Napo Pharmaceuticals

What Napo Pharmaceuticals does

Napo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a San Francisco-based, privately held pharmaceutical company and wholly-owned subsidiary of Jaguar Health, Inc. (NASDAQ: JAGX) that develops and commercializes proprietary, plant-based gastrointestinal drugs for supportive care and rare intestinal diseases. Its core asset is crofelemer, an FDA-approved first-in-class botanical drug extracted from the sustainably harvested Croton lechleri (sangre de drago) tree sap, which works through a novel mechanism of inhibitory modulation of two secretory chloride ion channels in the gut. The commercial portfolio includes Mytesi for noninfectious diarrhea in adults with HIV/AIDS on antiretroviral therapy, Canalevia-CA1 for chemotherapy-induced diarrhea in dogs, and Gelclair for oral mucositis in cancer patients, while the pipeline targets cancer therapy-related diarrhea (Phase 3 OnTarget), rare pediatric intestinal failure indications including microvillus inclusion disease and short bowel syndrome with intestinal failure (orphan drug designation in the US and EU), and infectious diarrhea via NP-300.

Napo generates revenue through a hybrid model combining product sales, out-licensing, and milestone payments. In January 2026 the company entered an exclusive US licensing agreement with Future Pak for Mytesi and Canalevia-CA1, receiving an upfront payment plus milestones and transferring commercialization while retaining manufacturing; this drove consolidated revenue to $20.2M in Q1 2026, versus $3.24M in Q4 2025. The company's go-to-market combines medical conference engagement (ESPGHAN, NASPGHAN, ONS), an investigator-initiated trial program in academic centers across the US, Germany, Italy, and the UAE, and a dedicated Mytesi call center; a parallel Italian subsidiary, Napo Therapeutics S.P.A., runs the SBS-IF clinical program in Europe. Operationally the company operates with 11-50 employees and is also exploring broader strategic alternatives at the Jaguar Health parent level.

Name

Napo Pharmaceuticals

Legal name

Napo Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Website

https://napopharma.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Napo Pharmaceuticals is a San Francisco-based Jaguar Health subsidiary that develops plant-based gastrointestinal drugs, led by FDA-approved crofelemer (Mytesi) for HIV/AIDS-related diarrhea, with pipeline programs in cancer therapy-related diarrhea and rare pediatric intestinal failure diseases such as MVID and SBS-IF.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Pharmaceuticals

NAICS

Pharmaceutical Preparation Manufacturing (325412), Medicinal and Botanical Manufacturing (325411)

SIC

Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834), Medicinal Chemicals & Botanical Products (2833)

akta.pro primary industry

Gastroenterology Specialty Pharmaceuticals (HLAIACAE)

Keywords

• Botanical pharmaceuticals
• Gastrointestinal therapeutics
• Rare disease drugs
• Plant-based medicines
• Prescription drug development

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Mytesi Sales: Sales of FDA-approved Mytesi (crofelemer) for symptomatic relief of noninfectious diarrhea in adults with HIV/AIDS on antiretroviral therapy. Licensed exclusively to Future Pak for US commercialization while Napo retains manufacturing.
2. Canalevia-CA1 Sales: Sales of FDA-approved Canalevia-CA1 for chemotherapy-induced diarrhea in dogs. Licensed exclusively to Future Pak for US commercialization.
3. Licensing Milestone Payments: Potential milestone payments from Future Pak licensing agreement up to $20 million. Received $16 million upfront and $3 million additional payment in early 2026.
4. Strategic Licensing Agreement: January 2026 licensing agreement with Future Pak generating $18 million upfront plus potential milestones; resulted in 816% revenue surge to $20.2 million in Q1 2026.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Napo Pharmaceuticals develops and commercializes proprietary, plant-based prescription pharmaceuticals derived from Croton lechleri (sangre de drago) tree sap, with its lead compound crofelemer approved for symptomatic relief of noninfectious diarrhea in HIV/AIDS adults and in development for cancer therapy-related diarrhea and rare pediatric intestinal failure disorders (MVID, SBS-IF). The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Jaguar Health and operates a licensing-based commercial model.

