SAN DIEGO, March 20, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- aTyr Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: LIFE), a clinical stage biotherapeutics company engaged in the discovery and development of first-in-class medicines from its proprietary tRNA synthetase platform, and the Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research (FSR), the leading international nonprofit organization dedicated to finding a cure for sarcoidosis and improving care for sarcoidosis patients, today announced that they will hold a Virtual Town Hall on Sarcoidosis and Transitioning from Steroids to New and Investigational Therapies. The event will be held on Saturday, March 25, 2023, at 12:00pm ET / 11:00am CT / 9:00am PT.

The Town Hall discussion will feature a panel of leading experts related to sarcoidosis treatment and advocacy, including:

• John Carlin (Moderator) – Host, Sarc Fighter Podcast and Co-Chair, FSR Patient Advisory Committee
• Jim Kuhn – FSR Patient Advocate for Sarcoidosis
• Shambhu Aryal, M.D. – Medical Director, Inova Lung Transplant Program and Inova Sarcoidosis Center, Inova Fairfax Hospital
• Mary McGowan – CEO, FSR
• Sanjay S. Shukla, M.D., M.S. – President and CEO, aTyr Pharma

Registration is open to anyone who wishes to attend. For more information and to register, please visit the event page on the FSR website here. Following the event, a replay will be available on the FSR YouTube Channel.

“We look forward to this discussion to help educate patients on evaluating sarcoidosis treatments and considerations for transitioning to a new therapy. While steroids are a treatment option for many people with sarcoidosis, they have limited efficacy and serious side effects when used long term,” said Sanjay S. Shukla, M.D., M.S., President and Chief Executive Officer of aTyr. “New non-steroidal treatments that are safe and can help patients maintain adequate symptom control while improving quality of life are on the horizon. Efzofitimod is currently in clinical development for pulmonary sarcoidosis and may in the future provide a better alternative to steroid treatment.”

“In advance of Sarcoidosis Awareness Month in April, we are pleased to collaborate with aTyr and other members of our esteemed panel for this important event to discuss new and emerging treatment options for sarcoidosis and what to expect when transitioning from steroid treatment to another therapy,” said Mary McGowan, CEO of FSR.

Sarcoidosis is an immune-mediated disease characterized by the formation of granulomas, clumps of inflammatory cells, in one or more organs of the body, predominantly in the lungs. Approximately 200,000 Americans live with pulmonary sarcoidosis and the prognosis ranges from benign and self-limiting to chronic, debilitating disease, with 1 in 5 cases resulting in fibrosis, or scarring, of the lungs, which causes permanent loss of lung function and in many cases death. Current treatment options include corticosteroids and other immunosuppressive therapies, which have limited efficacy and are associated with serious side effects that many patients cannot tolerate long term.

About Efzofitimod

aTyr is developing efzofitimod as a potential therapeutic for patients with fibrotic lung disease. Efzofitimod, a fusion protein comprised of the immunomodulatory domain of histidyl-tRNA synthetase fused to the FC region of a human antibody, is a selective modulator of neuropilin-2 that downregulates innate immune responses 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 global pivotal Phase 3 study of efzofitimod in pulmonary sarcoidosis. For more information, please visit www.efzofit.com.

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.

About the Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research (FSR)

The Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research (FSR) is the leading international organization dedicated to finding a cure for sarcoidosis and improving care for sarcoidosis patients through research, education and support. Since its establishment in 2000, FSR has fostered over $6 million in sarcoidosis-specific research efforts. For more information, please visit www.stopsarcoidosis.org.

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,” “can,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “project” “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 data from 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 Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 filed with the SEC on March 14, 2023 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.