Star Metro - Magdalena Biosciences, a Joint Venture Between Jaguar Health and Filament Health, Announces Positive Results of Preclinical Study of Coca for Weight Gain Prevention

SAN FRANCISCO, CA / ACCESS Newswire / June 18, 2026 / Jaguar Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:JAGX) ("Jaguar") today announced that the results of a preclinical study initiated by Magdalena Biosciences ("Magdalena"), a US-based joint venture formed by Jaguar and Canada-based Filament Health Corp. ("Filament"), demonstrate that a novel extract derived from leaves of the coca plant prevented weight gain in mice submitted to a high fat diet without reducing food intake or increasing physical activity. The coca leaf extract under evaluation is Magdalena's prescription drug candidate for post-GLP-1 weight loss management, intended for development under the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Botanical Guidance.

It is common for people to regain weight after stopping GLP-1 medications because these drugs help reduce appetite and increase feelings of fullness while they are being taken. When treatment is discontinued, these effects diminish, and the body's mechanisms that regulate hunger and body weight may promote weight gain.

"We're very pleased with the results of this 20-day preclinical study, which was conducted at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada," said Steven King, PhD, Jaguar's Chief Sustainable Supply and Ethnobotanical Research Officer and a founding Advisor to Magdalena. "The study results support our thesis that the coca leaf extract under evaluation may have the potential to serve as a weight maintenance therapy following cessation of GLP-1 therapy. The rebound effect observed after discontinuation of GLP-1 therapies, characterized by weight gain, highlights a significant unmet need for safe, long-term weight management solutions. A coca extract-based prescription drug developed under the FDA's Botanical Guidance, which is likely to have a low abuse potential, would logically fit into this therapeutic niche."

Indigenous peoples and healers in the Andean region of Peru have utilized coca for centuries to manage hunger and fatigue. The coca leaf that is part of this Magdalena research and development program was provided to Magdalena by Empresa Nacional de La Coca (ENACO), a Peruvian state company dedicated to the commercialization of the coca leaf and derivatives, with an Internationally Recognized Certificate of Compliance (IRCC) in compliance with the Nagoya Protocol requirements of Peru.

"We believe the development of FDA-approved drugs from 'whole extract' coca leaf can provide therapeutic benefit, and that the development process will benefit the people of Peru, who have been sustainably producing coca leaves for several thousand years. Plant-derived medicines offer potential new mechanisms of action while being potentially safer than chemically synthesized small molecule drugs that may have 'off target' effects," Dr. King said. "We are grateful to the people of the Andean region who have domesticated the sacred plant, 'mama coca,' which is and has been part of the medical systems of indigenous communities for an estimated 8,000 years."

"We are pleased that the Borgland Lab at the University of Calgary was able to collaborate with Magdalena Biosciences to evaluate the biological activity of coca in our facility," said Stephanie Borgland, PhD, the Principal Investigator for the preclinical study in mice.

ABOUT MAGDALENA BIOSCIENCES

Jaguar Health, Inc. and Filament Health Corp. formed Magdalena Biosciences, Inc. as a joint venture in 2023 to develop novel, natural prescription medicines derived from plants for mental health and CNS indications. Boulder, Colorado-based One Small Planet, founded by Will Peterffy, has committed to funding of US$1,000,000. The goal of the collaboration is to extend the botanical drug development capabilities of Jaguar and Filament in order to develop pharmaceutical-grade, standardized drug candidates for weight gain prevention and mental health disorders.

ABOUT FILAMENT HEALTH

Filament Health is a clinical-stage natural psychedelic drug development company. We believe that safe, standardized, naturally-derived psychedelic medicines can improve the lives of many, and our mission is to see them in the hands of everyone who needs them as soon as possible. Filament's platform of proprietary intellectual property enables the discovery, development, and delivery of natural psychedelic medicines. We are paving the way with what we believe to be the first-ever natural psychedelic drug candidates.

Learn more at www.filament.health and on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

About the Jaguar Health Family of Companies

Jaguar Health, Inc. ("Jaguar") develops novel proprietary prescription drugs sustainably derived from plants for people with complicated gastrointestinal ("GI") disease states. Jaguar family companies Napo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Napo Therapeutics S.p.A. focus on the development and commercialization of novel crofelemer powder for oral solution for the treatment of rare and orphan gastrointestinal disorders with intestinal failure, including microvillus inclusion disease and short bowel syndrome. Magdalena Biosciences, a joint venture formed by Jaguar and Filament Health Corp. that emerged from Jaguar's Entheogen Therapeutics Initiative (ETI), is focused on developing novel prescription medicines derived from plants for weight gain prevention and mental health indications.

For more information about:

Jaguar Health, visit https://jaguar.health

Napo Pharmaceuticals, visit napopharma.com

Napo Therapeutics, visit napotherapeutics.com

Magdalena Biosciences, visit magdalenabiosciences.com

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements." These include statements regarding the expectation that a 'whole extract' of coca leaf may have the potential to serve as a weight maintenance therapy following cessation of GLP-1 therapy, the expectation that development of drugs from 'whole extract' coca leaf can provide therapeutic benefit and that the development process will benefit the people of Peru. 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.

Contact Info:

[email protected]
Jaguar-JAGX

SOURCE: Jaguar Health, Inc.

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A.Harris--SMC