Filings under Rule 425
under the Securities Act of 1933
and deemed filed under Rule 14a-6
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended
Filing by: Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Subject Company: Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc.
SEC File No.: 001- 36003
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CONTACT: Keith Marshall
Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc.
(858) 376-2600
IR@conatuspharma.com
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CONTACT: Eileen Brandt
Histogen Inc.
(858) 526-3106
ebrandt@histogen.com
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Histogen Publishes New Preclinical Data on its HST 003 Orthopedic Program
SAN DIEGO, April 15, 2020 Histogen Inc., a regenerative medicine company with a novel biological platform that replaces and
regenerates tissues in the body, announced today the publication of data on its human extracellular matrix (hECM) for cartilage regeneration in the Journal of Orthopaedic and Trauma Care.
Histogen has developed a patented embryonic-like hECM that contains components associated with stem cell niches in the body and scar-less healing of fetal
skin including laminins, osteonectin, decorin, hyaluronic acid, collagen type IV, SPARC, CXCL12, NID1, NID2, NOTCH2, tenascin, thrombospondin, fibronectin, versican, and fibrillin-2. In vitro studies have
demonstrated that HST 003 induces the proliferation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) while retaining their stemness and causing them to down regulate collagen 1 and up regulate aggrecan, both important characteristics of forming hyaline
cartilage.
We have now tested HST 003 in three animal models, and the results have been consistent and exciting, said Dr. Gail Naughton,
Founder and Chief Science Officer of Histogen. The stimulation of native stem cells to infiltrate the cartilage defect and differentiate, the reduction of local inflammation, and the regeneration of hyaline cartilage and mature bone was
clearly demonstrated.
In vivo preclinical studies showed that treating full thickness osteochondral lesions with HST 003 resulted in hyaline
cartilage and mature bone formation in rats (ODriscoll score p<0.001), and rabbits (p<0.001). Similar results were seen in the large defect goat model, where the untreated lesions showed only scar tissue and hECM treated defects had
excellent regeneration with normal tissue.
The results seen in these latest preclinical studies support the advancement of our key HST 003
program, said Richard Pascoe, Chairman and CEO of Histogen. We look forward to the submission of our IND to study HST 003 in the regeneration of focal cartilage lesions in the knee, which we anticipate will be in Q3 2020.
Approximately 18 million U.S. patients suffer from knee osteoarthritis, a debilitating degenerative disease characterized by softening and disintegration
of cartilage. For these patients, as well as the one million experiencing acute cartilage injury, a treatment with the ability to restore hyaline cartilage, accelerate recovery and improve long-term surgical results could be revolutionary.
The research paper entitled Extracellular Matrix Regenerative Treatment for Cartilage Repair has been published in Volume 2, Issue 1 of Journal of
Orthopaedic and Trauma Care, and is currently available electronically at
https://escientificpublishers.com/extracellular-matrix-regenerative-treatment-for-cartilage-repair-JOTC-02-0007.