Benzinga | Oct 26, 2020 07:01AM EDT

aTyr Pharma Announces Completion Of Enrollment In Phase 2 Clinical Trial Of ATYR1923 In COVID-19 Patients With Severe Respiratory Complications

Topline results are expected in the fourth quarter of 2020.



Trial evaluating the preliminary safety and efficacy of ATYR1923 vs placebo has exceeded enrollment.

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- aTyr Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:LIFE), a biotherapeutics company engaged in the discovery and development of innovative medicines based on novel biological pathways, today announced that it has completed enrollment in its Phase 2 clinical trial of its lead therapeutic candidate, ATYR1923, in COVID-19 patients with severe respiratory complications. The study enrolled a total of 32 patients at hospitals in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, exceeding the target enrollment of 30 patients. The company expects to report topline data from this trial by the end of this year.

"We are pleased to have completed the full enrollment of this study, which is an important step forward in our effort to aid in the fight against the global COVID-19 pandemic," said Sanjay S. Shukla, M.D., M.S., President and Chief Executive Officer of aTyr. "Throughout the course of this year, we have continued to advance our knowledge of the disease pathology of COVID-19, which in many patients includes a form of interstitial pneumonia that causes severe respiratory complications which can lead to long-term lung damage. We believe ATYR1923 leverages newly discovered biological pathways to down-regulate excessive inflammatory responses which may restore immune balance in the lung, offering the potential of a differentiated approach to treat this subset of patients with severe lung inflammation for which there are limited available treatment options. We look forward to sharing topline results of this study later this year."

The Phase 2 clinical trial is a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled study of ATYR1923 in hospitalized COVID-19 patients with severe respiratory complications who do not require mechanical ventilation. Patients enrolled in the trial were randomized 1:1:1 to a single intravenous dose of either 1.0 or 3.0 mg/kg of ATYR1923 or placebo. Patients are followed for 60 days post treatment. The trial is designed to evaluate the preliminary safety and efficacy of ATYR1923 as compared to placebo through the assessment of key clinical outcome measures.