Jaguar Health Pursuing Contracting Opportunities with Insurers to Improve Patient Access for Company’s Non-opioid Plant-Based Mytesi Drug Product

A component of Napo’s new market access program intended to help remove access barriers for people living with HIV to start and stay on Mytesi^®

SAN FRANCISCO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / May 20, 2020 / Jaguar Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:JAGX) today announced that the company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Napo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Napo”) is launching a program to educate insurance companies about the benefits of Napo’s plant-based Mytesi (crofelemer) prescription drug and negotiate better access to Mytesi for commercially insured patients.

A non-opiate antidiarrheal indicated for the symptomatic relief of noninfectious diarrhea in adult patients with HIV/AIDS on antiretroviral therapy, Mytesi is the first and only natural, oral drug approved under U.S. Food and Drug Administration Botanical Guidance. Crofelemer, the active ingredient in Mytesi, is a non-opioid botanical (plant-based), drug extracted and purified from the red bark sap of the medicinal Croton lechleri tree in the Amazon Rainforest.

“We’re excited to roll out this key component of our enhanced Mytesi market access strategy for the first time and begin engaging select payors in contracting discussions with the objective of removing barriers for patients in order to allow them to more easily start on – and stay on – Mytesi,” stated Ian Wendt, Jaguar’s vice president of commercial strategy. “We believe this initiative represents an untapped commercial opportunity to employ a strategic mechanism that is well-established in the U.S. pharmaceutical industry to help patients access Mytesi.”

As previously announced, Napo expanded the NapoCares Patient Support Program for Mytesi last month as part of the company’s enhanced market access strategy. The expansion meaningfully increased co-pay support for commercially insured patients, which includes allowing the co-pay amount to remain the same whether a patient fills a 30-day or a 90-day prescription of Mytesi. The expansion also increased the income ceiling from two times the Federal poverty limit to five times the Federal poverty limit, which will allow more low-income patients to receive Mytesi at no cost. The co-pay program and patient assistance program are components of a comprehensive suite of patient support services Napo is rolling out in the current quarter with the support of AssistRx, a patient hub services provider.

About Jaguar Health, Inc.

Jaguar Health, Inc. is a commercial stage pharmaceuticals company focused on developing novel, sustainably derived gastrointestinal products 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.

For more information about Jaguar, please visit jaguar.health. For more information about Napo, visit napopharma.com.

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%).

See full Prescribing Information 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.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release constitute “forward-looking statements.” These include statements regarding efforts to engage select payors in contracting discussions with the objective of removing Mytesi access barriers for patients. 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.

Contact:

Peter Hodge
Jaguar Health, Inc.
phodge@jaguar.health

SOURCE: Jaguar Health, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:
https://www.accesswire.com/590628/Jaguar-Health-Pursuing-Contracting-Opportunities-with-Insurers-to-Improve-Patient-Access-for-Companys-Non-opioid-Plant-Based-Mytesi-Drug-Product