New Reps Will Target Physicians and Gastroenterologists Who Treat
Large Numbers of HIV Patients
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep. 15, 2017--
Jaguar Health, Inc. (NASDAQ: JAGX) (Jaguar), a natural-products
pharmaceuticals company focused on developing and commercializing novel,
sustainably derived gastrointestinal products for both human
prescription use and animals on a global basis, announced today that its
wholly-owned subsidiary, Napo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Napo), has
significantly expanded the national salesforce for Mytesi®,
Napo’s FDA-approved human prescription drug product, through the recent
hire in key U.S. markets of six sales representatives experienced in the
sale of drugs to HIV physicians and gastroenterologists. Five of these
sales representatives will start work during the next three weeks, and
one is already active in the field.
Napo’s new sales representatives are based in and will cover New York,
Miami, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Houston, San Francisco and the surrounding
regions. A dedicated Mytesi® salesperson has been based in
the St. Louis/Chicago area since this past March. All of these regions
are key markets for HIV-related drug sales.
“We’re very pleased to have hired a team of top-notch sales personnel to
represent Mytesi® in these highly important markets,” Pete
Riojas, Napo’s national sales director for Mytesi®, stated.
“Three of our new territory managers have been calling on HIV physicians
for 18 to 19 years, and others possess extensive experience in drug
sales to both HIV healthcare providers and gastroenterologists. The
results of a recent Napo-sponsored survey of 271 U.S. board certified
gastroenterologists indicate that the number one GI complaint for people
living with HIV/AIDS is diarrhea, and 93 percent of U.S.
gastroenterologists see patients with HIV/AIDS in their practice. The
goal of our team is to deliver a frequent and consistent selling message
to targeted, high-volume prescribers of antiretroviral therapies and to
those gastroenterologists who see large numbers of HIV patients.”
Napo’s new in-house sales team will replace the external, part-time
national Mytesi® salesforce Napo established as an outsourced
effort in February of this year. Mytesi® net sales to-date in
2017 total approximately $1.2 million.
Mytesi® is approved by the U.S. FDA for the symptomatic
relief of noninfectious diarrhea in adults with HIV/AIDS on
antiretroviral therapy. Jaguar and Napo are pursuing a follow-on
indication for Mytesi® in chemotherapy-induced diarrhea
(CID), an important supportive care indication for patients undergoing
primary or adjuvant chemotherapy for cancer treatment. Mytesi®
is also in development for rare disease indications for infants and
children with congenital diarrheal disorders and short bowel syndrome;
for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) (Mytesi® has demonstrated
benefit to IBS-D patients in published Phase 2 studies); for supportive
care for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD); and as a second-generation
anti-secretory agent for use in cholera patients. Mytesi® has
received orphan-drug designation for SBS.
"The medical need for a product like Mytesi®—which
offers a novel mechanism of action and has been demonstrated to be safe
and effective for its current, approved indication—is significant,
compelling, and unmet. Napo launched Mytesi® in early 2017
with one full-time-equivalent sales representative focused on targeting
HIV doctors who are high-volume prescribers of antiretroviral therapies.
With the equivalent of seven dedicated, full-time sales representatives
reporting to our newly hired national sales manager, supported by
concomitant marketing and promotional activities, as well as medical
education initiatives—such as the poster presentation Napo conducted at
the July 2017International Aids Society Conference on HIV Science in
Paris—we expect a proportional response in the number of patients
treated with Mytesi®,” Lisa Conte, Jaguar's president and
CEO, stated.
Mytesi® is currently covered by Medicaid in all 50 states. It
is also currently covered on 100% of the top 10 commercial insurance
plans, representing more than 245 million U.S. lives. Additionally, Napo
operates a co-pay coupon to ensure that no participating patients have a
Mytesi® co-pay greater than $25. Information about the
NapoCares Patient Assistance Program, which assists patients with
benefit verification, prior authorization, and claims appeals, can be
found at mytesi.com/mytesi-savings.html.
