aTyr Pharma Announces Co-Founder of the Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research and Leading Sarcoidosis Advocate Andrea Wilson as Patient Advisor

SAN DIEGO, April 08, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- aTyr Pharma Inc.. (Nasdaq: LIFE), a biotherapeutics company engaged in the discovery and development of innovative medicines based on novel biological pathways, today announced the appointment of Andrea Wilson as a patient advisor to the company. Ms. Wilson, a sarcoidosis patient and advocate, co-founded the Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research (FSR), the leading international nonprofit organization dedicated to finding a cure for sarcoidosis and improving care for sarcoidosis patients, and previously served as President and a member of its Board of Directors, including Chairwoman.

“We are pleased during Sarcoidosis Awareness Month to welcome Andrea, a leading advocate for sarcoidosis, as a patient advisor to aTyr,” said Sanjay S. Shukla, M.D., M.S., President and Chief Executive Officer of aTyr. “Andrea has dedicated the past 20 years to promoting awareness and generating support to accelerate research to find a cure for this debilitating disease. Her firsthand knowledge as a patient combined with her longstanding advocacy experience and relationship to the sarcoidosis community will help support patient strategies for our ATYR1923 clinical program in pulmonary sarcoidosis.”

“I am delighted to join aTyr as a patient advisor. As a longtime sarcoidosis patient and Co-Founder and former Board Member of the Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research, I know through personal experience the need for new treatment options for patients with sarcoidosis, including alternatives to corticosteroids,” said Ms. Wilson. “I look forward to supporting aTyr as they continue development of ATYR1923 as a potential new therapeutic for this chronic, debilitating disease.”

Sarcoidosis is an inflammatory disease characterized by the formation of granulomas, clumps of inflammatory cells, in one or more organs in the body. Sarcoidosis in the lungs is called pulmonary sarcoidosis and occurs in more than 90% of all sarcoidosis patients. Pulmonary sarcoidosis is a major form of interstitial lung disease, a group of immune-mediated disorders which can cause progressive fibrosis, or scarring, of lung tissue. Approximately 150,000 to 200,000 Americans live with pulmonary sarcoidosis. The prognosis for patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis ranges from benign and self-limiting to chronic, debilitating disease, permanent loss of lung function and death. Current treatment options include corticosteroids and other immunosuppressive therapies, which have limited efficacy and are associated with serious side-effects when used long-term that many patients cannot tolerate.

About ATYR1923

aTyr is developing ATYR1923 as a potential therapeutic for patients with inflammatory lung diseases. ATYR1923, a fusion protein comprised of the immuno-modulatory domain of histidyl tRNA synthetase fused to the FC region of a human antibody, is a selective modulator of Neuropilin-2 that downregulates the innate and adaptive immune response in inflammatory disease states. aTyr recently completed enrollment in a proof-of-concept Phase 1b/2a trial evaluating ATYR1923 in patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis. This Phase 1b/2a study is a multi-ascending dose, placebo-controlled, first-in-patient study of ATYR1923 that has been designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, steroid sparing effect, immunogenicity and pharmacokinetic profile of multiple doses of ATYR1923. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, aTyr completed a Phase 2 clinical trial with ATYR1923 in COVID-19 patients with severe respiratory complications. This Phase 2 study was a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled study that was designed to evaluate the safety and preliminary efficacy of a single dose of ATYR1923.

About aTyr

aTyr is a biotherapeutics company engaged in the discovery and development of innovative medicines based on novel biological pathways. aTyr’s research and development efforts are concentrated on a newly discovered area of biology, the extracellular functionality and signaling pathways of tRNA synthetases. aTyr has built a global intellectual property estate directed to a potential pipeline of protein compositions derived from 20 tRNA synthetase genes and their extracellular targets. aTyr’s primary focus is ATYR1923, a clinical-stage product candidate which binds to the Neuropilin-2 receptor and is designed to down-regulate immune engagement in inflammatory lung diseases. For more information, please visit http://www.atyrpharma.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are usually identified by the use of words such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “projects,” “seeks,” “should,” “will,” and variations of such words or similar expressions. We intend these forward-looking statements to be covered by such safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements and are making this statement for purposes of complying with those safe harbor provisions. These forward-looking statements include statements regarding potential therapeutic benefits and applications of ATYR1923; timelines and plans with respect to certain development activities (such as the timing of data from clinical trials); and certain development goals. These forward-looking statements also reflect our current views about our plans, intentions, expectations, strategies and prospects, which are based on the information currently available to us and on assumptions we have made. Although we believe that our plans, intentions, expectations, strategies and prospects, as reflected in or suggested by these forward-looking statements, are reasonable, we can give no assurance that the plans, intentions, expectations or strategies will be attained or achieved. All forward-looking statements are based on estimates and assumptions by our management that, although we believe to be reasonable, are inherently uncertain. Furthermore, actual results may differ materially from those described in these forward-looking statements and will be affected by a variety of risks and factors that are beyond our control including, without limitation, uncertainty regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, risks associated with the discovery, development and regulation of our product candidates, the risk that we or our partners may cease or delay preclinical or clinical development activities for any of our existing or future product candidates for a variety of reasons (including difficulties or delays in patient enrollment in planned clinical trials), the possibility that existing collaborations could be terminated early, and the risk that we may not be able to raise the additional funding required for our business and product development plans, as well as those risks set forth in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and in our other SEC filings. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.