SAN DIEGO, July 10, 2019 (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 Key Opinion Leader (KOL) call and webcast on pulmonary sarcoidosis and the current treatment landscape on Thursday, July 18^th at 2pm Eastern Time/11am Pacific Time.

Conference Call and Webcast Details
Thursday, July 18^th @ 2:00pm Eastern Time / 11:00 am Pacific Time
Domestic:                     888-394-8218
International:                 323-794-2590
Conference ID:              5365016
Webcast:                      https://viavid.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1251208

The call will feature a presentation by KOL Daniel Culver, DO, from the Cleveland Clinic, who will discuss the current standard of care and unmet medical need in treating patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis. Dr. Culver will be available at the conclusion of the call to answer questions.

The management team of aTyr Pharma will then provide a brief overview of the Company's lead program, ATYR1923, which is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1b/2a study in patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis. This Phase 1b/2a study is a multiple-ascending dose, placebo-controlled, first-in-patient study that has been designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, steroid sparing effect, immunogenicity and PK profile of multiple doses of ATYR1923.

Daniel Culver, DO, is Director of the Interstitial Lung Disease Program in the Department of Pulmonary Medicine at Cleveland Clinic. He holds joint appointments in the Department of Critical Care and Department of Pathobiology. His clinical interests include interstitial lung diseases, sarcoidosis, pulmonary alveolar proteinosis, and critical care. Dr. Culver earned his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree at the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Athens, Ohio. Dr. Culver is a fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians and a member of several professional associations, including the American Thoracic Society, the American Osteopathic Association and the World Association of Sarcoidosis. He is the President-Elect of the World Association of Sarcoidosis and Other Granulomatous Disorders and the Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board for the Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research.

About ATYR1923

aTyr is developing ATYR1923 as a potential therapeutic for patients with interstitial 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 initiated a proof-of-concept Phase 1b/2a trial evaluating ATYR1923 in patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis in the fourth quarter of 2018. 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 pharmacokinetics profile of multiple doses of ATYR1923. For the Phase 1b/2a trial, aTyr is collaborating with the Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research (FSR), the nation’s leading nonprofit organization dedicated to finding a cure for sarcoidosis and improving care for sarcoidosis patients. Under the terms of the collaboration, FSR will assist with clinical trial site initiation and patient enrollment.

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 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. aTyr is focused on the therapeutic translation of the Resokine pathway, comprised of extracellular proteins derived from the histidyl tRNA synthetase gene family. ATYR1923 is a clinical-stage product candidate which binds to the neuropilin-2 receptor and is designed to down-regulate immune engagement in interstitial lung diseases and other immune-mediated diseases. For more information, please visit http://www.atyrpharma.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

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Source: aTyr Pharma, Inc.