Jaguar Animal Health (NASDAQ:JAGX) Chief Executive Officer Lisa Conte told investors at the Lytham Partners Spring 2026 Investor Conference that the company is entering what she described as a “transformative moment,” driven by a recently completed licensing transaction and a narrowed focus on rare disease development for crofelemer.
Conte said Jaguar, through its wholly owned subsidiary Napo Pharmaceuticals, develops plant-based prescription products using drug discovery approaches informed by traditional knowledge from rainforest communities. She said the company’s active ingredient crofelemer is the basis for Mytesi, an FDA-approved treatment for AIDS-related diarrhea, and Canalevia-CA1, a conditionally approved product for chemotherapy-induced diarrhea in dogs.
Licensing Deal Provides Non-Dilutive Funding
Conte highlighted a commercial out-license deal for Mytesi and Canalevia-CA1 that she said closed in January 2026 and could provide up to $38 million in non-dilutive funding. The transaction included an $18 million upfront payment for the Mytesi license, with an additional $20 million possible through milestone and future payments, she said.
Conte said Mytesi annual sales have been approximately $12 million to $13 million. She added that Jaguar remains the manufacturer of crofelemer and will do so at a profit, with a margin on top of manufacturing costs. Conte also said additional funds related to supply and inventory purchases were disclosed in the company’s recently filed quarterly report.
The proceeds are being used to fund Jaguar’s rare disease development program in intestinal failure, Conte said. She described crofelemer as “a pipeline within a product,” with multiple possible follow-on indications beyond the current Mytesi approval.
Focus Turns to Microvillus Inclusion Disease
Conte said Jaguar’s near-term development focus is microvillus inclusion disease, or MVID, an ultra-rare form of intestinal failure. She said the company is targeting a new drug application filing in mid-2027, based on data already in hand and additional data expected through the balance of 2026.
Conte described MVID as a condition in which the microvilli in the intestine are inverted and unable to absorb nutrients. Patients diagnosed at birth are placed on total parenteral nutrition, or TPN, for roughly 20 hours a day, seven days a week, she said. Conte said TPN is life-sustaining but carries serious risks, including liver and kidney disorders and cognitive dysfunction.
The primary endpoint Jaguar is evaluating is reduction in parenteral support needs, Conte said. Other measures include improved urine output, reduced stool volume and better stool formation, which she said can indicate improved absorption and quality-of-life benefits.
Early Data Presented and Additional Updates Expected
Conte reviewed proof-of-concept results that she said were presented last year at the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition meeting. In one MVID patient and one pediatric intestinal failure short bowel syndrome patient, crofelemer was associated with reductions in parenteral support needs of 37% and nearly 16%, respectively, she said.
Conte said crofelemer-treated patients also showed reduced stool volume and improved stool formation. She noted that in one investigator-initiated case, a patient discontinued crofelemer after three months and “relapsed so quickly” that treatment had to be resumed. According to Conte, that patient has now been on crofelemer for 15 to 16 months, continues to maintain at least the same reduction in parenteral support and has had no safety issues.
Conte also described an expanded access case in the United States involving an infant diagnosed with MVID. Because Jaguar’s ongoing blinded trial requires patients to be at least one year old, the infant received crofelemer at three months of age under an FDA individual IND, she said. Conte said the child is now nine months old and “thriving.”
Regulatory Path and Short Bowel Syndrome Opportunity
Conte said MVID affects about 200 known patients worldwide. Between six patients enrolled in Jaguar’s blinded clinical trial and two patients in expanded access or investigator-initiated treatment, she said the company believes it is treating about 4% of the known global patient population.
Conte said Jaguar has held discussions with both the FDA and the European Medicines Agency and believes the data could be sufficient to file an NDA for intestinal failure in MVID. She said the company expects to present updated data next month at ESPGHAN in France.
Following additional data from the ongoing trial, Conte said Jaguar plans to file for Breakthrough Therapy designation with the FDA. She said the company expects to have fileable MVID data by the end of 2026 and to submit an NDA in mid-2027.
Conte described MVID as a stepping stone to a larger short bowel syndrome intestinal failure program. She said short bowel syndrome intestinal failure represents a market expected by third-party analysis to reach more than $8 billion. Jaguar is also running a blinded trial in that indication, which Conte said is expected to complete around the same time as the planned MVID NDA filing.
About Jaguar Animal Health (NASDAQ:JAGX)
Jaguar Animal Health, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics for the gastrointestinal health of food-producing animals, with an emphasis on swine and poultry. The company’s research and development efforts target common enteric disorders such as post-weaning diarrhea in pigs and clostridial overgrowth in broiler chickens, aiming to provide effective alternatives to traditional antibiotic treatments.
Jaguar Animal Health was formed in early 2019 through the acquisition of the animal health business of Aratana Therapeutics by Actinium Animal Health, followed by a corporate rebranding.
