aTyr Pharma's lung disease drug misses main goal in late-stage trial

Sept 15 (Reuters) - aTyr Pharma ATYR.O said on Monday its experimental drug had failed to meet the main goal in a late-stage study testing it in patients with a type of lung disease known as pulmonary sarcoidosis, which impacts the lungs and lymph nodes.

The company's shares were down 78.7% in premarket trading.

The late-stage trial, which enrolled 268 patients, aimed to show a bigger cut in daily steroid use after 48 weeks versus a placebo.

Patients on the higher 5 mg/kg dose of the drug reduced use of steroids to an average of 2.79 mg/kg a day, compared with 3.52 mg/kg on placebo, a difference that was not statistically significant.

aTyr said it will meet with U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials to discuss the next steps for its drug, efzofitimod.

It said the drug's safety profile was consistent with earlier studies.

Pulmonary sarcoidosis is a condition that causes small clumps of inflammatory cells called granulomas to form in the lungs. These can cause symptoms such as coughing, shortness of breath and fatigue. The cause of the disease is unknown.

Approved treatments for pulmonary sarcoidosis include corticosteroids like prednisone, which are used as the first line of therapy.

For patients who do not respond or cannot tolerate steroids, second-line options such as methotrexate and azathioprine are commonly prescribed.