aTyr Pharma appoints Fred Ramsdell as vice president of immunology

Rare disease specialist aTyr Pharma has appointed Fred Ramsdell as vice president of immunology. Prior to this, he helped establish the immunobiology research strategy for companies including Danish insulin giant Novo Nordisk (NOV: N).

John Mendlein, chief executive and executive chairman of aTyr, said: "With 20+ years of research in immunobiology, Fred represents a world class scientific addition to our team. Among other functions, Physiocrines act to maintain and restore homeostasis in the immune system, providing a pathway to restore healthy physiological states after injury or illness. Fred will work closely with our vice president of research, John McKew, to help us identify currently untapped therapeutic targets with the potential to be developed into best- and first-in-class medicines to address grave immune-driven disorders."

Dr Ramsdell said: "I was first drawn to aTyr by the opportunity to discover products from the novel, untapped mechanisms for modulating immune function, supported by a compelling genetic and evolutionary foundation. A major challenge to developing immune-modulating therapies has been to understand the complex interactions that regulate the immune system. Working with Physiocrines represents a tremendous opportunity to orchestrate those mechanisms using existing physiological processes. I'm thrilled to be joining the tremendous team already assembled at aTyr. "