Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Announces FDA Orphan Drug Designation for Olinciguat for the Treatment of Sickle Cell Disease

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: IRWD), a commercial biotech company, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Orphan Drug Designation to olinciguat (IW-1701) for the treatment of patients with sickle cell disease. Olinciguat is an orally administered soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) stimulator.

As quoted in the press release:

“There is an urgent need for new, innovative treatments for patients with sickle cell disease, a debilitating and potentially fatal inherited blood disorder that causes painful crises, organ damage and other serious complications,” said Christopher Wright, M.D., Ph.D., senior vice president of global development and chief development officer. “The orphan drug designation adds momentum to our clinical program investigating olinciguat, which has the potential to improve multiple aspects of sickle cell disease pathophysiology. The designation is also an important milestone in Ironwood’s evolution as we advance our pipeline of sGC stimulators focused on the treatment of serious and orphan diseases.”

Click here to read the full press release.