Jaguar Health Research in Ethnobotanical Medicine Helps Advance Crofelemer Development for Genetically Defined Rare Congenital Gastrointestinal Disorders

Crofelemer delayed-release tablets are Jaguar's FDA-approved prescription drug under botanical guidance ("botanical drug") derived from the Croton lechleri tree. Crofelemer, in a novel liquid formulation, is being developed as the potential first oral adjunctive therapy for Intestinal Failure (IF) from microvillus inclusion disease (MVID) and short bowel syndrome (SBS) Crofelemer development with novel formulations for different gastrointestinal disorders reflects a differentiated botanical drug platform integrating ethnobotanical medicine, sustainable harvesting, complex CMC, and novel bioassays to support approval under FDA botanical guidance Traditional knowledge of Croton lechleri use supported ethnobotanical research that led to development and approval of crofelemer, whose first in class anti-secretory mechanism was characterized through modern pharmacology and mechanism-based bioassays.