Benzinga | Apr 14, 2021 09:42AM EDT

aTyr Pharma Recruits Lonza As Manufacturing Partner For Cancer Therapy ATYR2810

* aTyr Pharma Inc (NASDAQ: LIFE) and Lonza Group Ltd (OTC:LZAGF) have agreed to manufacture ATYR2810, aTyr's monoclonal antibody targeting Neuropilin-2 (NRP2) that is currently in preclinical development for cancer.

* Under the terms of the agreement, Lonza will utilize its Ibex Design to manufacture material for ATYR2810.

* The deal will cover the early stages from gene to Investigational New Drug. It will provide both drug substance and drug product to support toxicological studies in animals and early clinical development in humans.

* The scope will include process support, including cell line development, process development, and supply chain simplification, to drug substance & product manufacturing at Lonza's Visp and Stein sites in Switzerland.

* ATYR2810 is a fully-humanized monoclonal antibody designed to specifically and functionally block the interaction between NRP2 and one of its primary ligands, VEGF.

* Price Action: LIFE shares are up 1.9% at $3.81 on the last check Wednesday.