SAN DIEGO, Jan. 02, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- aTyr Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: LIFE), a biotherapeutics company engaged in the discovery and development of innovative medicines based on novel immunological pathways, today announced that management will provide an update on the ongoing clinical development of its lead candidate, ATYR1923, currently in a Phase 1b/2a clinical trial in patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis, as well as other initiatives, at Biotech Showcase, which is being held January 7-9, 2019. Management is also participating in the 8^th Annual LifeSci Advisors Corporate Access Event which is also being held January 7-9.

Details of the events are as follows:

Biotech Showcase

Date: Monday, January 7, 2019
Presentation time: 10:30 AM
Hilton San Francisco Union Square

LifeSci Advisors Corporate Access Event

Date: Wednesday, January 9, 2019
Sir Francis Drake Hotel

To schedule a meeting at LifeSci Advisors Corporate Access Event, you can register on the online system managed by LifeSci Advisors, our investor relations firm, or you can contact them directly at access@lifesciadvisors.com or by telephone at 646-889-1200.

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 (HARS) 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 multiple-ascending dose, placebo-controlled, first-in-patient study of ATYR1923 that has been designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, steroid sparing effect, immunogenicity and PK 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 immunological 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.

Source: aTyr Pharma, Inc.