aTyr Pharma announces dosing of first patient in Phase 2 EFZO-CONNECT study

aTyr Pharma announced that it has dosed the first patient in its Phase 2 EFZO-CONNECT study. The proof-of-concept study will evaluate the efficacy, safety and tolerability of the Company’s lead therapeutic candidate, efzofitimod, compared to placebo in patients with systemic sclerosis-related interstitial lung disease, ILD. “We are very pleased to begin patient dosing in EFZO-CONNECT(TM), which is our second clinical study for efzofitimod in ILD,” said Sanjay S. Shukla, M.D., M.S., President and Chief Executive Officer of aTyr. “Efzofitimod has been shown preclinically to reduce lung and skin fibrosis in models of SSc, and NRP2, efzofitimod’s binding partner, is expressed in the skin of SSc patients. We believe there is compelling rationale that efzofitimod has the potential to target the underlying disease pathology central to this form of ILD and positively impact lung function and improve outcomes in these patients.”