aTyr's Fresh Biology

aTyr Pharma Inc. is developing therapies based on physiocrines, a new class of proteins that could play roles in inflammation, autoimmune and metabolic diseases, and blood disorders. Because physiocrines are involved in newly discovered biological pathways, the company expects some to be druggable targets themselves and some to be developed as therapeutics targeting both new and known receptors.

Physiocrines are fragments of aminoacyl tRNA synthetases. The aminoacyl tRNA synthetase family comprises 20 enzymes that attach the correct amino acid to a tRNA during protein synthesis. The physiocrine fragments, however, perform extracellular activities...