Leading Cancer Patient Advocate Kelly Shanahan, M.D., Joins Jaguar Health's Scientific Advisory Board
Jaguar Health (NASDAQ:JAGX) announced the appointment of Dr. Kelly Shanahan to its Scientific Advisory Board on March 23, 2023. Dr. Shanahan is a former clinician and a metastatic breast cancer patient advocate, bringing a unique perspective to the company's focus on cancer therapy-related diarrhea (CTD). She emphasized the importance of patient comfort and the development of crofelemer, a drug targeting CTD. The OnTarget Phase 3 clinical trial for crofelemer is expected to complete patient enrollment in Q2 2023, potentially paving the way for a significant advancement in supportive care for cancer patients.
- Dr. Kelly Shanahan's extensive experience as a clinician and patient advocate strengthens the Scientific Advisory Board.
- Her advocacy aligns with Jaguar's mission to improve patient comfort related to cancer treatment.
- The ongoing Phase 3 clinical trial for crofelemer could lead to significant advancements in managing CTD.
- Dr. Shanahan's prior clinical practice was impacted by her cancer treatment, raising concerns about her experience gap due to health issues.
- Dependence on the successful completion of the Phase 3 trial introduces uncertainty regarding future product approval and market success.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / March 23, 2023 / Jaguar Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:JAGX) ("Jaguar" or the "Company") and its wholly owned subsidiary Napo Pharmaceuticals (Napo) today announced that Dr. Kelly Shanahan, a former clinician and a metastatic breast cancer patient who is now a full-time independent patient advocate, has joined the Jaguar/Napo Scientific Advisory Board (SAB).
"We are very pleased that Dr. Shanahan has joined our SAB," said Pravin Chaturvedi, PhD, Napo and Jaguar's Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board and Chief Scientific Officer. "As both a health care provider and cancer patient, she shares our deep commitment to patient comfort and dignity, especially to the importance of preventing and ameliorating cancer therapy-related diarrhea (CTD), and to supportive care in cancer patients in general. She brings a unique and welcome perspective that will augment our clinical development program focused on addressing this very high unmet and neglected comorbidity of CTD."
"I am thrilled about joining the Jaguar/Napo SAB and collaborating with the existing SAB members as well supporting the continued development of crofelemer, which has a unique physiological mechanism of addressing CTD," said Dr. Shanahan. "With patient enrollment expected to complete in the second quarter of 2023 for the Company's pivotal OnTarget Phase 3 clinical trial of crofelemer for prophylaxis of diarrhea in adult cancer patients receiving targeted therapy with or without chemotherapy, it is an exciting time to be a part of the Company's SAB. I believe crofelemer represents a paradigm shift for the prophylaxis of CTD and minimizing management of severe chronic diarrhea with antimotility drugs, predominantly opioids, which in turn cause constipation. We patients don't want to take more drugs to deal with side effects from another drug taken to deal with side effects from our treatments."
"We are so pleased to hear Kelly's voice and perspective on how successful supportive care management is a key component to successful cancer treatment outcomes," said Lisa Conte, Jaguar's founder, president, and chief executive officer.
Dr. Shanahan is a metastatic cancer patient advocate who had to give up her obstetrics and gynecology practice because of side effects of her treatments. She received her medical degree in 1987 from the University of Virginia School of Medicine. She did her post graduate studies at Temple University Hospital department of obstetrics and gynecology in Philadelphia, where she held the position of academic chief resident from 1990-1991. Dr Shanahan was in private practice in the suburbs of Philadelphia and then in South Lake Tahoe, California for over 20 years. In 2008, Dr. Shanahan had everything going for her: a busy and successful ob-gyn practice; a precocious 9-year-old daughter; and a well-used passport from traveling all over the world with her family to attend conferences, with a liberal dose of vacation on the side. When she was diagnosed with stage IIB breast cancer in April 2008, she considered it a mere bump in the road. And for five years, breast cancer was an aside, something to put in the past medical history section of forms. Even when she developed sudden back pain, Dr. Shanahan never thought it could be breast cancer rearing its ugly head - a pulled muscle, a herniated disc maybe, but not what it turned out to be: metastatic breast cancer in virtually every bone in her body, with a fractured vertebrae and an about to break left femur. She was diagnosed in 2013, on her 53rd birthday. Neuropathy from the chemo cost Dr. Shanahan her career, but she has found a new purpose in advocacy. She is on the board of METAvivor, a member of the Metastatic Breast Cancer Alliance, a Komen Advocate in Science, a grant reviewer, and research advocate. She is passionate about getting patients to the table in the design, implementation, and follow-up of clinical trials.
About Cancer Therapy-related Diarrhea
A significant proportion of patients undergoing cancer therapy experience diarrhea, and diarrhea has the potential to cause dehydration, potential infections, and non-adherence to treatment in this population. Novel "targeted cancer therapy" agents, such as epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) antibodies and tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), with or without cycle chemotherapy agents, may cause increased electrolyte and fluid content in the gut lumen, which results in passage of loose/watery stools (i.e., diarrhea). Diarrhea has been reported as one of the most common side effects of TKIs and may result in cancer therapy drug holidays or reductions from therapeutic dose, potentially impacting patient outcome. Diarrhea is also a common side effect of some approved CDK 4/6 inhibitors.
About Jaguar Health, Jaguar Animal Health, Napo Pharmaceuticals, & Napo Therapeutics
Jaguar Health, Inc. is a commercial stage pharmaceuticals company focused on developing novel, plant-based, sustainably derived prescription medicines for people and animals with GI distress, including chronic, debilitating diarrhea. Jaguar Health's wholly owned subsidiary, Napo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., focuses on developing and commercializing proprietary plant-based human pharmaceuticals from plants harvested responsibly from rainforest areas. Our crofelemer drug product candidate is the subject of the OnTarget study, an ongoing pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial for prophylaxis of diarrhea in adult cancer patients receiving targeted therapy. Jaguar Health is the majority shareholder of Napo Therapeutics S.p.A. (f/k/a Napo EU S.p.A.), an Italian corporation established by Jaguar Health in Milan, Italy in 2021 that focuses on expanding crofelemer access in Europe. Jaguar Animal Health is a tradename of Jaguar Health.
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 napotherapeutics.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements." These include statements regarding the belief that crofelemer represents a paradigm shift for the prophylaxis of CTD and minimizing management of severe chronic diarrhea with antimotility drugs, predominantly opioids, which in turn cause constipation. 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.
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SOURCE: Jaguar Health, Inc.
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