The money was raised in 2007. At the time Conatus was a private company.
SAN DIEGO, May 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc. today
completed the $22 million second closing of the $27.5 million Series A
Preferred Stock private placement announced in January this year. This
closing is associated with the achievement of a preclinical milestone with
CTS-1027, the Company's novel clinical stage drug candidate. "CTS-1027 is a
potent and effective compound in a well established model of liver damage.
This drug represents an exciting first-in-class approach for patients
suffering from liver disease," said Alfred P. Spada, Ph.D., Senior Vice
President of Research and Development at Conatus. The investors are
Aberdare Ventures, Advent Venture Partners, Bay City Capital, and Gilde
Healthcare Partners.
The proceeds will be used for multiple Phase 2 studies in patients with
liver disease. The drug will be initially evaluated in patients infected
with the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) who have failed existing treatments
(refractory to the standard of care) and is scheduled to begin at the end
of 2007. Conatus licensed in CTS-1027 from F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd in
November 2006.
"The Conatus management team pioneered the development of novel drugs
to treat inflammation of the liver (hepatitis) and looks forward to
bringing CTS- 1027 forward into clinical trials for this under-served
patient population," said Steven J. Mento, Ph.D., President and Chief
Executive Officer.
Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc. is a privately-held specialty
pharmaceutical company engaged in the development of innovative human
therapeutics to treat liver disease. Chronic liver disease affects millions
of people worldwide and can be caused by many different conditions or
"insults" to the liver including viral infection, obesity, chronic alcohol
abuse or autoimmune diseases. Conatus was founded by the executive
management team of Idun Pharmaceuticals in July 2005 following the
successful sale of Idun to Pfizer.
