aTyr Pharma Announces Research Collaboration with Medical University of South Carolina
October 29 2020 - 7:00AM
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 it has entered into
a research collaboration with the Medical University of South
Carolina (MUSC). Dr. Robert M. Gemmill, Ph.D., the former Melvyn
Berlinksy Chair of Cancer Research and Professor of Medicine
Emeritus in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at MUSC, will serve
as the principal investigator for the collaboration. Dr. Gemmill’s
research focuses on the genetic alteration of genes during lung and
kidney cancer development, including the role of Neuropilin-2
(NRP2). The collaboration aims to accelerate the development of
therapeutic antibodies that selectively target specific NRP2
isoforms and validate their potential use in the treatment of lung
cancer.
Lung cancer is the most common cancer and the
leading cause of cancer death among men and women worldwide.
Despite currently available treatments, many tumors become
metastatic or develop resistance to targeted therapies. The
development of new therapeutic strategies, which can enhance the
existing therapeutic approaches and reduce or overcome drug
resistance, are greatly needed. Research shows that aggressive
forms of lung cancer are associated with higher expression of NRP2,
a cell surface co-receptor involved in tumor progression and drug
resistance, and specifically the splice variant NRP2b. Higher
expression of NRP2 is linked to worsened patient outcomes in many
cancers.
“We are pleased to strengthen our academic
partnerships and evolve our understanding of the role of NRP2 in
lung cancer by entering into this research collaboration with Dr.
Gemmill, a noted expert in the field of NRP2 biology and its role
in cancer,” said Sanjay S. Shukla, M.D., M.S., President and Chief
Executive Officer of aTyr. “Dr. Gemmill’s long-standing work in
lung cancer is particularly aligned with aTyr’s belief that our
antibodies have the potential to be engineered to inhibit the high
expression of NRP2 often seen in aggressive tumors, including lung
cancers. Despite currently available treatments, these aggressive
tumors remain an area of high unmet medical need. We look forward
to collaborating on future findings in this area.”
“We know that NRP2 plays a role in both
metastatic spread and acquired drug resistance leading to worsened
patient survival,” noted Dr. Gemmill. “We look forward to the day
when these life-threatening processes may be able to be blocked
using NRP2 antibodies.”
Dr. Gemmill graduated magna cum laude with a
B.A. in Biology and a minor in Chemistry from the University of
Connecticut. He received a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Cornell
University. He completed post-doctoral training in Molecular
Biology for one year at Cornell and in Molecular Genetics for a
second year at Arizona State University. He previously served as
the Director of Molecular Genetics at The Genetics Center of the
Southwest Biomedical Research Institute in Scottsdale, AZ, and
Director of the Colorado Cancer Center Cytogenetics Laboratory. He
was an Institute Fellow at the Eleanor Roosevelt Institute for
Cancer Research in Denver, CO, and served as Professor in the
Department of Medicine at the University of Colorado Health
Sciences Center before moving to the Medical University of South
Carolina, where he is Professor of Medicine, Emeritus.
About NRP2
Neuropilin-2 (NRP2) is a cell surface receptor
that plays a key role in lymphatic development and in regulating
inflammatory responses. In many forms of cancer, high NRP2
expression is associated with worse outcomes. NRP2 can interact
with multiple ligands and co-receptors through distinct domains to
influence their functional roles, making it a potential drug target
with multiple distinct therapeutic applications. NRP2 interacts
with type 3 semaphorins and plexins to impact inflammation and with
forms of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and their
receptors, to impact lymphangiogenesis. In addition, NRP2 modulates
interactions between CCL21 and CCR7 potentially impacting homing of
dendritic cells to lymphoid organs. aTyr is currently investigating
NRP2 receptor biology, both internally and in collaboration with
key academic thought leaders, as a novel target for new product
candidates for a variety of diseases, including cancer and
inflammation.
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 the potential therapeutic benefits and
applications of NRP2 antibodies; timelines and plans with respect
to certain development activities, potential benefits of
collaborations 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.
|
Contact: |
Ashlee Dunston |
Investor Relations, aTyr
Pharma |
adunston@atyrpharma.com |
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