SAN DIEGO, Sept. 24, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Conatus Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:CNAT), a biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of novel medicines to treat liver disease, today announced that it will be included in the Russell 2000®, Russell 3000® and Russell Global Indices, effective Monday, September 30, 2013. The addition of Conatus is due to the quarterly adjustment of the Russell indices to account for initial public offerings.
Russell indices are widely used by investment managers and institutional investors for index funds and as benchmarks for both passive and active investment strategies. The Russell 2000® Index measures the performance of the small-cap segment of the U.S. equity universe and is a subset of the Russell 3000® Index, which measures the performance of the largest 3,000 U.S. companies. Members of the Russell 2000® Index are also included in the Russell Global Index.
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.