aTyr Pharma to Host Virtual Key Opinion Leader Event on Current Treatment Options for Pulmonary Sarcoidosis

Event will feature Dr. Daniel Culver, Director of the Interstitial Lung Disease Program at the Cleveland Clinic.

Conference call and webcast scheduled for Tuesday June 29^th at 5:00pm ET/2:00pm PT.

SAN DIEGO, June 23, 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 that the company will host a virtual Key Opinion Leader (KOL) event on the current treatment options for pulmonary sarcoidosis on Tuesday, June 29^th at 5:00pm ET/2:00pm PT.

The event will feature a presentation by Daniel Culver, D.O., Director of the Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) Program at the Cleveland Clinic and a leading KOL in the area of pulmonary sarcoidosis, a major form of ILD. Dr. Culver will discuss the current standard of care and unmet medical need for patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis, including the side effects associated with long-term steroid use and need for steroid sparing agents.

To register for the event, please click here.

Sanjay Shukla, M.D., M.S., President and Chief Executive Officer of aTyr, will provide an overview of the company’s lead therapeutic candidate, ATYR1923, which is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1b/2a study in patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis. Data from this study is expected in the third quarter of this year. This is a multiple-ascending dose, double-blind, placebo-controlled study that has been designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, immunogenicity and pharmacokinetic profile of multiple doses of ATYR1923 compared to placebo, as well as to evaluate preliminary efficacy measures including steroid sparing effect, measures of lung function and potential disease biomarkers.

Dr. Culver and Dr. Shukla will be available for a live Q&A session as part of the event.

Daniel Culver, D.O., is Director of the Interstitial Lung Disease Program in the Department of Pulmonary Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, OH. He holds a joint appointment in the Department of Pathobiology. His clinical interests include interstitial lung disease, sarcoidosis, pulmonary alveolar proteinosis and critical care. Dr. Culver earned his Doctorate of Osteopathic Medicine degree at the Ohio State University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Athens, OH. He is a fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians and several other professional associations, including the American Thoracic Society and the American Osteopathic Association. He is the President of the World Association of Sarcoidosis and Other Granulomatous Disorders and previously served as the Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board for the Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research.

A replay of the event will be available on the Investor’s section of the company’s website following the event at www.atyrpharma.com.

About ATYR1923

aTyr is developing ATYR1923 as a potential therapeutic for patients with severe 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 has 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. Proof-of-mechanism for ATYR1923 was recently established in a Phase 2 clinical trial in COVID-19 patients with severe respiratory complications, which demonstrated that ATYR1923 reduced inflammatory cytokine levels in patients consistent with preclinical models, including cytokines that are implicated in sarcoidosis and other forms of interstitial lung disease.

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.