Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a drug manufacturer that develops and markets medicines of different types. One of its main products, Linaclotide, is drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and marketed since December 2012. In February 2014, the company was approved allowance by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to apply a patent on Linzess and will be protect through 2031. The company is publicly listed on NASDAQ with the symbol "IRWD".

In 2008, Microbia, Inc. changed its name to Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

This principal product of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals was approved by the US FDA in August 2012, and reached the US market in December 2012. The drug is focused on treating irritable bowel syndrome and related symptoms, which according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) affects around 20% of Americans. Linaclotide is estimated to reach blockbuster status in around the year 2021, based on the forecast of market research firm Decision Resources.

The company is also doing research on treatment for painful disorders of the small intestine, and has an early-stage product called IW-9179. The drug has just passed Phase 2a study in 2013, and showed effects in treating Functional Dyspepsia (FD).

BNC210 is an anxiolytic that Ironwood licensed and performed R&D on. It was abandoned November 2014.

In February 2014, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals was issued allowance by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to apply a patent on Linzess and will be protect through 2031. The patented method aims at achieving stable condition of the drug at room temperature and can dissolve in stomach with capsule and suitable for oral dosing. This is another step forward in research and experiments based on Linaclotide usage.