Ironwood Pharmaceuticals - Top 20 Biotech VC Deals of 2009

Company: Ironwood Pharmaceuticals
Based: Cambridge, MA
Amount: $40 million

Investors: Polaris Venture Partners made the investment along with other undisclosed investors. 

Scoop: Ironwood has been in the news a lot lately with its highly anticipated $188 million IPO (reduced from around $270 million). Still, Ironwood has proven quite successful in raising money. In 2009, it received $40 million in equity investments from its collaboration partners, a company spokeswoman said.

The company has one drug candidate in Phase III clinical trials, linaclotide, a potential treatment for irritable bowel syndrome and other gastrointestinal maladies. Ironwood expects to have data from its IBS trials in the second half of 2010, according to a filing with the SEC. If those trials are successful, it hopes to file an NDA in the first half of 2011. Ironwood also has a Phase I pain-drug candidate and various preclinical programs.