity periods. An adverse result in any litigation or defense proceedings could put one or more of the patents relating to our products and our product candidates at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly, or could otherwise result in a loss of patent protection for the product or product candidate at issue, and could put our patent applications at risk of not issuing, which would materially harm our business. Upon any loss of patent protection for one of our products, or upon an “at-risk” launch (despite pending patent infringement litigation, before any court decision or while an appeal of a lower court decision is pending) by a manufacturer of a generic version of one of our patented products, our revenues for that product could be significantly reduced in a short period of time, which would materially and adversely affect our business.

 

Interference or derivation proceedings brought by the USPTO may be necessary to determine the priority of inventions with respect to the patents relating to our products and our product candidates and patent applications or those of our partners. An unfavorable outcome could require us to cease using the technology or to attempt to license rights to it from the prevailing party. Our business could be harmed if a prevailing party does not offer us a license on terms that are acceptable to us. Litigation or interference proceedings may fail and, even if successful, may result in substantial costs and distraction of our management and other employees. In addition, we may not be able to prevent, alone or with our partners, misappropriation of our proprietary rights, particularly in countries where the laws may not protect those rights as fully as in the U.S.

 

Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, as well as the potential for public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceeding or developments, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during this type of litigation.

 

Risks Related to Our Finances and Capital Requirements

 

We have incurred significant losses since our inception and cannot guarantee when, if ever, we will become profitable or attain positive cash flows.

 

In recent years, we have focused primarily on developing, manufacturing and commercializing our products, as well as developing our other product candidates. We have financed our business to date primarily through the issuance of equity, our collaboration and license arrangements, our January 2013 issuance of our 11% PhaRMA Notes due 2024, or the PhaRMA Notes, related to the sales of LINZESS in the U.S. (which were redeemed, in full, in connection with the funding and issuance in January 2017 of our 8.375% Notes due 2026, or the 2026 Notes) and our June 2015 issuance of our 2.25% Convertible Senior Notes due June 15, 2022, or the 2022 Notes, and we have incurred losses in each year since our inception in 1998. We currently derive a significant portion of our revenue from our LINZESS collaboration with Allergan for the U.S.  We believe that the revenues from the LINZESS collaboration will continue to constitute a significant portion of our total revenue for the foreseeable future. We incurred net losses of approximately $282.4 million, approximately $116.9 million and approximately $81.7 million in the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively. As of December 31, 2018, we had an accumulated deficit of approximately $1.6 billion. We cannot be certain that sales of our products, and the revenue from our other commercial activities will not fall short of our projections or be delayed. Further, we expect to continue to incur substantial expenses in connection with our efforts to commercialize linaclotide  and research and develop our product candidates. Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with developing and commercializing pharmaceutical products, as well as those related to our expectations for our products and our other activities, we are unable to predict the extent of any future losses or guarantee when, or if, our company will become profitable or cash flow positive. If we never achieve profitability or positive cash flows, or achieve either later than we anticipate, this will have an adverse effect on our stockholders’ equity and working capital.

 

We may need additional funding and may be unable to raise capital when needed, which could cause us to delay, reduce or eliminate our product development programs or commercialization efforts.

 

In January 2017, in connection with the redemption of our PhaRMA Notes, we issued $150.0 million aggregate principal amount of our 2026 Notes bearing an annual interest rate of 8.375%.  In June 2015, we issued approximately $335.7 million aggregate principal amount of our 2022 Notes and we have previously raised additional funds through other capital raising activities, including the sale of shares of our common stock in public offerings and the issuance of our PhaRMA Notes in January 2013 (which were redeemed, in full, in connection with the issuance of our 2026 Notes). However, marketing and selling primary care drugs, purchasing commercial quantities of pharmaceutical products, developing product candidates, conducting clinical trials and accessing externally developed products are expensive and uncertain. Circumstances, our strategic imperatives, or opportunities to create or acquire new programs, as well as maturities, redemptions or repurchases of our outstanding debt securities, could require us to, or we may choose to, seek to raise additional funds. The amount and timing of our future funding requirements will depend on many factors, including, but not limited to:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Additional funding may not be available on acceptable terms or at all. If adequate funds are not available, we may be required to delay or reduce the scope of our commercialization efforts, delay, reduce or eliminate one or more of our development programs or delay or abandon potential strategic opportunities.

