• Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, added $7.5 million in a Series B investment from MPM Capital, of South San Francisco. The round is now closed with a total of $32.5 million. Proceeds will be used to advance clinical development of CTS-1027 in hepatitis C. In connection with the financing, Jim Scopa, of MPM, will join Conatus' board.

• Inhibitex Inc., of Atlanta, said underwriters for its recent public offering exercised their overallotment option in full for an additional 1.7 million shares priced at $4.10 apiece, adding net proceeds of $6.6 million. Total net proceeds from the public offering were $50.6 million and are expected to help support a Phase II trial of nucleotide polymerase inhibitor INX-189 in chronic hepatitis C and fund other R&D and corporate expenses. (See BioWorld Today, April 8, 2011.)

• Living Cell Technologies Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, said it expects to raise about $3. 16 million through a placement of 25 million shares in two tranches at 12 cents to Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development Co. Ltd., of Tokyo, the research and manufacturing arm of the Otsuka group of companies. Living Cell will use the proceeds to fund ongoing development and clinical trials of lead product Diabecell for the treatment of diabetes. The companies said they are negotiating a collaborative research and license agreement for research, development and commercialization of Diabecell in Japan and other Asian countries, excluding China where Living Cell has an existing deal with Jiangsu Aosaikang Pharmaceutical Co., of Nanjing, China.

•NPS Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Bedminster, N.J., said it will sell 9 million shares of common stock in an underwritten public offering. The offering has not been priced. The company said underwriters will have a 30-day option to buy as many as 1.35 million additional shares. Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Leerink Swann LLC are joint book-running managers. NPS said it has two Phase III programs, Gattex (teduglutide) in short bowel syndrome and NPSP558 (parathyroid hormone 1-84 [rDNA origin] injection) in hypoparathyroidism.