aTyr Pharma Announces Research Collaboration with Dualsystems Biotech AG to Identify 10 New Therapeutic Targets
CollaborateFirst in ClassSmall molecular drug
SAN DIEGO, Oct. 11, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- aTyr Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: LIFE) (aTyr or “the Company”), a biotherapeutics company engaged in the discovery and development of first-in-class medicines from its proprietary tRNA synthetase platform, today announced that it has entered into a research collaboration with Dualsystems Biotech AG, a company specializing in custom proteomics, aimed at accelerating drug discovery and generating new therapeutics based on aTyr’s extensive intellectual property (IP) portfolio. Under the collaboration, which is exclusive with respect to tRNA related molecules, Dualsystems will utilize their proprietary receptor screening technology and research expertise to attempt to identify and validate 10 new target receptors for tRNA synthetases by 2025.
“We are delighted to build upon the impactful discovery work that we have accomplished with Dualsystems thus far,” said Sanjay S. Shukla, M.D., M.S., President and Chief Executive Officer of aTyr. “We were impressed with the work that this highly specialized company conducted to identify fibroblast growth factor receptor 4 (FGFR4) as the target receptor for a fragment of alanyl-tRNA synthetase (AARS), and we are eager for them to showcase their cutting-edge technology further by applying it to additional tRNA synthetases from our IP. We look forward to discoveries from this collaboration as a way to potentially accelerate drug discovery efforts and identify new drugs from our platform.”
aTyr has built an IP estate of over 200 issued patents to date with a goal to create a strategic boundary around the company’s foundational science and library of extracellular tRNA synthetase protein fragments. This library encompasses fragments from all 20 human tRNA synthetases and emphasizes those that are most likely to be therapeutically viable based on understood connections to human disease. aTyr’s approach is to elucidate the unique signaling pathways modulated by these tRNA synthetase fragments and create new biologic therapies based on that understanding. Identifying specific receptor targets for the different tRNA synthetase fragments is a key step in this process.
“We are very pleased to work in collaboration with aTyr to maximize the capabilities of our innovative proprietary screening technology and internal expertise to help potentially generate new therapeutic opportunities from their unique discovery platform,” said Paul Helbing, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Dualsystems Biotech.
The company recently announced the target receptor for a fragment derived from the tRNA synthetase AARS as FGFR4, which was identified using Dualsystems’ screening technology. aTyr intends to interrogate the interaction between this fragment of AARS and FGFR4 to determine potential therapeutic indications.
About aTyr
aTyr is a biotherapeutics company engaged in the discovery and development of first-in-class medicines from its proprietary tRNA synthetase platform. aTyr’s research and development efforts are concentrated on a newly discovered area of biology, the extracellular functionality and signaling pathways of tRNA synthetases. aTyr has built a global intellectual property estate directed to a potential pipeline of protein compositions derived from 20 tRNA synthetase genes and their extracellular targets. aTyr’s primary focus is efzofitimod, a clinical-stage product candidate which binds to the neuropilin-2 receptor and is designed to downregulate immune engagement in fibrotic lung disease. For more information, please visit www.atyrpharma.com.
About Dualsystems Biotech AG
Dualsystems Biotech is a privately held biotechnology company established in 2006 as a spin-off from the University Zurich, Switzerland. Dualsystems has positioned itself as a leading provider of screening services to the international research community in the pharmaceutical, biotech, agrochemical and cosmetic industries as well as academia.
Dualsystems Biotech’s unique and comprehensive screening platforms enable the identification of small molecule-protein and protein-protein interactions in any cellular setting. Dualsystems Biotech’s drug and target profiling technologies have significant advantages in cost, speed and sensitivity compare to similar screening technologies for small molecules currently available. They are a powerful tool to accelerate drug target discovery and elucidation of mechanism of action and off-target effect identification in key therapeutic areas.
For more information about Dualsystems Biotech please visit www.dualsystems.com.
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