VC-backed GI Start-Ups See Opportunity In IBS

Call it the linaclotide bump. Private companies developing drugs for gastrointestinal disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) hope to take advantage of a resurging interest in the space after linaclotide developer Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Inc. has shown its novel, locally acting guanylate cyclise type-C agonist is efficacious in four Phase III trials. “With Ironwood’s success I think there will be a resurgence of early programs in the space, which will hopefully lead to additional novel drugs,” says Bryan Roberts, PhD, a partner with the venture firm Venrock and chairman of Ironwood’s board. (See “Ironwood Pharmaceuticals: Independent For the Long Haul,” IN VIVO, September 2010 Also see "Ironwood Pharmaceuticals: Independent for the Long Haul" - In Vivo, 1 September, 2010..)

Drugs aimed at IBS, a broad label that can apply to patients with both constipation-predominant and diarrhea-predominant forms, have long...