 

Our ability to pay principal of and interest on our outstanding debt securities will depend in part on the receipt of payments from Allergan under our collaboration agreement for North America.

 

In January 2017, we issued, in connection with the redemption of our PhaRMA Notes, $150.0 million aggregate principal amount of our 2026 Notes bearing an annual interest rate of 8.375% and in June 2015, we issued approximately $335.7 million aggregate principal amount of our 2022 Notes bearing an annual interest rate of 2.25%. Semi-annual payments on our 2022 Notes commenced on December 15, 2015.  Quarterly interest payments on our 2026 Notes commenced on June 15, 2017 and, pursuant to the associated indenture, beginning in March 2019 we are obligated to make quarterly payments on our 2026 Notes equal to the greater of (i) 7.5% of net sales of linaclotide in the U.S. for the preceding quarter and (ii) the accrued and unpaid interest on the 2026 Notes. Principal on the 2026 Notes is to be repaid in an amount equal to the difference between (i) and (ii) above, when this is a positive number, until the principal has been paid in full. We expect that for the next few years, at a minimum, the net quarterly payments from Allergan will be a significant source of cash flow from operations. If the cash flows derived from the net quarterly payments that we receive from Allergan under the collaboration agreement for North America are insufficient on any particular payment date to fund the interest payment on our outstanding indebtedness, at a minimum, we will be obligated to pay the amounts of such shortfall out of our general funds. The determination of whether Allergan will be obligated to make a net quarterly payment to us in respect of a particular quarterly period is a function of the revenue generated by LINZESS in the U.S. as well as the development, manufacturing and commercialization expenses incurred by each of us and Allergan under the collaboration agreement for North America. Accordingly, since we cannot guarantee when, or if, our company will become profitable or cash flow positive, we cannot provide assurances that (i) we will have the available funds to fund the interest payment on our outstanding indebtedness, at a minimum, in the event that there is a deficiency in the net quarterly payment received from Allergan, (ii) there will be a net quarterly payment from Allergan at all or (iii) we will not also be required to make a true-up payment to Allergan under the collaboration agreement for North America, in each case, in respect of a particular quarterly period.

 

Our indebtedness could adversely affect our financial condition or restrict our future operations.

 

As of December 31, 2018, we had total indebtedness of approximately $485.7 million and available cash and cash equivalents of approximately $173.2 million. We chose to issue our 2026 Notes (in connection with the redemption, in full, of our PhaRMA Notes) and our 2022 Notes based on the additional strategic optionality that they create for us, and the limited restrictions that these debt securities place on our ability to run our business compared to other potential available financing transactions. However, our indebtedness, combined with our other financial obligations and contractual commitments, could have other important consequences on our business, including:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If we do not generate sufficient cash flow from operations or if future borrowings are not available to us in an amount sufficient to pay our indebtedness, including payments of principal when due on our outstanding indebtedness or, in the case of our 2022 Notes, in connection with a transaction involving us that constitutes a fundamental change under the indenture governing the 2022 Notes, or to fund our liquidity needs, we may be forced to refinance all or a portion of our indebtedness on or before the maturity dates thereof, sell assets, reduce or delay currently planned activities or curtail operations, seek to raise additional capital or take other actions. We may not be able to execute any of

these actions on commercially reasonable terms or at all. This, together with any of the factors described above, could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

In addition, while our 2022 Notes do not include covenants restricting the operation of our business except in certain limited circumstances, in the event of a default under the 2022 Notes, the noteholders or the trustee under the indenture governing the 2022 Notes may accelerate our payment obligations under the 2022 Notes, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. We are also required to offer to repurchase the 2022 Notes upon the occurrence of a fundamental change, which could include, among other things, any acquisition of our company (other than an acquisition in which at least 90% of the consideration is common stock listed on The NASDAQ Global or Global Select Market or The New York Stock Exchange), subject to the terms of the 2022 Notes indenture. The repurchase price must be paid in cash, and this obligation may have the effect of discouraging, delaying or preventing an acquisition of our company that would otherwise be beneficial to our security holders.

