aTyr Pharma downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Leerink

Leerink analyst Faisal Khurshid downgraded aTyr Pharma (ATYR) to Market Perform from Outperform with a price target of $1, down from $16, after the company reported that the Phase 3 EFZO-FIT trial of efzofitimod in pulmonary sarcoidosis failed to meet its primary endpoint. The firm had been positive heading into the “highly binary” readout, but tells investors “we were wrong” after topline results showed no statistically significant difference in steroid reduction. The firm isn’t sure there is a path forward for efzo given the miss on the primary endpoint and unclear clinical relevance of quality-of-life improvement, the analyst added.