- Poster Presentations to Explore Potential of Augmenting Resokine Pathway in Severe, Rare Pulmonary Diseases with an Immune or Fibrotic Component -

- Conference Call and Webcast Featuring Guest Speaker Dr. Steven Nathan on May 23, 2017 at 8:30 am ET -

SAN DIEGO, May 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- aTyr Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq:LIFE), a biotherapeutics company engaged in the discovery and development of Physiocrine-based therapeutics to address severe, rare diseases, today announced its participation as part of two poster presentation sessions at the upcoming American Thoracic Society’s (ATS) 113^thInternational Conference to be held May 19 – 24, 2017 in Washington D.C.

In conjunction with the ATS presentations, aTyr Pharma will host an educational webinar on Tuesday, May 23, 2017 at 8:30 a.m. ET featuring Steven D. Nathan, M.D., FCCP, Director of the Advanced Lung Disease Program and Medical Director of the Lung Transplant Program at Inova Fairfax Hospital, to provide disease education on interstitial lung diseases that are characterized by an immune or fibrotic component. aTyr will also provide an overview of the iMod.Fc program (Stalaris) in development for the potential treatment of patients with severe, rare pulmonary diseases characterized by an immune or fibrotic component for whom there are limited treatment options. Following the presentation, Dr. Nathan and aTyr management will be available to answer questions.

Details of the ATS poster sessions are below:

Fibrosis: Mediators and Modulators - Tuesday, May 23, 2017

• Title: Resokine Modulates Immune Cell Infiltration into the Lung and Provides Therapeutic Activity in a Bleomycin-Induced Lung Fibrosis Model
• Author and Presenter:Kathy Ogilvie, PhD, Director, Physiology, aTyr Pharma
• Supporting Authors: Do M., Chiang K., Adams R., Crampton S., Nangle L., Cubitt A., McKew J., Ashlock M., Mendlein J.
• Poster Viewing:11:15 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. ET
• Location: Area A, Hall B-C (Middle Building, Lower Level), Walter E. Washington Convention Center

Immune Pathways in Acute Lung Injury and Fibrosis - Wednesday, May 24, 2017

• Title: The Resokine Pathway Is Implicated in the Pathology of Interstitial Lung Disease
• Author and Presenter:Leslie A. Nangle, PhD, Director, Discovery Biology, aTyr Pharma
• Supporting Authors: Tong Y., Mertsching E., Crampton S., Adams R., Chiang K., Ogilvie K., Schimmel P., McKew J., King D., Mendlein J.
• Poster Viewing:9:15 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. ET
• Poster Discussion: 9:45 a.m.  – 11:15 a.m. ET
• Location:Room 206 (South Building, Level 2), Walter E. Washington Convention Center

The presentations provide early preclinical support for the development of the iMod.Fc program for the treatment of patients with severe, rare pulmonary diseases characterized by an immune or fibrotic component. aTyr plans to initiate its first clinical trial for the iMod.Fc program in the second half of the year.

Conference Call and Webcast Details

On Tuesday, May 23, 2017 at 8:30 a.m. ET, aTyr Pharma will host a conference call and webcast with an accompanying slide presentation to discuss interstitial lung disease and the iMod.Fc program. The live webcast and slide presentation will be available on the Investors page of the Company's website at www.atyrpharma.com. Joining the aTyr Pharma management will be Steven D. Nathan, M.D., FCCP, director of the Advanced Lung Disease Program and medical director of the Lung Transplant Program at Inova Fairfax Hospital.

To access the call, please dial 844-358-9116 (domestic) or 209-905-5951 (international) and ask to join the aTyr Pharma call. A replay of the webcast will be archived on the Company’s website following the call.

About the iMod.Fc Program

aTyr Pharma scientists successfully engineered the first fusion protein with a Physiocrine, iMod.Fc, to provide designed properties to enhance the immuno-modulatory aspects of a Physiocrine in vivo. The Company is developing iMod.Fc as a potential therapeutic for patients with rare pulmonary diseases with an immune or fibrotic component, including interstitial lung disease. This fusion protein, which utilizes the Fc region of an antibody, also potentially represents a novel Fc-Physiocrine platform for future Physiocrine-based therapies.

About aTyr Pharma

aTyr Pharma is engaged in the discovery and clinical development of innovative medicines for patients suffering from severe, rare diseases using its knowledge of Physiocrine biology, a newly discovered set of physiological pathways. To date, the Company has generated three innovative therapeutic candidate programs based on its knowledge of Physiocrine biology in three different therapeutic areas. aTyr has built an intellectual property estate, to protect its pipeline, comprising over 190 issued patents or allowed patent applications that are owned or exclusively licensed, including over 300 potential Physiocrine-based protein compositions. aTyr's key programs are currently focused on severe, rare diseases characterized by immune imbalance for which there are currently limited or no treatment options. 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 Litigation Reform Act.  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, including statements regarding the potential and potential therapeutic benefits of iMod.Fc, the ability of the Company to successfully advance its pipeline or product candidates, undertake certain development activities (such as clinical trial enrollment and the conduct of clinical trials) and accomplish certain development goals and the timing of such activities and development goals, the timing of initiation of additional clinical trials, the scope and strength of our intellectual property portfolio, our ability to receive regulatory approvals for, and commercialize, our product candidates and of reporting results from our clinical trials 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 those forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that the plans, intentions, expectations or strategies will be attained or achieved. Furthermore, actual results may differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements and will be affected by a variety of risks and factors that are beyond our control including, without limitation, risks associated with the discovery, development and regulation of our Physiocrine-based product candidates, as well as those set forth in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 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:
Mark Johnson
Sr. Director, Investor Relations
mjohnson@atyrpharma.com
858-223-1163