 

Further, although we are not as restricted under our 2026 Notes as we might have been under a more traditional secured credit facility provided by a bank, the indenture governing our 2026 Notes contains a number of restrictive covenants that impose restrictions on us and may limit our ability to engage in certain acts, including restrictions on our ability to:

 

 

 

 

Upon a breach of the covenants under our 2026 Notes indenture, or if certain other defaults thereunder occur, the holders of our 2026 Notes could elect to declare all amounts outstanding under our 2026 Notes to be immediately due and payable and we cannot be certain that we will have sufficient assets to repay them. If we are unable to repay those amounts, the holders of our 2026 Notes could proceed against the collateral granted to them to secure the debt securities and we could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation. If we breach our covenants under our 2026 Notes indenture and seek a waiver, we may not be able to obtain a waiver from the required noteholders. If this occurs, we would be in default under our 2026 Notes indenture and the holders of our 2026 Notes could exercise their rights, as described above.

 

Each of our 2026 Notes and 2022 Notes also include cross-default features providing that a default under the indenture governing either the 2026 Notes or the 2022 Notes would likely result in a default under the indenture governing the other indebtedness. In the event of such default, the trustee or noteholders could elect to declare all amounts outstanding to be immediately due and payable under the applicable indenture, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

Convertible note hedge and warrant transactions entered into in connection with our 2022 Notes may affect the value of our common stock.

 

In connection with our 2022 Notes, we entered into Convertible Note Hedges and separate Note Hedge Warrant transactions with certain financial institutions. These transactions are expected generally to reduce the potential dilution upon any conversion of our 2022 Notes or offset any cash payments we are required to make in excess of the principal amount of converted 2022 Notes, as the case may be.

 

In connection with these transactions, the financial institutions purchased our common stock in secondary market transactions and entered into various over-the-counter derivative transactions with respect to our common stock. These entities or their affiliates are likely to modify their hedge positions from time to time prior to conversion or maturity of the 2022 Notes by purchasing and selling shares of our common stock or other instruments they may wish to use in connection with such hedging. Any of these activities could adversely affect the value of our common stock and, as a result, the number of shares and the value of the common stock noteholders will receive upon conversion of the 2022 Notes. In addition, under certain circumstances the counterparties have the right to terminate the Convertible Note Hedges and settle the Note Hedge Warrants at fair value (as defined in the applicable confirmations), which may result

in us not receiving all or any portion of the anticipated benefit of the Convertible Note Hedges. If the price of our common stock increases such that the hedge transactions settle in our favor, we could also be exposed to credit risk related to the counterparties to the Convertible Note Hedges, which would limit or eliminate the benefit of such transactions to us.

 

Our quarterly and annual operating results may fluctuate significantly.

 

We expect our operating results to be subject to frequent fluctuations. Our net loss and other operating results will be affected by numerous factors, including:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If our operating results fall below the expectations of investors or securities analysts for any of the foregoing reasons or otherwise, the price of our common stock could decline substantially. Furthermore, any quarterly or annual fluctuations in our operating results may, in turn, cause the price of our stock to fluctuate substantially.

 

Our ability to use net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards and certain built-in losses to reduce future tax payments is limited by provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, and it is possible that our net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards may expire before we generate sufficient taxable income to use such carryforwards, or that certain transactions or a combination of certain transactions may result in material additional limitations on our ability to use our net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards.

 

We have incurred significant net losses since our inception and cannot guarantee when, if ever, we will become profitable. To the extent that we continue to generate federal and state taxable losses, unused net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards will carry forward to offset future taxable income, if any, until the date, if any, on which such unused carryforwards expire. Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, contain rules that limit the ability of a company that undergoes an ownership change, which is generally any change in ownership of more than 50% of its stock over a three-year period, to utilize its net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards and certain built-in losses recognized in years after the ownership change. These rules generally operate by focusing on ownership changes involving stockholders owning directly or indirectly 5% or more of the stock of a company and any change in ownership arising from a new issuance of stock by the company. Generally, if an ownership change occurs, the yearly taxable income limitation on the use of net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards and certain built-in losses is equal to the product of the applicable long term tax exempt rate and the value of the company’s stock immediately before the ownership change.

