SAN DIEGO, August 24, 2006 — Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced that it has retained the services of new personnel that complete the key team of technical and business expertise.

Joining Conatus is Patricia Contreras, Ph.D., MiRa Huyghe, Sharon Platt and Karen Valentino, Ph.D.

“We are pleased to have these critically important personnel join Conatus,” said Steven J. Mento, President and CEO of Conatus. “We now have internal capabilities in chemistry, pharmacology, toxicology, regulatory, clinical, finance and business development. With this group, we can pursue our business plan and expect that, along with selected external experts, we will secure our first in-licensed asset in the very near future.”

Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc. is a privately-held specialty pharmaceutical company engaged in the development of innovative human therapeutics to treat liver disease. Chronic liver disease affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide and can be caused by many different conditions or “insults” to the liver including viral infection, obesity, chronic alcohol abuse or autoimmune diseases. Conatus was founded by the executive management team of Idun Pharmaceuticals in July 2005 following the successful sale of Idun to Pfizer.