ATyr Pharma

ATyr Pharma is a biotherapeutics company that focuses on the discovery and development of innovative medicines based on novel immunological pathways. The company's research is centered 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.

History[edit | edit source]

ATyr Pharma was founded in 2005 by Paul Schimmel, a leading scientist in the field of aminoacyl tRNA synthetases, and John Clarke, a venture capitalist from Cardinal Partners. The company was initially funded by a group of investors led by Cardinal Partners and Polaris Partners. In 2015, ATyr Pharma went public on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the ticker symbol "LIFE".

Research and Development[edit | edit source]

ATyr Pharma's research and development efforts are focused on a novel area of biology, the extracellular functionality of tRNA synthetases. These proteins, traditionally thought to be involved in protein synthesis, have been found to have significant roles in various physiological and pathological processes when functioning outside the cell.

ATyr's lead product candidate, ATYR1923, is a fusion protein comprised of the immuno-modulatory domain of histidyl tRNA synthetase fused to the FC region of a human antibody. It is being developed for the treatment of interstitial lung diseases, a group of diseases that cause progressive scarring of lung tissue.

Clinical Trials[edit | edit source]

ATyr Pharma has conducted several clinical trials to evaluate the safety and efficacy of its product candidates. The most advanced of these is a Phase 2 trial of ATYR1923 in patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis, a rare inflammatory disease that affects multiple organs in the body, but mostly the lungs and lymph glands.

Partnerships[edit | edit source]

ATyr Pharma has established partnerships with several pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to advance its research and development efforts. These include collaborations with Kyorin Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. for the development and commercialization of ATYR1923 in Japan, and with CSL Behring for the discovery and development of new therapeutic antibodies.