Jaguar Health, Inc. announced that Hong Kong'sInt intellectual Property Department has issued a new patent to Jaguar family company Napo Pharmaceuticals for methods for treating short bowel syndrome (SBS), bile acid diarrhea, and diarrhea associated with small intestine resection or gallbladder removal, in patients with an inhibitor of chloride-ion transport such as crofelemer, Jaguar's novel plant-based prescription drug. Some SBS patients are subject to intestinal failure, often requiring parenteral nutrition (PN) from a few days up to 7 days a week. Intestinal failure is associated with significant morbidity and mortality; and high medical expenses associated with PN.
SBS patients with intestinal failure also have severe chronic diarrhea, and the associated sequelae from diarrhea, including significant dehydration, metabolic acidosis or alkalosis and malnutrition, and other secondary symptoms, and these symptoms emerge either early or late, and many times become life-threatening. MVID, an ultrarare CDD, is a severe infantile disease characterized by diarrhea, malabsorption, and acid/base instability, requiring intensive parenteral support for nutritional and fluid management, and there are currently no approved drug treatments. As with all potential follow-on indications, Jaguar and Napo prioritize IP protection.
Napo prioritize IP protection.ap currently holds approximately 172 patents and approximately 61 patents pending. To date, crofelemer is the only oral plant-based prescription medicine approved under the FDA's Botanical Guidance, which provides an important additional exclusivity advantage due to the inherent practicalities limiting the pathway by which a generic version of the drug could be produced.