 

If we do not generate sufficient taxable income prior to the expiration, if any, of the applicable carryforwards or if the carryforwards are subject to the limitations described above, we may be unable to offset our taxable income with losses, or our tax liability with credits, before such losses and credits expire and therefore would incur larger federal or state income tax liability. We have completed several financings since our inception which may have resulted in a change in control as defined by Section 382, or could result in a change in control in the future.

 

Risks Relating to Securities Markets and Investment in Our Stock

 

Anti-takeover provisions under our charter documents and Delaware law could delay or prevent a change of control which could negatively impact the market price of our common stock.

 

Provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control. These provisions include the following:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In addition, we are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which may prohibit certain business combinations with stockholders owning 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock. These and other provisions in our certificate of incorporation and our bylaws and in the Delaware General Corporation Law could make it more difficult for stockholders or potential acquirers to obtain control of our board of directors or initiate actions that are opposed by the then-current board of directors.

 

If we identify a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting, it could have an adverse effect on our business and financial results and our ability to meet our reporting obligations could be negatively affected, each of which could negatively affect the trading price of our common stock.

 

A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. Accordingly, a material weakness increases the risk that the financial information we report contains material errors.

 

We regularly review and update our internal controls, disclosure controls and procedures, and corporate governance policies. In addition, we are required under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to report annually on our internal control over financial reporting. Our system of internal controls, however well-designed and operated, is based in part on certain assumptions and includes elements that rely on information from third parties, including our partners. Our system can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurances that the objectives of the system are met. If we, or our independent registered public accounting firm, determine that our internal controls over financial reporting are not effective, or we discover areas that need improvement in the future, these shortcomings could have an adverse effect on our business and financial results, and the price of our common stock could be negatively affected.

 

Further, we are dependent on our partners for information related to our results of operations. Our net profit or net loss generated from the sales of LINZESS in the U.S. is partially determined based on amounts provided by Allergan and involves the use of estimates and judgments, which could be modified in the future. We are highly dependent on our linaclotide partners for timely and accurate information regarding any revenues realized from sales of linaclotide in their respective territories, and in the case of Allergan for the U.S. and AstraZeneca for China, Hong Kong and Macau, the costs incurred in developing and commercializing it in order to accurately report our results of operations. Our results of operations are also dependent on the timeliness and accuracy of information from any other licensing, collaboration or other partners we may have, as well as our and our partners’ use of estimates and judgments. If we do not receive timely and accurate information or if estimated activity levels associated with the relevant collaboration or partnership at a given point in time are incorrect, whether the result of a material weakness or not, we could be required to record adjustments in future periods. Such adjustments, if significant, could have an adverse effect on our financial results, which could lead to a decline in our common stock price.

 

If we cannot conclude that we have effective internal control over our financial reporting, or if our independent registered public accounting firm is unable to provide an unqualified opinion regarding the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, investors could lose confidence in the reliability of our financial statements, which could lead to a decline in our stock price. Failure to comply with reporting requirements could also subject us to sanctions and/or investigations by the SEC, The NASDAQ Stock Market or other regulatory authorities.

 

We expect that the price of our common stock will fluctuate substantially.

 

The market price of our common stock may be highly volatile due to many factors, including:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The realization of any of the risks described in these “Risk Factors” could have a dramatic and material adverse impact on the market price of our common stock. In addition, class action litigation has often been instituted against companies whose securities have experienced periods of volatility. Any such litigation brought against us could result in substantial costs and a diversion of management attention, which could hurt our business, operating results and financial condition.

 

Item 1B.    Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

Item 2.    Properties

Our corporate headquarters and operations are located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where, as of December 31, 2018, we occupied approximately 223,000 square feet of office and laboratory space under our lease expiring in January 2025. We believe that our facilities are suitable and adequate for our needs for the foreseeable future.

