Conatus Pharmaceuticals Appoints Keith W. Marshall as Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial O...
August 31 2017 - 4:05PM
Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:CNAT), a biotechnology company
focused on the development and commercialization of novel medicines
to treat liver disease, today announced the appointment of Keith W.
Marshall, Ph.D., M.B.A., as Executive Vice President, Chief
Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer.
“We are pleased to welcome Keith to the Conatus senior
management team,” said Steven J. Mento, Ph.D., co-founder,
President and Chief Executive Officer of Conatus, “and to round out
the team’s capabilities with his highly relevant blend of knowledge
and perspective. He has over fifteen years of experience in
finance, operations and business advisory roles rooted in a solid
scientific and financial education.
“As an agent on private placements for private biotechnology
companies, and an advisor to both buyers and sellers in
biotechnology and pharmaceutical company transactions,” added Dr.
Mento, “Keith has developed a broad understanding of structuring
and negotiating deals and a purposeful understanding of product and
technology positioning. As a CFO of both a biotechnology company
and a boutique advisory firm, he has managed a broad range of
business initiatives and established relationships across the
professional investment community. As a medical researcher for ten
years in both academia and industry and author of multiple
peer-reviewed publications, he has established the scientific depth
to help guide the company in its product development pursuits. We
look forward to Keith’s anticipated contributions as we focus on
completing our four ongoing Phase 2b emricasan clinical trials and
expanding our pipeline.”
Dr. Marshall has been Chief Financial Officer and Head of
Corporate Development since 2015 at Torque Therapeutics, where his
responsibilities included finance, operations, human resources,
corporate strategy and business development. He served as Managing
Director and Advisor in Healthcare Investment Banking from 2012 to
2014 at GCA Savvian Advisors, where he provided strategic counsel
to healthcare companies, and continued from 2014 to 2015 at TAG
Healthcare Advisors under an alliance with GCA Savvian. Dr.
Marshall was Managing Director from 2011 to 2012 at Sagent
Advisors; Managing Director, Co-founder, and Chief Financial
Officer from 2008 to 2011 at Montgomery, Marshall Healthcare
Partners; Managing Director of Healthcare Investment Banking from
2003 to 2008 at Montgomery & Co.; and Associate in Healthcare
Investment Banking from 2001 to 2003 at JPMorgan H&Q with
additional responsibilities at JPMorgan Partners.
Dr. Marshall previously worked as a Research Associate from 1990
to 1993 at ImmuLogic Pharmaceutical Corporation, where he performed
research under a collaboration with Merck around inhibition of MHC
Class II molecules for autoimmune disease therapy. He holds an
M.B.A. with concentrations in Finance, Strategy, and
Entrepreneurship from the University of Chicago – Booth School of
Business; a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the University
of California, San Francisco; and an A.B. in Biology from
Washington University in St. Louis.
In connection with his commencement of employment, the company’s
compensation committee of the board of directors approved the grant
of options to purchase 525,000 shares of the company’s common stock
to Dr. Marshall. The stock options were granted on August 31, 2017,
the date on which Dr. Marshall commenced employment, and stock
options have an exercise price per share equal to the closing price
of the company’s common stock on the NASDAQ Stock Market on the
grant date. The stock options will vest over a four year period,
with 25% of the options vesting on the first anniversary of the
date of grant and the remainder of the options vesting monthly over
the subsequent three years, subject to Dr. Marshall’s continued
service with Conatus through the applicable vesting dates. In
addition, the stock options granted to Dr. Marshall will be subject
to accelerated vesting in connection with certain qualifying
terminations of service or a change in control of the company, as
described in his employment agreement with the company. The stock
options have a term of ten years from the grant date. The grant was
made as an inducement that was a material component of Dr.
Marshall’s compensation and acceptance of employment with the
company and was granted as an employment inducement award pursuant
to NASDAQ Listing Rule 5635(c)(4).
About Conatus PharmaceuticalsConatus is a
biotechnology company focused on the development and
commercialization of novel medicines to treat liver disease. In
collaboration with Novartis, Conatus is developing its lead
compound, emricasan, for the treatment of patients with chronic
liver disease. Emricasan is a first-in-class, orally active
pan-caspase inhibitor designed to reduce the activity of enzymes
that mediate inflammation and apoptosis. Conatus believes that by
reducing the activity of these enzymes, caspase inhibitors have the
potential to interrupt the progression of a variety of diseases.
For additional information, please visit www.conatuspharma.com.
Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release
contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section
21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All
statements other than statements of historical facts contained in
this press release are forward-looking statements, including
statements regarding caspase inhibitors' potential to interrupt the
progression of a variety of diseases. In some cases, you can
identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “may,” “will,”
“should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “could,” “intend,”
“target,” “project,” “contemplates,” “believes,” “estimates,”
“predicts,” “potential” or “continue” or the negative of these
terms or other similar expressions. These forward-looking
statements speak only as of the date of this press release and are
subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions,
including those risks described in the company’s prior press
releases and in the periodic reports it files with the Securities
and Exchange Commission. The events and circumstances
reflected in the company’s forward-looking statements may not be
achieved or occur and actual results could differ materially from
those projected in the forward-looking statements. Except as
required by applicable law, the company does not plan to publicly
update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein,
whether as a result of any new information, future events, changed
circumstances or otherwise.
CONTACT: Alan Engbring
Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc.
(858) 376-2637
aengbring@conatuspharma.com
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