SAN DIEGO, June 29, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- aTyr Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: LIFE), a biotherapeutics company engaged in the discovery and development of Physiocrine-based therapeutics to address severe rare diseases, today announced that it has been added to the Russell 2000®, Russell 3000® and Russell Global Indexes as part of Russell Investments' annual reconstitution that took place after market close on June 26, 2015.

The Russell 2000® Index measures the performance of the small-cap segment of the U.S. equity market and is a subset of the Russell 3000®, representing approximately 10 percent of the total market capitalization of that index. Membership in the Russell 2000® Index includes automatic inclusion in the appropriate growth and style indexes.

Russell indexes are widely used by investment managers and institutional investors for index funds and as benchmarks for both passive and active investment strategies. Russell Investments determines membership for each index based primarily on objective market capitalization rankings and style attributes. More than $5.7 trillion in assets are currently benchmarked to the Russell family of indexes.

For more information on the Russell reconstitution, please see the FTSE Russell website: www.ftserussell.com.

About aTyr Pharma
aTyr Pharma is engaged in the discovery and clinical development of innovative medicines for patients suffering from severe rare diseases using its knowledge of Physiocrine biology, a newly discovered set of physiological modulators. The Company's lead candidate, Resolaris™, is a first-in-class intravenous protein therapeutic for the treatment of rare myopathies with an immune component. Resolaris™ is currently in a Phase 1b/2 clinical trial in adult patients with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD). Trials are planned in additional indications, including early onset FSHD and limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD) 2B. Trials are also planned for indications in interstitial lung disease (ILD). To protect this pipeline, aTyr built an intellectual property estate comprising 45 issued or allowed patents and over 240 pending patent applications that are solely owned or exclusively licensed by aTyr. aTyr's key programs are currently focused on severe, rare diseases characterized by immune dysregulation for which there are currently limited or no treatment options. The Company was founded by Professors Paul Schimmel, Ph.D., and Xiang-Lei Yang, Ph.D., two leading aminoacyl tRNA synthetase scientists at The Scripps Research Institute.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements in this release that are not historical facts may be considered such "forward-looking statements." Such forward looking statements, which represent management's intent, belief, or current expectations, involve risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results and the timing of certain events to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Some of the potential risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those predicted include the Company's ability to raise additional funding, its ability to develop or commercialize current or new product candidates, uncertainties and delays inherent in pre-clinical studies and clinical trials, unexpected new data, safety and technical issues, competition, and market conditions. These and additional risks and uncertainties are more fully described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. The Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, events or circumstances after the date they are made, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

For more information, please visit http://www.atyrpharma.com.

SOURCE aTyr Pharma, Inc.