Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced the composition of the Ironwood and Cyclerion Therapeutics, Inc. boards of directors, in connection with the previously announced planned business separation which is on track to be completed in the first half of 2019. The directors were selected after a comprehensive global search for candidates who comprise the professional qualifications as they relate to the specific needs of the two new companies, and who can effectively represent shareholders' interests. The new Ironwood board of directors will continue to be comprised of 9 members.

Julie McHugh will serve as chair. The board is expected to include the following directors who currently serve on the Ironwood board: Julie McHugh, Chair. Ms. McHugh brings 28 years of senior leadership experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, including as chief operating officer of Endo Health Solutions, chief executive officer of Nora Therapeutics, group chairman of Johnson & Johnson's world virology business unit, and president of Centocor.

While at Johnson & Johnson, Ms. McHugh oversaw the development and launches of multiple products including Remicade® (infliximab), Prezista® (darunavir) and Intelence® (etravirine). She also led the marketing communications for Prilosec® (omeprazole) at Astra-Merck. In addition to serving on the Ironwood board since 2014, Ms. McHugh's public company board membership includes Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Lantheus Holdings and Trevena.

Andrew Dreyfus: As president and chief executive officer of Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) of Massachusetts, not-for-profit BCBS plans in the country, Mr. Dreyfus brings expertise in the evolving healthcare payor landscape and its reimbursement practices as well as broad management and executive leadership experience. In addition to serving in a variety of senior roles at BCBS of Massachusetts, Mr. Dreyfus also previously served as executive vice president of the Massachusetts Hospital Association and held a number of senior positions in Massachusetts state government, including undersecretary of consumer affairs and business regulation. Mr. Dreyfus has served on the Ironwood board since 2016.

Lawrence Olanoff, M.D., Ph.D: Dr. Olanoff brings detailed knowledge of the pharmaceuticals industry, including broad operational and R&D experience, having served in a variety of senior executive roles at Forest Laboratories including chief operating officer and chief scientific officer, as well as president and chief executive officer of Celsion Corporation and senior vice president of clinical research and development at Sandoz Pharmaceutical Corporation. In addition, he is currently an adjunct assistant professor and special advisor to the president for corporate relations at the Medical University of South Carolina. Dr. Olanoff has served on the Ironwood board since 2015.

Edward Owens: Mr. Owens brings 38 years of experience in evaluating and investing in life sciences companies, having served as the partner, portfolio manager and global industry analyst at Wellington Management Company LLP. Mr. Owens was the portfolio manager of the Vanguard Health Care Fund for 28 years from its inception in 1984 until his retirement from Wellington in 2012. During his tenure, the Vanguard Health Care Fund was the best performing mutual fund among all mutual funds and was the large mutual fund in the global health/biotech category.

In addition to serving on the Ironwood board since 2013, Mr. Owens board membership includes Stealth BioTherapeutics. Newly appointed directors are expected to include: Mark Mallon: Mr. Mallon is the incoming chief executive officer of Ironwood upon completion of the planned separation and brings with him a strong track record of success building creative, brands and businesses in the U.S. and globally, in addition to his deep knowledge of the gastrointestinal category. Mr. Mallon joins Ironwood following 24-years at AstraZenenca, where he was most recently executive vice president of Global Product and Portfolio Strategy.

Mark Currie, Ph.D: Dr. Currie brings nearly 30 years of experience and R&D expertise across many disease areas including GI, having pioneered the discovery and development of LINZESS as well as the discovery and development of Ironwood's leading GI development candidates, IW-3718 and MD-7246. He is currently senior vice president, chief scientific officer and president of R&D at Ironwood and incoming president of Cyclerion upon completion of the planned separation. Prior to Ironwood, Mark was vice president of discovery research at Sepracor.

He also initiated, built and led discovery pharmacology and served as director of arthritis and inflammation at Monsanto Company, leading an effort that resulted in marketed Cox-2 inhibitors such as CELEBREX® (celecoxib) for the treatment of pain in humans and animals. Jon Duane: Mr. Duane brings over 30 years of experience at McKinsey, currently serving as Senior Partner Emeritus. Before retiring from McKinsey in 2017, he advised some of the large pharmaceutical companies on strategy and was a key advisor for some of the large M&A transactions in the industry.

Mr. Duane founded and led the firm's biotechnology practice, advising companies and academic research centers across the life science and medical device industries, including corporate and product line strategy development, M&A transactions, pricing and reimbursement, organizational design and operational improvement. Jon serves as the executive chairman of Nashville Biosciences, a clinical genomics analytics company. Marla Kessler: Ms. Kessler brings over 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry, most recently leading strategy, marketing and communications as senior vice president of IQVIA (formerly IMS Health and Quintiles).

Previously, Ms. Kessler served in various roles of increasing responsibility at IMS Health, including as vice president for real world evidence marketing and European lead for IMS Consulting Group, and held marketing, public affairs and consulting roles at Pfizer Inc. and McKinsey & Company. Catherine Moukheibir: Ms. Moukheibir brings 30 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry and in international finance, serving as chief financial officer for Movetis N.V. from 2008 until its acquisition by Shire Plc in 2010. She is also the former senior advisor for finance and member of the executive board at Innate Pharma.

Ms. Moukheibir's current company board membership includes MedDay Pharmaceuticals, Orphazyme A/S, GenKyoTex, and Zealand Pharma A/S. The remaining current Ironwood directors – Marsha Fanucci, Peter Hecht, Terrance McGuire, Amy Schulman, and Douglas Williams – are expected to transition off of the Ironwood board in connection with the planned separation.