By 2004 the company had raised $99M and was preparing a Phase I trial for linaclotide.[1] By 2006 Microbia was starting to struggle with the different challenges and expenses of drug development, along with its industrial fermentation business and drug discovery efforts, and made the decision to split in two, with "Microbia Precision Engineering" focused on industrial applications led by Bailey and Microbia focused on drug discovery and development.[2]Tate & Lyle invested $7M in the Microbia spinout and took a board seat in 2006.[2] Microbia changed its name to Ironwood in 2008 and shortened the name of the industrial business to Microbia.[7]
By 2009, Ironwood had raised a total of $281M.[2] In early 2010 Ironwood held its IPO, which priced at $11.25 a share, below the target price of $14.[8] Later that year it sold its interests in Microbia to DSM for an undisclosed sum.[9]
It was developing a drug called IW-9179 or recanaclotide but abandoned it in 2016.[16]
BNC210 is an anxiolytic that Ironwood licensed and performed R&D on and then abandoned.[17]
In April 2018, the shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals closed up more than 10 percent on the news of biotech activist investor, Alex Denner joining its board.[18]