Leading Cancer Researcher Dr. Judith Varner Joins aTyr Pharma as Scientific Advisor
March 10 2021 - 8:00AM
aTyr Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: LIFE), a biotherapeutics company engaged
in the discovery and development of innovative medicines based on
novel biological pathways, today announced the appointment of
Judith Varner, Ph.D., as a scientific advisor to the company. Dr.
Varner currently serves as Professor in the Departments of
Pathology and Medicine at the Moores Cancer Center at the
University of California, San Diego (UCSD).
“We are pleased to announce Dr. Varner as a
scientific advisor to our company and welcome the opportunity to
work with an expert that is local to San Diego and has a
world-renowned reputation in the area of cancer biology,” said
Sanjay S. Shukla, M.D., M.S., President and Chief Executive Officer
of aTyr. “We look forward to Dr. Varner’s contributions as we
continue to advance our mechanistic understanding of Neuropilin-2
(NRP2) as a potential target in solid tumors, including its
associated signaling pathways and interaction with VEGF, one of its
primary ligands. Her expertise in the areas of myeloid cell biology
and tumor macrophage signal transduction lends well to our emerging
NRP2 antibody program, which includes ATYR2810 and additional
discovery stage candidates.”
“Our recent poster presented at the 2021 Virtual
Keystone Symposia: Tumor Metabolism and the Microenvironment
demonstrates that NRP2 is highly expressed on key immune cells in
the tumor microenvironment, providing further validation of NRP2 as
a regulator of solid tumor progression. Research continues to
support NPR2 as a compelling target for potential therapeutic
approaches to treat certain aggressive cancers where high
expression of NRP2 is implicated, and aTyr is at the forefront of
the effort to better understand NRP2 and its signaling pathways,”
said Dr. Shukla.
Dr. Varner noted, “I look forward to serving on
the scientific advisory board of aTyr, a clear leader in the
development of anti-cancer therapeutics with their NRP2-based
antibody therapeutics program.”
Dr. Varner joined UCSD in the Department of
Medicine in 1997 and the Department of Pathology in 2012. As a
member of the Moores Cancer Center, her research is focused on the
role of inflammation in cancer. Her work, which recently appeared
in Cancer Cell, Nature and Cancer Discovery, has identified novel
mechanisms by which macrophages promote tumor growth and has
developed new approaches to treat cancer patients by targeting
tumor macrophage signal transduction. Dr. Varner has a particular
interest in mentoring and promoting equity and diversity; she has
served as the Chair of the Academic Senate Committee of Diversity
and Equity, as UC San Diego representative to the Universities of
California Academic Senate Committee on Diversity (UCAAD), and as a
member of the Academic Senate/Health Sciences Research Grant
Committee, the Senate-Administration Faculty Salary Equity Review
Committee and the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on the Status of
Women. She has also served as the Chair of the Moores Cancer Center
Space Advisory Committee, and as a member of the Medical Scientist
Training Program Recruitment and Admissions Committee, the
Department of Medicine Appointments and Promotions Committee, the
Biomedical Sciences Graduate Admission Committee and the School of
Medicine Recruitment and Admission Committee. She has served as
Chair of the NIH Tumor Microenvironment review panel and of several
NIH Special Emphasis reviews panel. Dr. Varner is a Fulbright
fellow and recipient of the AACR- Landon Foundation Innovator Award
for International Collaboration and the Lustgarten Foundation
Innovator Award for Pancreatic Cancer Research.
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, including ATYR2810; timelines and
plans with respect to certain development activities; 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: |
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Ashlee Dunston |
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Director, Investor Relations and
Corporate Communications |
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adunston@atyrpharma.com |
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