About Mytesi®
Mytesi® (crofelemer) is an antidiarrheal indicated for the
symptomatic relief of noninfectious diarrhea in adult patients with
HIV/AIDS on antiretroviral therapy (ART). Mytesi® is not
indicated for the treatment of infectious diarrhea. Rule out infectious
etiologies of diarrhea before starting Mytesi®. If infectious
etiologies are not considered, there is a risk that patients with
infectious etiologies will not receive the appropriate therapy and their
disease may worsen. In clinical studies, the most common adverse
reactions occurring at a rate greater than placebo were upper
respiratory tract infection (5.7%), bronchitis (3.9%), cough (3.5%),
flatulence (3.1%), and increased bilirubin (3.1%).
More information and complete Prescribing Information are available at Mytesi.com.
Crofelemer, the active ingredient in Mytesi®, is a botanical
(plant-based) drug extracted and purified from the red bark sap of the
medicinal Croton lechleri tree in the Amazon rainforest. Napo has
established a sustainable harvesting program for crofelemer to ensure a
high degree of quality and ecological integrity.
About Jaguar Health, Inc.
Jaguar Health, Inc. is a natural-products pharmaceuticals company
focused on developing and commercializing novel, sustainably derived
gastrointestinal products for both human prescription use and animals on
a global basis. Our wholly-owned subsidiary, Napo Pharmaceuticals, Inc.,
focuses on developing and commercializing proprietary human
gastrointestinal pharmaceuticals for the global marketplace from plants
used traditionally in rainforest areas. Our Mytesi®
(crofelemer) product is approved by the U.S. FDA for the symptomatic
relief of noninfectious diarrhea in adults with HIV/AIDS on
antiretroviral therapy. Mytesi® is in development for
multiple possible follow-on indications, including chemotherapy-induced
diarrhea; orphan-drug indications for infants and children with
congenital diarrheal disorders and short bowel syndrome; supportive care
for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD); irritable bowel syndrome (IBS);
and as a second-generation anti-secretory agent for use in cholera
patients. Canalevia™ is our lead animal prescription drug
candidate, intended for treatment of various forms of diarrhea in dogs.
Equilevia™ is Jaguar’s non-prescription product for total gut
health in equine athletes. Canalevia™ and Equilevia™
contain ingredients isolated and purified from the Croton lechleri
tree, which is sustainably harvested. Neonorm™ Calf and
Neonorm™ Foal are Jaguar’s lead non-prescription animal
products. Mytesi®, Canalevia™, Equilevia™
and Neonorm™ are distinct products that act at the same last
step in a physiological pathway generally present in mammals.
For more information about Jaguar, please visit jaguar.health.
For more information about Napo, visit napopharma.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release constitute “forward-looking
statements.” These include statements regarding the development of
potential Mytesi® follow-on indications, and the expectation
that Napo’s sales representatives, supported by the Company’s marketing,
promotional activities, and medical education initiatives, will generate
a proportional response in the number of patients treated with Mytesi®.
In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such
as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “aim,” “anticipate,”
“could,” “intend,” “target,” “project,” “contemplate,” “believe,”
“estimate,” “predict,” “potential” or “continue” or the negative of
these terms or other similar expressions. The forward-looking statements
in this release are only predictions. Jaguar has based these
forward-looking statements largely on its current expectations and
projections about future events. These forward-looking statements speak
only as of the date of this release and are subject to a number of
risks, uncertainties and assumptions, some of which cannot be predicted
or quantified and some of which are beyond Jaguar’s control. Except as
required by applicable law, Jaguar does not plan to publicly update or
revise any forward-looking statements contained herein, whether as a
result of any new information, future events, changed circumstances or
otherwise.
Jaguar-JAGX
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170915005429/en/
Source: Jaguar Health, Inc.
KCSA Strategic Communications
Garth Russell, 212-896-1250
grussell@kcsa.com
