Sept. 29 Quick Takes: Ironwood reduces headcount following Phase III miss; plus Sandoz, Catalyst, Myovant, Orphazyme, Synklino, WHO, BridgeBio, Kurma, Junshi, Arcutis, Genfit-LabCorp and GSK

Ironwood to downsize after Phase III GERD failure
Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) said it plans to discontinue development of IW-3718 after the therapy missed the primary endpoint in a Phase III trial to treat refractory gastroesophageal reflux disease. The company plans cut nearly 35% of its workforce by the end of 1Q21. 

CAFC denies Sandoz’s appeal in biosimilar patent case
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit denied a petition from the Sandoz unit of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS; SIX:NOVN) to rehear en banc an appeal of litigation around two patents covering Enbrel etanercept from Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN). The decision maintains Amgen’s patent exclusivity for the drug; Sandoz has sought to launch its biosimilar Erelzi etanercept-szzs, which FDA approved in 2016...