 

Item 3. Legal Proceedings 

 

Actions in which we are the Plaintiff

 

LINZESS

 

We and Allergan have received Paragraph IV certification notice letters, or Notice Letters, regarding Abbreviated New Drug Applications, or ANDAs, submitted to the FDA by generic drug manufacturers requesting approval to engage in commercial manufacture, use, sale and offer for sale of (i) 145 mcg and 290 mcg linaclotide capsules, or the Potential Generic Products, and/or (ii) 72 mcg linaclotide capsules, or the Potential 72mcg Generic Products, each proposed generic versions of our FDA-approved drug LINZESS.

 

In October 2016, we received a Notice Letter relating to an ANDA that was submitted to the FDA by Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., or Teva. Teva’s Notice Letter contends that United States patents for LINZESS (U.S. Patent Nos. 7,371,727, 7,704,947, 7,745,409, 8,080,526, and 8,110,553 (expiring 2024); 7,304,036 (expiring 2026); and 8,748,573, 8,802,628, and 8,933,030 (expiring 2031), or the Challenged Patents) listed in the FDA’s list of Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations, commonly referred to as the Orange Book, are invalid, unenforceable and/or would not be infringed by Teva’s manufacture, use, sale or offer for sale of the Potential Generic Products.  In September 2017, we received a second Notice Letter relating to the ANDA submitted to the FDA by Teva contending that U.S. Patent No. 9,708,371 (expiring 2033) listed in the Orange Book is invalid and/or would not be infringed by Teva’s manufacture, use, sale or offer for sale of the Potential Generic Products.  In December 2017, we received a Notice Letter relating to an ANDA that was submitted to the FDA by Teva, contending that U.S. Patent Nos. 7,371,727, 7,704,947, 7,745,409, 8,080,526, and 8,110,553; 7,304,036; 8,933,030; and 9,708,371, or the 72mcg Challenged Patents, are invalid, unenforceable and/or would not be infringed by Teva’s manufacture, use, sale or offer for sale of the Potential 72 mcg Generic Product. 

 

In November 2016, we received a Notice Letter relating to an ANDA that was submitted to the FDA by Sandoz Inc., or Sandoz, contending that all of the Challenged Patents are invalid, unenforceable and/or would not be infringed by Sandoz’s manufacture, use, sale or offer for sale of the Potential Generic Products.  In January 2018, we received a second Notice Letter relating to the ANDA submitted to the FDA by Sandoz contending that U.S. Patent No. 9,708,371 is invalid and/or would not be infringed by Sandoz’s manufacture, use, sale or offer for sale of the Potential Generic Products. 

 

In November 2016, we received a Notice Letter relating to an ANDA that was submitted to the FDA by Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc., or Mylan, contending that all of the Challenged Patents are invalid, unenforceable and/or would not be infringed by Mylan’s manufacture, use, sale or offer for sale of the Potential Generic Products.  In October 2017,

we received a second Notice Letter relating to the ANDA submitted to the FDA by Mylan contending that U.S. Patent No. 9,708,371 is invalid and/or would not be infringed by Mylan’s manufacture, use, sale or offer for sale of the Potential Generic Products. In February 2018, we received a Notice Letter relating to an ANDA that was submitted to the FDA by Mylan, contending that the 72mcg Challenged Patents, are invalid, unenforceable and/or would not be infringed by Mylan’s manufacture, use, sale or offer for sale of the Potential 72 mcg Generic Product. 

 

In response to the ANDAs for which we received Notice Letters in 2016, we and Allergan filed a lawsuit against the generic drug manufacturers in Delaware District Court in November 2016.  We asserted that the Challenged Patents are valid and infringed by Teva, Sandoz and Mylan.  In accordance with the Hatch-Waxman Act, the timely filing of the lawsuits against the ANDA filers with respect to the Challenged Patents triggered an automatic stay of the FDA’s approval of the ANDAs until February 29, 2020 (unless there is a final court decision adverse to us and Allergan sooner).  In October 2017, November 2017, and January 2018, we and Allergan filed lawsuits against Teva, Mylan, and Sandoz, respectively, each in Delaware District Court, related to each of their respective second Notice Letters.  We asserted that U.S. Patent No. 9,708,371 is valid and infringed by each of Teva, Mylan and Sandoz.  The lawsuits filed in October 2017, November 2017, and January 2018 against Teva, Mylan and Sandoz, respectively, have been consolidated with the lawsuit filed in November 2016.

