aTyr Pharma to Present Poster at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) International Congress 2022

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- aTyr Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: LIFE), a biotherapeutics company engaged in the discovery and development of first-in-class medicines from its proprietary tRNA synthetase platform, today announced that the company will present a poster on Monday, September 5, 2022, from 8:30AM – 9:30AM CEST at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) International Congress 2022 in Barcelona, Spain. The corresponding abstract and e-poster are available on the conference website. The poster will be available on the aTyr website once presented.

The poster presents findings for a highly selective and sensitive antibody for the immunohistochemical (IHC) detection of neuropilin-2 (NRP2) protein in patient tissue samples. NRP2 is a cell surface receptor that has been identified as the binding partner for efzofitimod, a novel immunomodulator in clinical development for the potential treatment of pulmonary sarcoidosis and other forms of interstitial lung disease (ILD). The antibody was shown to be highly specific for NRP2 and was used to demonstrate a high level of NRP2 protein expression in granulomas of sarcoidosis patient lung and skin biopsy samples.

“This unique antibody developed by the aTyr research team and optimized for IHC in collaboration with the Muders lab provides a highly specific and sensitive detection method for NRP2 that will facilitate characterization of the target receptor for efzofitimod in patient tissue samples,” said Leslie A. Nangle, Ph.D., Vice President, Research at aTyr. “This may provide an extremely useful clinical tool, potentially aiding in patient selection or stratification, thereby enabling thoughtful understanding of NRP2 expression as it relates to relevant disease states, in sarcoidosis, other ILD, oncology and other indications in which this receptor plays a role.”

Details of the poster presentation are as follows:

Title: A novel neuropilin-2 (NRP2) antibody for immunohistochemical staining of patient tissue samples
Authors: Yeeting E. Chong, Sarah Förster, David Siefker, Yvonne Becker, Erik Escobedo, Luke Burman, Kaitlyn Rauch, Suzanne Paz, Christoph Burkart, Andrea Cubitt, Michael H. Muders, Leslie A. Nangle. aTyr Pharma, San Diego, CA, USA. Rudolf-Becker-Laboratory, Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
Poster Number: PA2087
Session: TP-6: Molecular Pathology and Cellular Biology of Pulmonary Diseases
Date and Time: Monday, September 5, 2022 from 8:30AM – 9:30AM CEST
Location: Thematic Poster Area, FIRA Barcelona Gran Via Congress Centre, Barcelona, Spain

About Efzofitimod

aTyr is developing efzofitimod as a potential therapeutic for patients with fibrotic lung disease. Efzofitimod, 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 innate and adaptive immune response in inflammatory disease states. aTyr’s lead indication for efzofitimod is pulmonary sarcoidosis, a major form of interstitial lung disease. Clinical proof-of-concept for efzofitimod was recently established in a Phase 1b/2a multiple-ascending dose, placebo-controlled study of efzofitimod in patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis, which demonstrated safety and a consistent dose response and trends of benefit of efzofitimod compared to placebo on key efficacy endpoints, including steroid reduction, lung function, clinical symptoms and inflammatory biomarkers. aTyr is currently conducting EFZO-FIT™, a Phase 3 study of efzofitimod in pulmonary sarcoidosis patients.

About aTyr

aTyr is a biotherapeutics company engaged in the discovery and development of first-in-class medicines from its proprietary tRNA synthetase platform. 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 efzofitimod, a clinical-stage product candidate which binds to the neuropilin-2 receptor and is designed to downregulate immune engagement in fibrotic lung disease. For more information, please visit 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 efzofitimod; timelines and plans with respect to certain development activities (such as the timing of 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 Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2022 filed with the SEC on August 15, 2022 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.