SAN DIEGO, March 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- aTyr Pharma, Inc.
(Nasdaq: LIFE), a biotherapeutics company engaged in the discovery
and development of Physiocrine-based therapeutics to address
severe, rare diseases, today announced the issuance of US Patent
Number 9,428,743, which represents the successful completion of an
important aTyr milestone – the issuance of patents that cover
Physiocrines derived from all 20 human tRNA synthetases. In
addition, the patent portfolio covers all of aTyr's three current
programs in three different therapeutic areas.
"The USPTO issuance of our '743 patent represents one example of
the many efforts of our scientists to meticulously explore and
validate this new biology that is generating a pipeline of
therapeutics based on Physiocrines," said John Mendlein, Ph.D., CEO aTyr Pharma. "From our
pioneering scientific efforts, we established an extensive
intellectual property estate to protect fundamental discoveries of
innovative product opportunities in immunology and beyond, which is
rare for a single company or organization to amass this type of
patent portfolio. These achievements represent a significant value
driver for our company and our stakeholders as we extend our
protection to Physiocrine biology from 20 out of 20 human tRNA
synthetases."
aTyr's global patent estate includes over 175 issued or allowed
patents owned or exclusively licensed by aTyr and its Hong Kong subsidiary, Pangu BioPharma Limited.
This patent estate highlights aTyr's unique leadership position in
this emerging area of biology. aTyr's achievements build on
the important and innovative research from the laboratory of aTyr's
founders Dr. Paul Schimmel and Dr.
Xiang-Lei Yang at The Scripps Research Institute, which continues to be a
source of important innovation. These patents encompass important
therapeutic modalities including composition of matter claims to
the protein therapeutics, polynucleotide based therapeutics,
antibodies and therapeutic methods of use.
About Physiocrines
Physiocrines are naturally occurring human proteins that possess
novel in vivo biological activity as extracellular signaling
molecules. These proteins are derived from the extracellular
signaling regions or alternatively spliced variants of tRNA
synthetases that modulate a range of cellular activities to
maintain homeostasis. They represent a new therapeutic class and
novel targets in immunology that may potentially yield innovative
medicines for patients with many different types of
diseases.
About aTyr Pharma
aTyr Pharma is engaged in the discovery and clinical development
of innovative medicines for patients suffering from severe, rare
diseases using its knowledge of Physiocrine biology, a newly
discovered set of physiological pathways. To date, the company has
generated three innovative therapeutic candidate programs based on
its knowledge of Physiocrine biology in three different therapeutic
areas. aTyr has built an intellectual property estate, to protect
its pipeline, comprising over 175 issued patents or allowed patent
applications that are owned or exclusively licensed, including over
300 potential Physiocrine-based protein compositions. aTyr's key
programs are currently focused on severe, rare diseases
characterized by immune imbalance for which there are currently
limited or no treatment options. For more information, please visit
http://www.atyrpharma.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the Private Litigation Reform Act.
Forward-looking statements are usually identified by the use of
words such as "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects,"
"intends," "may," "plans," "projects," "seeks," "should," "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, including statements
regarding the potential of our Physiocrine-based product
candidates, the scope and strength of our intellectual property
portfolio, the ability of the Company to undertake certain research
and development activities and accomplish certain research and
development goals 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 those forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no
assurance that the plans, intentions, expectations or strategies
will be attained or achieved. Furthermore, actual results may
differ materially from those described in the forward-looking
statements and will be affected by a variety of risks and factors
that are beyond our control including, without limitation, risks
associated with the discovery, development and regulation of our
Physiocrine-based product candidates, as well as those set forth in
our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2015 and in our
subsequent SEC filings including our most recent Quarterly Report
for the quarter ended September 30, 2016. 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.
Contact:
Mark Johnson
Sr. Director, Investor
Relations
mjohnson@atyrpharma.com
858-223-1163
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/atyr-pharma-announces-issuance-of-us-patent-that-extends-patent-protection-of-physiocrines-derived-from-20-out-of-20-human-trna-synthetases-300423819.html
SOURCE aTyr Pharma, Inc.