 

Mylan responded to our lawsuit in December 2016, asserting defenses of, among other things, lack of subject matter and personal jurisdiction and improper venue.  In January 2017, each of Teva and Sandoz filed an answer and counterclaims seeking declaratory judgment of invalidity and non-infringement of the Challenged Patents.  On July 13, 2017, Mylan filed a motion to dismiss for improper venue.  In November 2017, Teva filed an answer and counterclaims seeking declaratory judgment of invalidity and non-infringement of U.S. Patent No. 9,708,371.  In December 2017, Mylan filed an answer to the lawsuit that we and Allergan filed in November 2017. In February 2018, Sandoz filed an answer and counterclaims seeking declaratory judgment of invalidity and non-infringement of U.S. Patent No. 9,708,371.  In February 2018 and March 2018, we and Allergan filed lawsuits against Teva and Mylan, respectively, each in Delaware District Court asserting that the 72mcg Challenged Patents are valid and infringed by Teva and Mylan. In August 2018, we and Allergan filed an amended complaint against Mylan asserting that U.S. Patent No. 8,802,628 is valid and infringed by Mylan’s manufacture, use, sale or offer for sale of the Potential 72 mcg Generic Product. These lawsuits were consolidated with the lawsuit filed in November 2016.    

 

In May 2018 and August 2018, we, Allergan, Teva and Sandoz stipulated to dismiss without prejudice all claims, counterclaims and defenses with respect to U.S. Patent Nos. 9,708,371 and 8,933,030, respectively.  In August 2018, we, Allergan and Mylan stipulated to dismiss without prejudice all claims, counterclaims and defenses with respect to U.S. Patent Nos. 8,933,030 and 9,708,371.    

 

In December 2018, we, Allergan and Mylan stipulated to transfer Mylan’s case to the Northern District of West Virginia. Subsequently, we and Allergan entered into a settlement agreement with Mylan, which is believed to be a first applicant with respect to certain dosage strengths (145 mcg and 290 mcg). Pursuant to the terms of the settlement, we and Allergan will grant Mylan a license to market a generic version of LINZESS 145 mcg and 290 mcg in the United States beginning on February 5, 2030, and a generic version of LINZESS 72 mcg in the United States beginning on August 5, 2030 (both subject to FDA approval), unless certain limited circumstances, customary for settlement agreements of this nature, occur. As a result of the settlement, all Hatch-Waxman litigation between us, Allergan and Mylan regarding LINZESS patents, including Mylan’s motion to dismiss for improper venue, has been dismissed. 

 

We and Allergan previously entered into settlement agreements with Sun Pharma Global FZE and Aurobindo Pharma Ltd. and an affiliate of Aurobindo. 

 

Trial is scheduled in June 2019 for the action involving Teva and Sandoz.

 

 

Item 4.    Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

PART II

Item 5.    Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Shares of our Class A common stock are traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “IRWD.” Our shares have been publicly traded since February 3, 2010. The following table furnishes the high and low sales prices for our Class A common stock as reported by The Nasdaq Global Select Market for each quarter in the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017:

As of February 12, 2019, there were 92 stockholders of record of our Class A common stock. The number of record holders is based upon the actual number of holders registered on the books of the company at such date and does not include holders of shares in “street names” or persons, partnerships, associations, corporations or other entities identified in security position listings maintained by depositories.

Subject to preferences that may apply to any shares of preferred stock outstanding at the time, the holders of Class A common stock are entitled to share equally in any dividends that our board of directors may determine to issue from time to time. In the event a dividend is paid in the form of shares of common stock or rights to acquire shares of common stock, the holders of Class A common stock will receive Class A common stock, or rights to acquire Class A common stock, as the case may be.

We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our capital stock, and we do not currently anticipate declaring or paying cash dividends on our capital stock in the foreseeable future. We currently intend to retain all of our future earnings, if any, to finance operations. Any future determination relating to our dividend policy will be made at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on a number of factors, including future earnings, capital requirements, financial conditions, future prospects, contractual restrictions and covenants and other factors that our board of directors may deem relevant.

The information required to be disclosed by Item 201(d) of Regulation S‑K, “Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans,” is referenced under Item 12 of Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10‑K.

