Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: IRWD), a GI-focused healthcare company, today announced the appointment of John Minardo as senior vice president, chief legal officer. Mr. Minardo will become a member of Ironwood’s Leadership Team and oversee the company’s Corporate Legal, Compliance and IP teams. He will report to Thomas McCourt, chief executive officer of Ironwood.

Mr. McCourt commented, “John’s deep legal experience and proven track record, in particular his experience at highly focused healthcare companies, arm him with invaluable expertise that will strongly benefit Ironwood by helping accelerate our business priorities and reinforce our efforts to make a difference for people living with GI diseases.”

Mr. Minardo brings 20 years of legal experience within the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries to Ironwood. His experience spans complex business transactions, regulatory matters, integrity and compliance, privacy, risk management, corporate governance, litigation, intellectual property, employment, anti-trust and marketing activities. Before joining Ironwood, Mr. Minardo was with Seqirus, where he was vice president, general counsel and member of the Seqirus executive leadership team. Prior to Seqirus, he was vice president, general counsel & chief compliance officer at Novartis Influenza Vaccines. Prior to this, he was head of legal for the North American business unit of Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics. Mr. Minardo started his legal career as a litigator at Kaye Scholer LLP in New York City. Mr. Minardo received his J.D. from Brooklyn Law School and B.A. in Political Science from Boston College where he graduated magna cum laude.

“Ironwood is a leader in the GI space and is poised for further growth, making this an exciting time for me to join this passionate team,” said Mr. Minardo. “I am eager to roll up my sleeves and help drive patient-focused decisions that will advance the company’s goals.”

About Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: IRWD) is a leading gastrointestinal (GI) healthcare company on a mission to advance the treatment of GI diseases and redefine the standard of care for GI patients. We are pioneers in the development of LINZESS® (linaclotide), the U.S. branded prescription market leader for adults with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) or chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC). Under the guidance of our seasoned industry leaders, we continue to build upon our history of GI innovation and challenge what has been done before to shape what the future holds. We keep patients at the heart of our R&D and commercialization efforts to reduce the burden of GI diseases and address significant unmet needs.

Founded in 1998, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

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Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, including statements about Ironwood's leadership team, the expected benefits from Minardo’s appointment as senior vice president, chief legal officer, and its potential impacts on the company and its business, growth, business strategy and goals. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and Ironwood undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements. Each forward-looking statement is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such a statement. Applicable risks and uncertainties include those related to the effectiveness of development and commercialization efforts by us and our partners; preclinical and clinical development, manufacturing and formulation development of linaclotide; the risk that clinical programs and studies may not progress or develop as anticipated, including that studies are delayed or discontinued for any reason, such as safety, tolerability, enrollment, manufacturing, economic or other reasons, including due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic; the risk that findings from our completed nonclinical and clinical studies may not be replicated in later studies; the risk that we or our partners are unable to obtain, maintain or manufacture sufficient LINZESS or our product candidates, or otherwise experience difficulties with respect to supply or manufacturing; the efficacy, safety and tolerability of linaclotide and our product candidates; the risk that the therapeutic opportunities for LINZESS or our product candidates are not as we expect; decisions by regulatory and judicial authorities; the risk we may never get additional patent protection for linaclotide and other product candidates; the risk that we may never get sufficient patent protection for linaclotide and other product candidates, that patents for linaclotide or other products may not provide adequate protection from competition, or that we are not able to successfully protect such patents; outcomes in legal proceedings to protect or enforce the patents relating to our products and product candidates, including abbreviated new drug application litigation; developments in the intellectual property landscape; challenges from and rights of competitors or potential competitors; the risk that our planned investments do not have the anticipated effect on our company revenues; the risk that we are unable to manage our expenses or cash use, or are unable to commercialize our products as expected; and the risks listed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in Ironwood's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, and in our subsequent SEC filings. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated containment efforts have had a serious adverse impact on the economy, the severity and duration of which are uncertain. Government stabilization efforts will only partially mitigate the consequences. The extent and duration of the impact on our business and operations is highly uncertain. Factors that will influence the impact on our business, operations and financial results include the duration and extent of the pandemic, the extent of imposed or recommended containment and mitigation measures, and the general economic consequences of the pandemic. The pandemic could have a material adverse impact on our business, operations and financial results for an extended period of time.

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