Participated · Series B · Apr 2007

aTyr Pharma is a San Diego-based biotherapeutics developer focused on therapeutics addressing severe and rare diseases, including muscular dystrophy. The company is advancing therapeutic programs targeted at those indications and other areas. In November 2016 the company secured additional financing in the form of a credit facility. The $20M facility was provided to improve the company’s near-term financial flexibility. aTyr said the proceeds will be used to pay off existing indebtedness and for general corporate purposes. No operational metrics or detailed program timelines were disclosed in the article. aTyr Pharma discovers and develops Therapeutics based on Physiocrines, naturally occurring extracellular signaling regions of tRNA synthetases, with a focus on immune-modulating treatments for rare diseases. Its lead clinical candidate, Resolaris, is an investigational Physiocrine-based drug currently in a Phase 1b/2 trial for facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD). The company plans to use recent financing proceeds to advance Resolaris through clinical trials and to expand development into additional indications. aTyr has built an intellectual property estate of 24 issued patents and over 200 pending patent applications that it owns or exclusively licenses. The privately held biotech was founded by Professors Paul Schimmel and Xiang-Lei Yang of The Scripps Research Institute. In conjunction with the financing, aTyr added Srinivas Akkaraju, M.D., Ph.D., a general partner at Sofinnova Ventures, to its board of directors. aTyr Pharma is a San Diego-based developer of protein-based therapeutics focused on treatments for immune disorders. The company is advancing its first therapeutic program toward clinical development. The program is aimed at rare autoimmune diseases and a rare disease pipeline in immune disorders. aTyr said new financing will support that clinical development. The company is led by John Medlein. Specific terms of the financing were not disclosed. aTyr Pharma develops biologic therapeutics based on physiocrines, a recently elucidated class of endogenous human proteins. The company focuses on addressing diseases across blood, immune and metabolic disorders by advancing physiocrine drug candidates. aTyr raised $23M in a Series C equity financing to accelerate development of its preclinical pipeline and push candidates into clinical trials. The round was led by Domain Associates with participation from Alta Partners, Cardinal Partners and Polaris Ventures. The company was founded by Dr. Paul Schimmel and John Clarke. In conjunction with the financing, Dr. James C. Blair will join the board alongside John Clarke, Dr. David Mack, Dr. John Mendlein, Dr. Amir Nashat, Dr. Paul Schimmel and Dr. Jeff Watkins. aTyr Pharma is a San Diego-based company developing biopharmaceuticals focused on inflammation, autoimmune, hematopoietic, and metabolic disorders. On July 28, 2009, the company disclosed it had raised $12M in an additional funding round. The funding came from existing investors, including Alta Partners, Cardinal Partners, Polaris Ventures, and Paul Schimmel. That $12M was raised on top of $12M from the same venture backers in April 2007. No operating metrics, planned use of proceeds, or other financing terms were provided in the article.