FILAMENT HEALTH AND JAGUAR HEALTH JOINT VENTURE MAGDALENA BIOSCIENCES COMPLETES IMPORT OF COCA LEAF FROM PERU

The import to Filament's Metro Vancouver facility was conducted in collaboration with the Peruvian government and facilitated by Filament Health and Jaguar Health

VANCOUVER, BC, Sept. 21, 2023 /CNW/ - Filament Health Corp. (OTCQB: FLHLF) (NEO: FH) (FSE: 7QS) ("Filament" or "Filament Health"), a clinical-stage natural psychedelic drug development company, today announced that Magdalena Biosciences ("Magdalena"), a joint venture formed by Filament and Jaguar Health, Inc. (Nasdaq: JAGX) ("Jaguar Health"), successfully completed an import of coca leaf to Filament's Metro Vancouver research and development facility. The import of coca leaf was authorized by the Peruvian Health Authority, Dirección General de Medicamentos Insumos y Drogas (DIGEMID), and acquired from the Empresa Nacional de la Coca (ENACO), which is the only company in Peru authorized to collect, distribute and export coca leaf and their derived products. The imported leaves were received by Psilo Scientific, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Filament Health, and will be used for initial research purposes to look at neuropsychiatric indications.

Magdalena and Filament Health are in the process of seeking full Nagoya Protocol compliance at this time in Peru. The Nagoya Protocol is an international agreement that aims to ensure the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge held by indigenous and local communities.

"We are pleased to partner with Filament Health and Magdalena to facilitate this landmark import," said Silveria Dongo Gonzales, Technical Director of ENACO. 

"We appreciate Filament and Magdalena's efforts to ensure that they have fully followed all of the requirements of ENACO, and that they are working through the process to obtain full compliance with the Nagoya Protocol in Peru," said Richard Caballero, Director of Industrial Commercialization at ENACO.

Magdalena was founded on a mission to develop novel, natural prescription medicines derived from plants for mental health indications including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults. The coca leaf imported from Peru will be used for initial research purposes to look at these and other neuropsychiatric indications.

"This import is a significant achievement which validates the work of our regulatory team and affirms our ability to develop productive relationships with government agencies globally," said Benjamin Lightburn, Chief Executive Officer of Filament Health and Magdalena Board Member. "We are grateful to the Peruvian government for its cooperation, and to Steven King, PhD, Chief Sustainable Supply Officer at Jaguar Health, who facilitated the relationship with DIGEMID and ENACO on behalf of Filament and Magdalena. We look forward to continued collaboration with Magdalena and Jaguar to pioneer this valuable research."

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 indications including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults. 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 mental health disorders.

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.

Jaguar Health is a commercial stage pharmaceuticals company focused on developing novel proprietary prescription medicines sustainably derived from plants from rainforest areas for people and animals with gastrointestinal distress, specifically associated with overactive bowel, which includes symptoms such as chronic debilitating diarrhea, urgency, and bowel incontinence. Jaguar family company Napo Pharmaceuticals focuses on developing and commercializing human prescription pharmaceuticals for essential supportive care and management of neglected gastrointestinal symptoms across multiple complicated disease states. Napo Pharmaceuticals' crofelemer drug product candidate is the subject of the OnTarget study, an ongoing pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial for preventive treatment of chemotherapy-induced overactive bowel (CIOB) in adults with cancer targeted therapy. Jaguar family company Napo Therapeutics is an Italian corporation Jaguar established in Milan, Italy in 2021 focused on expanding crofelemer access in Europe and specifically for orphan and/or rare diseases. Jaguar Animal Health is a Jaguar tradename.

For more information about Jaguar Health, please visit https://jaguar.health.

Certain statements and information contained herein may constitute "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information," respectively, under Canadian securities legislation. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as, "expect", "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "may", "will", "should", "believe", "intends", "forecast", "plans", "guidance" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements or information. Forward-looking statements herein include, but are not limited to, statements regarding Nagoya Protocol compliance and the outcome of any coca leaf research. The forward-looking statements are not historical facts, but reflect the current expectations of management of Filament regarding future results or events and are based on information currently available to them. Certain material factors and assumptions were applied in providing these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements regarding Filament are based on Filament's estimates and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements of Filament to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, including results of the clinical trial. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. Filament will not update any forward-looking statements or forward-looking information that are incorporated by reference herein, except as required by applicable securities laws.

SOURCE Filament Health Corp.