SAN DIEGO, July 31, 2018 (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 Jill Broadfoot has joined aTyr as Chief Financial Officer.

“We are delighted to welcome Jill to the aTyr team. She elevates our executive team’s leadership capabilities with her strong financial and operational background and proven track record in our industry,” said Sanjay Shukla, M.D., M.S., President and CEO of aTyr. “As a clinical development and early-stage research company, she will lead us as we diligently manage our finances and execute on our strategy with a focus on value creation.”

“I am impressed with the rigorous approach aTyr has employed in building a strong scientific foundation and mechanistic understanding of their proprietary and novel biology. This is exemplified by the discovery of the neuropilin-2 receptor and the extensive translational science recently conducted to de-risk the upcoming Phase 2 trial for ATYR1923 for the treatment of interstitial lung disease,” said Ms. Broadfoot. “It is an exciting time to join aTyr and their experienced management team as we work to deliver new potential therapeutics to patients.”

Prior to joining aTyr, from January 2017 to July 2018, Ms. Broadfoot served as Chief Financial Officer of Emerald Health Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Emerald Health Bioceuticals Inc. where she was responsible for establishing operations for the U.S.-based pharmaceutical and bioceuticals entities as well as the establishment of operations, corporate governance, finance and accounting and investor relations functions, among others. Prior to Emerald Health, Ms. Broadfoot served as Vice President, U.S. Corporate Controller at GW Pharmaceuticals plc, from May 2016 to January 2017. While at GW Pharmaceuticals, her responsibilities included establishing U.S. commercial operations and implementing U.S. public company financial and accounting standards in connection with the transfer of corporate operations from the U.K. to the U.S. Prior to joining GW Pharmaceuticals, Ms. Broadfoot served as Chief Financial Officer of Vical Inc., from October 2004 to March 2013, where she had oversight of finance, investor relations, manufacturing, information technology, human resources, and business development. Before joining Vical, Ms. Broadfoot held various positions at DJO Global, Inc., most recently as Vice President of Finance. Ms. Broadfoot also served as an audit manager at Ernst & Young LLP. Ms. Broadfoot holds a B.S. in business administration and accounting from San Diego State University and is a Certified Public Accountant.

In connection with Ms. Broadfoot’s appointment, aTyr granted Ms. Broadfoot an option to purchase 200,000 shares of aTyr’s common stock with an exercise price of $0.8151 per share, the closing price per share of aTyr’s common stock as reported by NASDAQ on July 30, 2018, the effective date of the grant and the start date of Ms. Broadfoot's employment. The option is a non-qualified stock option and vests over a period of four years, with 25% vesting on the one year anniversary of the grant date and the remaining 75% vesting on a monthly basis over three years, subject to Ms. Broadfoot's continuous employment through each vesting date. This award was granted as an inducement material to Ms. Broadfoot entering into employment with aTyr in accordance with NASDAQ Stock Market Rule 5635(c)(4).

About aTyr

aTyr is a clinical-stage biotechnology company engaged in the discovery and clinical development of innovative medicines using its knowledge of tRNA synthetase biology. aTyr is focused on the therapeutic translation of the Resokine pathway, comprised of extracellular proteins derived from the histidyl tRNA synthetase (HARS) gene family. aTyr’s clinical stage ATYR1923 candidate augments the Resokine pathway and is designed to temper immune engagement in interstitial lung diseases. aTyr has built an intellectual property estate, to protect its pipeline, comprising over 250 issued patents or allowed patent applications that are owned or exclusively licensed, including over 300 potential protein compositions derived from tRNA synthetase genes. 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 therapeutic benefits and applications of our product candidates; our ability to successfully advance our pipeline or product candidates, undertake certain development activities (such as the initiation of clinical trials, clinical trial enrollment, the conduct of clinical trials and the announcement of top-line results) and accomplish certain development goals, and the timing of such events; and the scope and strength of our intellectual property portfolio. 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. 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, risks associated with the discovery, development and regulation of our product candidates, the risk that we 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), 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:
Mark Johnson
Sr. Director, Investor Relations
mjohnson@atyrpharma.com
858-223-1163

Source: aTyr Pharma, Inc.