aTyr Pharma (NASDAQ: LIFE) reported Q1 EPS of ($9.39), versus ($7.87) reported last year.

The Company successfully completed its initial public offering following the end of the quarter on May 12, 2015, with estimated net proceeds of $76.9 million. Total cash and investments are expected to be approximately $145 million as of June 30, 2015.

Proceeds raised during the first half of 2015 will be used to fund operations, including the ongoing Phase 1b/2 clinical trial of Resolaris™, a first-in-class protein therapeutic in adult patients with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD), as well as expansion into other forms of muscular dystrophy. While estimates of FSHD prevalence vary, we believe approximately 19,000 people suffer from adult or juvenile forms of FSHD in the U.S. The Company plans to initiate a Phase 1b/2 clinical trial in early onset FSHD patients, expected to begin in the third quarter of 2015.

After evaluating a number of muscular dystrophies (MD), including Duchenne muscular dystrophy and a broad class of MD indications of more than 20 rare genetic conditions known as the limb-girdle muscular dystrophies (LGMD), the Company has selected LGMD 2B as its next expansion indication after early onset FSHD. LGMD affects an estimated 16,000 patients in the U.S., approximately 3,000 of whom have LGMD 2B. The Company expects to move forward with a Phase 1b/2 clinical trial of Resolaris™ in LGMD 2B beginning in the fourth quarter of 2015.

Additionally, plans to expand clinical trials of Resolaris™ into specific indications in interstitial lung disease, or ILD, are currently being evaluated to identify those most appropriate for initial clinical assessment, with a Phase 1b/2 trial expected to begin in the first half of 2016.

The Company expects to protect its expanding pipeline of innovative therapeutics for patients with severe rare disease with its growing patent estate. At the close of the first quarter 2015, the Company solely owned or exclusively licensed 34 patents and has since received additional allowances, increasing the total number of granted or allowed patents to 45.

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