Jaguar Animal Health (NASDAQ:JAGX) has entered an exclusive, 60-day evaluation period, beginning April 3, with a leading multinational animal health pharmaceutical firm regarding Equilevia, Jaguar’s drug product candidate for equine gastric ulcer syndrome.
“The partnering strategy of both Jaguar and Napo [Pharmaceuticals] is focused on bringing novel gastrointestinal medicines from the two company’s extremely broad pipelines to market in a productive and efficient manner, and entering a possible collaboration with a leading animal health company focused on equine athletes would be an important component of this strategy,” Lisa Conte, Jaguar’s president and CEO and Napo’s interim CEO, said in a statement.
Jaguar completed a dose determination study of a target commercial paste formulation of Equilevia in the fourth quarter of last year. The equine veterinarians who performed the study were blinded to the treatment assignment, and Jaguar was also blinded to the data at that time.
A full analysis of the study data with scoring of squamous and glandular ulcers has undergone independent, blinded review by Dr. Frank Andrews, Prof. and director of the Equine Health Studies Program at Louisiana State University College of Veterinary Medicine. All data from the dose determination study will remain confidential during the 60-day evaluation period.
In January, Jaguar announced topline results from a proof-of-concept study to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of Equilevia indicated that 78% to 89% of horses treated with Equilevia (depending on dose) had resolution or improvement of glandular ulcers as soon as 14 days during treatment. The horses studied were in training but were not actively racing.
As Jaguar announced in February, further analysis of the results of the proof-of-concept study indicated that Equilevia did not alter gastric pH during the 28-day trial or for seven days after therapy.