Product overview

Napo Pharmaceuticals is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Jaguar Health that develops and commercializes proprietary, plant-based gastrointestinal pharmaceuticals. Their core product portfolio includes Mytesi (crofelemer), an FDA-approved delayed-release tablet for noninfectious diarrhea in HIV/AIDS patients, and Canalevia-CA1 for veterinary use. The company is actively developing crofelemer in multiple formulations and indications including: powder for oral solution targeting rare pediatric conditions like microvillus inclusion disease (MVID) and short bowel syndrome with intestinal failure (SBS-IF); and the OnTarget Phase 3 trial for cancer therapy-related diarrhea (CTD). Additional products include Gelclair for oral mucositis and NP-300 for infectious diarrhea. All lead products are derived from the Croton lechleri tree (sangre de drago) harvested from rainforest regions using sustainable practices.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Mytesi: FDA-approved prescription drug (crofelemer) for symptomatic relief of noninfectious diarrhea in adults living with HIV/AIDS on antiretroviral therapy
• Canalevia-CA1
• Gelclair

Products and services

• Mytesi (crofelemer)

Quantifiable outcome

• Parenteral support reduction of 12-37% in pediatric intestinal failure patients
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Future Pak, LLCcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2026January 2026 licensing agreement making Future Pak the exclusive marketer of Mytesi and Canalevia-CA1 in the US. Napo received $16 million upfront and $3 million additional payment; up to $20 million in milestone payments remaining. Napo retains manufacturing responsibilities while Future Pak handles commercialization beyond the initial five-year period.
• Sheikh Khalifa Medical CitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndependent investigator-initiated proof-of-concept study of crofelemer liquid formulation in pediatric intestinal failure patients conducted at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Study demonstrated parenteral support reductions of 12-37% in MVID and SBS patients with patients on treatment for more than one year.
• Napo Therapeutics S.P.A.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerItalian corporation established by Jaguar Health in 2021 focused on rare disease indications for crofelemer. Led by rare-disease management professionals. Currently enrolling adult SBS-IF patients in randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial at sites in Germany and Italy.
• Woodward Specialty LLCminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorProduct inventory sales arrangement for Napo products; $1.0 million received in April 2026 as part of non-dilutive capital improvement.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Entera Bio: Clinical-stage biotech with oral peptide platform addressing hypoparathyroidism and metabolic bone disease; comparable as a small-cap, pipeline-focused therapeutics company with a niche specialty pharma profile.
• Synthetic Biologics: Clinical-stage biotech developing anti-infective and GI therapeutics including treatments for C. difficile and chemotherapy-induced diarrhea; comparable given shared focus on supportive care in oncology and infectious GI disease.

Broad incumbents

• Salix Pharmaceuticals: GI-focused specialty pharma (now part of Bausch Health) with a broad portfolio of prescription GI products; comparable as a leading prescription GI therapeutics franchise targeting similar physician specialties.
• Jaguar Health: Parent company of Napo Pharmaceuticals and developer of Mytesi/Crofelemer at the corporate level; included as the immediate corporate parent and animal-health-focused sponsor of Napo's human pharma pipeline.
• Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals: Specialty pharma with a gastroenterology portfolio (e.g., Amitiza) and rare disease focus; comparable as a larger specialty pharma with overlap in GI and rare disease therapeutics.

Direct peers

• Ardelyx: Commercial-stage GI specialty pharma with novel mechanism drugs (tenapanor for IBS-C and hyperphosphatemia); highly comparable as a small-cap, mechanism-focused GI therapeutics developer pursuing niche indications.
• Sebela Pharmaceuticals: Private GI specialty pharma developing treatments for IBS, chronic constipation, and rare GI conditions; comparable as a privately-held GI therapeutics developer focused on supportive care and niche indications.
• Ironwood Pharmaceuticals: GI specialty pharma behind Linzess (linaclotide) for IBS-C and chronic constipation; comparable business model of developing and commercializing novel-mechanism GI drugs for chronic conditions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/napopharma
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/napo-pharmaceuticals-inc.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds7 records

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Napo Pharmaceuticals