ATyr Pharma Doses First Patient In Phase 2 Trial Of ATYR1923 In COVID-19 Patients

(RTTNews) - aTyr Pharma Inc. (LIFE) said that it has dosed the first patient in a Phase 2 study evaluating its lead therapeutic candidate, ATYR1923, in COVID-19 patients with severe respiratory complications.

The study is expected to enroll 30 patients at up to 10 centers in the U.S. and the company expects to have the majority of centers enrolling within the coming weeks.

ATYR1923 is a potential first-in-class immunomodulator that has been shown preclinically to downregulate T-cell responses and improve inflammation and lung function.

ATYR1923 is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1b/2a multi-center trial for patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis, a serious inflammatory lung disease. There is strong scientific rationale for the hypothesis that ATYR1923 may help regulate the excessive inflammatory response in the lungs, primarily driven by T-cells, seen in many COVID-19 patients, the company said.

The company noted that patients enrolled in the trial will be assigned to one of three cohorts of 10 patients each. Patients will receive a single intravenous dose of either 1.0 or 3.0 mg/kg ATYR1923 or placebo.

Patients will be 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 such as fever and hypoxia as well as inflammatory biomarkers.