aTYR PHARMA INC

In 2005, aTyr was founded by Paul Schimmel, and Xiang-Lei Yang, two aminoacyl tRNA synthetase scientists at The Scripps Research Institute. In 2009, Bruce Beutler, recipient of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, joined aTyr as a member of the scientific advisory board.

In April 2007, Polaris Partners and Alta Partners co-led a $10.5 million Series B financing. In October 2010, Series C financing totaled $23 million and was led by Domain Associates. This round was followed by a $49 million Series D in August 2013.

aTyr was a winner of the 2011 Red Herring 100 North America Award for discovering and developing innovative medicines based on Physiocrine biology.

In April 2015, aTyr raised $76 million in a Series E, led by Sofinnova Ventures, and filed for an IPO. The company began trading as LIFE on the Nasdaq stock exchange.

ATyr's primary focus is on ATYR1923, a clinical stage product candidate which binds to the NRP2 receptor and is designed to down regulate immune engagement in interstitial lung diseases (ILDs). ATYR1923 is currently being investigated in a clinical trial in patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis. In January 2020, ATyr entered into a license with Kyorin Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. for the development and commercialization of ATYR1923 for ILDs in Japan. Under the license agreement, Kyorin received an exclusive right to develop and commercialize ATYR1923 in Japan for all forms of ILDs including, sarcoidosis, chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis (CHP) and connective tissue disease ILD (CTD-ILD). aTyr recently initiated a clinical trial for ATYR1923 in patients with severe respiratory complications related to COVID-19.