Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc., a biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of novel medicines to treat liver disease, appointed Mason Yamashita, vice president, Pharmacovigilance, reporting to David Hagerty, executive vice president, clinical development.

“We are pleased to welcome Mason to Conatus and to expand the capabilities of our clinical development team,” said Dr. Hagerty. “Mason brings a wealth of drug development and pharmacovigilance experience that strengthens our internal clinical development capabilities. His knowledge of clinical trial and regulatory reporting best practices and his successful record of building a pharmacovigilance function across a broad range of development programs provides an excellent background for leadership of this important function at Conatus. As Mason assumes responsibility for assessing and reporting on emricasan’s safety profile, we anticipate continued progress toward the initial registration of emricasan.”

Dr. Yamashita has been executive director and vice president of clinical development/drug safety since 2011 at Isis Pharmaceuticals.