aTyr Pharma Announces Positive Biomarker Data from Phase 2 Clinical Trial of ATYR1923 Demonstrating Anti-Inflammatory Effects in COVID-19 Patients with Severe Respiratory Complications

Excerpt from the Press Release:

SAN DIEGO, March 15, 2021 (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 biomarker results from its Phase 2 double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of its lead therapeutic candidate, ATYR1923, in hospitalized COVID-19 patients with severe respiratory complications receiving standard of care, including remdesivir and/or dexamethasone, who did not require mechanical ventilation. Patients treated with ATYR1923 demonstrated a trend of overall improvement in key biomarkers analyzed compared to placebo. In particular, patients treated with ATYR1923 had greater reduction in levels of several inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, including interferon gamma (IFNγ), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and monocyte chemoattractant protein 1(MCP-1). Furthermore, patients treated with ATYR1923 also had a statistically significant reduction in levels of serum amyloid A (SAA), a marker of inflammation and fibrosis that has implications in sarcoidosis.

“We are very pleased with these findings, which provide the first mechanistic proof-of-concept for ATYR1923 in patients and demonstrate that ATYR1923 is impacting inflammation in patients consistent with what we have seen preclinically,” said Sanjay S. Shukla, M.D., M.S., President and Chief Executive Officer of aTyr. “Notably, the cytokines that we saw reduced to the greatest extent as a result of ATYR1923 treatment in these COVID-19 patients are the same cytokines we have seen ATYR1923 downregulate in our animal models. We also saw an impact on SAA, a biomarker that is associated with disease progression in sarcoidosis, a highly inflammatory form of interstitial lung disease (ILD) and the lead indication in which ATYR1923 is being evaluated. These findings further support our understanding of ATYR1923’s anti-inflammatory mechanism of action.”

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