Corporate Performance Graph

The following performance graph and related information shall not be deemed to be “soliciting material” or to be “filed” with the SEC, nor shall such information be incorporated by reference into any future filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, except to the extent that we specifically incorporate it by reference into such filing.

The following graph compares the performance of our Class A common stock to the Nasdaq Benchmark TR Index (U.S.) and to the Nasdaq Pharmaceutical Benchmark TR Index (U.S.) from December 31, 2013 through December 31, 2018. The comparison assumes $100 was invested after the market closed on December 31, 2013 in our Class A common stock and in each of the presented indices, and it assumes reinvestment of dividends, if any.

COMPARISON OF QUARTERLY CUMULATIVE TOTAL RETURN

Among The Nasdaq Benchmark TR Index (U.S.),

the Nasdaq Pharmaceutical Benchmark TR Index (U.S.)

and Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

Item 6.    Selected Financial Data

You should read the following selected financial data together with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10‑K. We have derived the consolidated statements of operations data for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016 and the consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2018 and 2017 from our audited financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10‑K. We have derived the consolidated statements of operations data for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 and the consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2016, 2015, and 2014 from our audited financial statements not included in this Annual Report on Form 10‑K. Our historical results for any prior period are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected in any future period.

 

Collaborative arrangements revenue for the year ended December 31, 2017 included approximately $256.2 million related to our share of sales of LINZESS in the U.S.

 

Collaborative arrangements revenue for the year ended December 31, 2016 included approximately $217.7 million related to our share of sales of LINZESS in the U.S. and $30.0 million related to the receipt of milestone payments

under our license agreement with Astellas for the filing and approval of a new drug application for LINZESS with the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

 

Collaborative arrangements revenue for the year ended December 31, 2014 includes approximately $10.2 million related to the receipt of a milestone payment under our license agreement with Astellas for the enrollment of the first study subject in a Phase III study for linaclotide in Japan, which was achieved in November 2014, and also includes approximately $1.9 million in payments from Almirall related to the achievement of two commercial milestones under the license agreement with Almirall.

Cost of revenues for the year ended December 31, 2017 included approximately $2.6 million related to ZURAMPIC and DUZALLO product sales.

During the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, we wrote down approximately $0.3 million and approximately $0.4 million, respectively, of prepaid ZURAMPIC commercial supply primarily as a result of revised demand forecasts.

During the year ended December 31, 2015, we recorded expenses of approximately $17.6 million for the write‑down of inventory and an accrual for excess non‑cancelable inventory purchase commitments related to linaclotide API. These charges primarily related to a reduction in the near term demand forecast for CONSTELLA in the European territory by Almirall, our former European partner; regulatory changes made by the China Food and Drug Administration to the marketing approval process in China; and the amendment to the license agreement with Allergan pertaining to the development and commercialization of linaclotide for Europe executed in October 2015. Pursuant to the terms of the amendment, Allergan assumed responsibility for the manufacturing of linaclotide API for Europe, as well as the associated costs, which resulted in accruing for a loss on non‑cancelable inventory purchase commitments under one of our API supply agreements covering the commercial supply of linaclotide API for the European market.

During the year ended December 31, 2014, we recorded approximately $20.3 million as a write‑down of inventory to an estimated net realizable value of approximately $5.0 million. This write‑down was primarily attributable to Almirall’s reduced inventory demand forecasts for the European territory, mainly due to the suspension of commercialization of CONSTELLA in Germany and a challenging commercial environment throughout Europe.

These charges are more fully described in Note 8, Inventory, to our consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10‑K.

During the year ended December 31, 2018, we decreased our projected revenue assumptions associated with the sales of ZURAMPIC and DUZALLO due to the notice of termination of the Lesinurad License. As a result, a gain on fair value remeasurement of contingent consideration of approximately $31.0 million was recorded during the year ended December 31, 2018.

During the year ended December 31, 2017, we decreased our ZURAMPIC and DUZALLO revenue projections. Accordingly, the expected estimated future royalty and milestone payments to AstraZeneca decreased, resulting in an approximately $31.3 million decrease to the contingent consideration liability.