Ironwood Pharmaceuticals appoints chief development officer

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has appointed Dr Christopher Wright as its new senior vice president of global development and chief development officer in a role that will see him lead Ironwood’s regulatory, clinical and medical functions and focus on driving the development of its later-stage pipeline candidates.

Mark Currie, chief scientific officer and president of research and development for Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, said: “At this exciting and transformational time for Ironwood, Chris’s collaborative leadership style, dedication to patients and track record of translating science into important therapies for patients will help Ironwood scale our capabilities and enhance the speed, quality functional integration and innovative means by which we advance our medicines to patients”

Prior to joining Ironwood, Wright served in several senior roles such as senior VP and chief medical officer for Axcella Health and senior VP and head of global medicine development and affairs for Vertex Pharmaceuticals.

He said: “With multiple medicines on the market and a rich pipeline advancing through later-stage development, this is an exciting time to join the company, and I look forward to adding my perspective as a physician and scientist to the important work this incredibly talented group of professionals is undertaking.”