In this podcast episode, Tom McCourt, chief executive officer of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, discusses the evolving relationship between physicians and pharma, breakthroughs in GI drugs and more. •    Intro :59 •    Welcome to this episode of Gut Talk 1:23 •    The interview/about McCourt 1:32 •    Tell us about your family and where you grew up. 2:15 •    What did you take away from your football career at University of Wisconsin? 4:19 •    How long were you a clinical pharmacist?  7:57 •    McCourt on his experience as a health science associate.  8:55 •    Where is the line between academics and the pharma industry? 10:49 •    When you launched drugs like omeprazole and esomeprazole, did you have any idea what impact they would have? 13:00 •    What changed to make the pharma industry go from respected to villainized? 16:39 •    What’s your perspective on innovation and billing architecture for pharmaceuticals? […] Where do you think we’re going to see the most exciting changes in the near-term? 19:33 •    Chey and McCourt on challenges the US health care system faces in comparison to other countries. 24:47 •    How can we make breakthrough drugs and technology available to everyone without stifling innovation? 27:05 •    Did patients valuing their quality-of-life factor into your decision to switch from AmGen to Ironwood Pharmaceuticals? 29:12 •    From a pharmaceutical perspective, do you think there are examples of successful health policy? 36:30 •    Thank you, Tom 42:13 •    Thanks for listening 43:20 Tom McCourt is the chief executive officer of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, a commercial biotechnology company working to revolutionize the treatment of gastrointestinal (GI) diseases and redefine the standard of care for millions of patients.  We’d love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to [email protected]. Follow us on X @HealioGastro @sameerkberry @umfoodoc. For more from McCourt, follow @ironwoodpharma on X. Disclosures: Berry and Chey report no relevant financial disclosures. McCourt is chief executive officer and a member of the board of directors of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals; serves on the board of directors and member of the compensation committee of Pliant Therapeutics, Inc., a public company, and on the board of trustees for the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE).