NEW YORK, July 25, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: NDAQ ) announced that trading of Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: CNAT ), a biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of novel medicines to treat liver disease, commenced on The NASDAQ Stock Market on July 25, 2013.
Conatus Pharmaceuticals "Conatus" is developing its lead compound, emricasan, for the treatment of patients in orphan populations with chronic liver disease and acute exacerbations of chronic liver disease. Conatus believes that emricasan has the potential to interrupt the progression of liver disease. Conatus' management team is comprised of the former senior executives of Idun Pharmaceuticals who discovered and led the development of emricasan at Idun until Idun was sold to Pfizer in July 2005. Conatus acquired the global rights to emricasan from Pfizer in 2010.
"Conatus is committed to developing original products that will break ground in the treatment of liver disease, "said Nelson Griggs, Senior Vice President, NASDAQ OMX Corporate Client Group. "NASDAQ OMX looks forward to a continued partnership with Conatus and its shareholders."
Contatus joins a variety of cutting-edge biotechnology companies that call NASDAQ OMX home. NASDAQ OMX has been the exchange of choice to over 96 percent of biotech companies that have listed on the U.S. markets year-to-date in 2013.
About Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Conatus is a biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of novel medicines to treat liver disease. Conatus is developing its lead compound, emricasan, for the treatment of patients in orphan populations with chronic liver disease and acute exacerbations of chronic liver disease. Emricasan is a first-in-class, orally active caspase protease inhibitor designed to reduce the activity of enzymes that mediate inflammation and cell death, or apoptosis. Conatus believes that by reducing the activity of these enzymes, emricasan has the potential to interrupt the progression of liver disease. For additional information, please visit www.conatuspharma.com .
About NASDAQ OMX Group :
The inventor of the electronic exchange, The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc., fuels economies and provides transformative technologies for the entire lifecycle of a trade - from risk management to trade to surveillance to clearing. In the U.S. and Europe, we own and operate 26 markets, 3 clearinghouses and 5 central securities depositories supporting equities, options, fixed income, derivatives, commodities, futures and structured products. Able to process more than 1 million messages per second at sub-40 microsecond speeds with 99.99% uptime, our technology drives more than 70 marketplaces in 50 developed and emerging countries into the future, powering 1 in 10 of the world's securities transactions. Our award-winning data products and worldwide indexes are the benchmarks in the financial industry. Home to approximately 3,400 listed companies worth $6 trillion in market cap whose innovations shape our world, we give the ideas of tomorrow access to capital today. Welcome to where the world takes a big leap forward, daily. Welcome to the NASDAQ OMX Century. To learn more, visit nasdaqomx.com . Follow us on Facebook ( http://www.facebook.com/NASDAQ ) and Twitter ( http://www.twitter.com/nasdaqomx ). (Symbol: NDAQ and member of S&P 500)
The information contained above is provided for informational and educational purposes only, and nothing contained herein should be construed as investment advice, either on behalf of a particular security or an overall investment strategy. Neither The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. nor any of its affiliates makes any recommendation to buy or sell any security or any representation about the financial condition of any company. Statements regarding NASDAQ-listed companies are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Investors should undertake their own due diligence and carefully evaluate companies before investing. ADVICE FROM A SECURITIES PROFESSIONAL IS STRONGLY ADVISED.
-NDAQG -
NASDAQ OMX Media Contact: Joe Christinat (646) 441-5121
