aTyr Pharma Announces Co-Founder of the Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research and Leading Sarcoidosis Advocate Andrea Wilson as...
April 08 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
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.
Contact: |
Ashlee Dunston |
Director, Investor Relations and
Corporate Communications |
adunston@atyrpharma.com |
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