Napo seeks FDA OK of disputed drug for dog diarrhea

Napo CEO Lisa Conte.

Napo Pharmaceuticals Inc. hopes its experimental diarrhea drug goes to the dogs. The San Francisco company will ask the Food and Drug Administration to approve the drug, called crofelemer, for use in chemotherapy-induced diarrhea in dogs. Salix Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: SLXP), Napo's former partner, is seeking approval for crofelemer for HIV/AIDS patients with chronic diarrhea, but the FDA last week delayed action on Salix's application until the first quarter of 2013.