Histogen Merges With Conatus Pharmaceuticals

Histogen is finally becoming a publicly traded company in 2020 after latest merger deal.

On January 28, 2020, Histogen and Conatus Pharmaceuticals issued a press release announcing a definitive merger agreement between the two companies. Like Histogen, Conatus Pharmaceuticals is a biotech company based in San Diego, CA. Conatus has been publicly traded on Nasdaq since 2013 and at one point reached a stock price of $14.25 per share. Through this new agreement, Histogen will merge with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Conatus and the new combined company will be called Histogen, there will be no more Conatus. Until now, Conatus Pharmaceuticals has been traded on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol ‘CNAT’; there is expected to be a different ticker symbol for the new combined Histogen company. The complete transaction is expected to be completed by Q2 2020.

The merger is a beneficial development for both companies. Previously, Conatus Pharmaceutical’s pipeline included a protease inhibitor called emricasan which was aimed at liver diseases and a compound called CTS-2090 which is intended to treat chronic inflammatory diseases. However, in June 2019 emricasan failed to meet its primary endpoint in a phase 2 clinical trial which lead to that program being terminated by Conatus and its strategic partner Novartis. This left Conatus with only one other early stage compound in its pipeline and a struggle to bring value to its shareholders. Merging with Histogen brings Conatus a fresh pipeline of technology including a hair growth injectable, dermal filler, and cartilage repair matrix. The merger with Conatus gives Histogen a faster path to becoming publicly traded than the traditional IPO route. It’s a win-win situation.

In its latest press release, Histogen mentions these near term goals for 2020:



File an Investigational New Drug Application Amendment in Q2 2020 and initiate a Phase 1b/2a study of HST 001 for the treatment of male pattern baldness in Q2 2020.

File an Investigational Device Exemption in Q2 2020 and initiate a Phase 1 study of HST 002 as a dermal filler in Q2 2020.

File an Investigational New Drug Application in Q3 2020 and initiate a Phase 1 study of HST 003 for the treatment of articular cartilage defects in the knee in Q3 2020.

Announce top-line results from Phase 1 study of HST 002 for the treatment of nasolabial folds in Q3 2020.

Announce top-line results from Phase 1b/2a study of HST 001 for the treatment of male pattern baldness in Q4 2020.

If Histogen can produce more results like this in their upcoming trial of HSC in male pattern baldness their stock price will likely rise in 2020. What do the readers think of this development for the longstanding company Histogen? Comment below.

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