Conatus Pharmaceuticals buys Pfizer's Idun subsidiary

Privately-held drug development company Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc. today acquired the Idun Pharmaceuticals subsidiary of Pfizer Inc for an undisclosed sum.

Conatus is engaged in the development of innovative human therapeutics to treat liver disease and oncology. Its lead drug candidate, CTS-1027, is in multiple Phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV).

San Diego, California-based Conatus was founded by the executive management team of Idun Pharmaceuticals in July 2005 following the sale of Idun to Pfizer.

Idun Pharmaceuticals was a privately-held biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of drug candidates to control apoptosis.

At the time of the acquisition by Pfizer, Idun had a Phase 2 drug candidate in liver disease, preclinical drug candidates including IDN-13389 for oncology, a development agreement with Abbott for an oncology drug candidate, and key intellectual property in the field of apoptosis.

Conatus' SVP corporate development, Jennifer Giottonini Cayer said, "We appreciate the contributions of Pfizer's colleagues on these potentially important drug candidates. Conatus is excited to have the opportunity to work on these programs."

"The addition of Idun to Conatus continues our important work in liver disease and expands our therapeutic reach into oncology," said Dr. Mento, CEO of Conatus.

Conatus plans to leverage its scientific and drug development expertise and resources to continue to advance potentially important therapeutic candidates in liver disease and oncology.