Jaguar Health Announces Appointment of Martire Particco, MD, as Chief Medical Officer of Napo Therapeutics

Napo Therapeutics is focused on expanding crofelemer access in Europe for treatment of patients suffering from rare diseases – beginning with short bowel syndrome (SBS)

For SBS, Napo Therapeutics has been granted Orphan-Drug Designation for crofelemer by the European Medicines Agency, and Jaguar Health has been granted Orphan-Drug Designation for crofelemer by the FDA

SAN FRANCISCO, CA and MILAN, ITALY / ACCESSWIRE / January 24, 2022 / Jaguar Health (NASDAQ:JAGX) and Napo Therapeutics S.p.A., an Italian corporation established by Jaguar Health in Italy, today announced the appointment of Martire Particco, MD, a physician with 30+ years of experience in Europe’s pharmaceutical industry and in clinical practice, as Chief Medical Officer of Napo Therapeutics. Dr. Particco possesses in-depth experience in the field of rare diseases, having been involved in the clinical development and launch of Pfizer’s pulmonary hypertension indication for sildenafil and the clinical development of Kedrion Biopharma’s ligneous conjunctivitis indication for plasminogen, with direct experience with patients and experts treating these rare pathologies.

“We are thrilled to have Dr. Particco join our team in this key leadership role in Milan,” said Massimo Mineo, General Manager of Napo Therapeutics. “Dr. Particco brings a wealth of experience in drug development, the management of clinical trials in and outside of Europe, and the development and execution of successful pre-launch and launch plans for drug products for rare diseases – which will support our core focus on providing access to crofelemer in Europe for our two initial and significant rare/orphan disease target indications: short bowel syndrome with intestinal failure (SBS-IF), and congenital diarrheal disorders (CDD).”

From 2016 to 2021, Dr. Particco served as Vice President, Head of Medical Affairs for Europe for Shionogi Europe, the subsidiary of a leading Japanese pharmaceutical company with global sales of €2.5 billion. Prior to this role, Dr. Particco was Shionogi Europe’s Country Medical Director for Italy, and in 2013 he served as the Country Medical Director for Italy for UCB Italy, a leading European biopharmaceutical company with global sales of €4.6 billion. He also previously served as Director of Global Pharmacovigilance, Medical & Clinical Affairs at Italian firm Kedrion Biopharma, and as the Country Medical Director for Italy for Warner Chilcott, the Italian affiliate of a US pharmaceutical company that is now part of Abbvie. Dr. Particco was with Pfizer/Wyeth from 1999-2010, in the role of Senior Medical Advisor for Biotechnology from 2007-2010, and previously as both a Medical Advisor and a Training Specialist at Pfizer. From 1990-1999, Dr. Particco worked as an obstetrician-gynecologist in Rome, both in private practice and in public health. He received his degree in Medicine and Surgery and his degree in the Specialization in Gynecology and Obstetrics from the Sapienza University of Rome.

“I am very excited about the opportunity to lead Napo Therapeutics clinical programs intended to support marketing authorization in Europe for a first-in-class plant-based medicine like crofelemer, beginning with our important target indications of SBS-IF and CDD,” said Dr. Particco.

About Jaguar Health, Inc., Jaguar Animal Health, Napo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. & Napo Therapeutics S.p.A.

Jaguar Health, Inc. is a commercial stage pharmaceuticals company focused on developing novel, plant-based, non-opioid, and sustainably derived prescription medicines for people and animals with GI distress, specifically chronic, debilitating diarrhea. Jaguar Animal Health is a tradename of Jaguar Health. Jaguar Health’s wholly owned subsidiary, Napo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., focuses on developing and commercializing proprietary plant-based human gastrointestinal pharmaceuticals from plants harvested responsibly from rainforest areas. Jaguar Health is the majority shareholder of Napo Therapeutics S.p.A., an Italian corporation established by Jaguar Health in Milan, Italy in 2021 that focuses on expanding crofelemer access in Europe.

For more information about Jaguar Health, please visit https://jaguar.health. For more information about Napo Pharmaceuticals, visit www.napopharma.com. For more information about Napo Therapeutics, visit www.napotherapeutics.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 the expectation that Dr. Particco’s experience will support Napo Therapeutics’ focus on providing access to crofelemer in Europe for SBS-IF and CDD. 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 Health 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 several risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified and some of which are beyond Jaguar Health’s control. Except as required by applicable law, Jaguar Health 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
Jaguar-JAGX

SOURCE: Jaguar Health, Inc.

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