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aTyr Pharma Announces Phase 2 Study of ATYR1923 in COVID-19 Patients with Severe Respiratory Complications Following FDA Acceptance of IND Application
SAN DIEGO, April 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- aTyr Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: LIFE), a biotherapeutics company engaged in the discovery and development of
About this update from Atyr Pharma, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"SAN DIEGO, April 21, 2020 (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 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted its Investigational New Drug (IND) application to evaluate its lead therapeutic candidate, ATYR1923, in a Phase 2 study in COVID-19 patients with severe respiratory complications.\n “Many COVID-19 patients with severe disease experience serious, sometimes fatal, respiratory complications caused by an excessive inflammatory response in the lung, primarily driven by T-cells,” said Dr. Sanjay Shukla, M.D., M.S., President and Chief Executive Officer of aTyr. “The inflammatory lung injury related to COVID-19 may be similar to that of interstitial lung diseases, or ILDs, for which ATYR1923 is currently being investigated.” ATYR1923 has been shown pre-clinically to downregulate T-cell responses, thereby dampening the inflammatory cytokine and chemokine signaling that has been implicated in these severe COVID-19 cases. ATYR1923 has also been shown to improve lung function, as well as to reduce inflammation and fibrosis, in multiple animal models of immune-mediated acute lung injury. “We believe there is strong scientific rationale for the development of ATYR1923 to treat COVID-19 patients,” said Dr. Shukla. “By targeting aberrant immune responses, we believe that ATYR1923’s mechanism of action has substantial overlap with this disease pathology and presents a compelling opportunity to potentially treat this subset of COVID-19 patients for which there are no approved therapies. We look forward to urgently implementing and advancing this important study as we seek to play a significant role in the global battle against COVID-19.” The Phase 2 clinical trial will be a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled study with ATYR1923 in 30 confirmed COVID-19 positive patients at up to 10 centers in the United States. Patients enrolled in the trial will be assigned to one of three cohorts of 10 patients each. Patients will receive a single intravenous (IV) dose of either 1.0 or 3.0 mg/kg ATYR1923 or placebo. The study will look to demonstrate safety and preliminary efficacy of ATYR1923 in COVID-19 patients with severe respiratory complications. Interim safety ...