Syros Pharmaceuticals Presents New Data from Its Gene Control Platform at Oncology Conferences

Syros Pharmaceuticals, a therapeutics company focused on discovering and developing novel gene control therapies, announced today that data demonstrating the use of Syros’ gene control platform to detect and characterize gene control elements directly from patient tissue was presented at two recent oncology meetings. The scientific approach highlighted in the posters enables the discovery of novel core disease drivers and tumor biomarkers.

In a poster on December 8, 2014, at the 2014 American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting, entitled “Discovery and Characterization of Super-Enhancer-Associated Dependencies in Acute Myeloid Leukemia,”¹ Syros scientists, along with researchers at the Stanford School of Medicine, presented data on the characterization of gene control elements in tumor cells from acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients. The study identified subtypes of AML characterized by distinct patterns of specific gene control elements, called super-enhancers, at well-known AML-related and other cancer-driving genes, elucidating patient subtypes and new drug targets.

A second poster, entitled “Super-Enhancer Analysis Defines Breast Cancer Subtype and Identifies Tumor Dependencies,”² was presented on December 10, 2014, during the 2014 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. In this poster, Syros scientists showed data that characterization of gene control elements in tumor cells from breast cancer patients yielded subtype-selective patterns that control well-known and novel breast cancer driver genes. Through gene knock-down and pharmacological inhibition of super-enhancer-associated genes, the researchers validated the usefulness of this approach in defining tumor dependencies and in identifying novel drug targets.

“Our gene control platform provides us an unprecedented lens into the fundamental drivers of disease biology,” said Eric Olson, PhD, Syros’ Chief Scientific Officer. “These data further demonstrate our platform’s unique ability to identify clinically relevant patient subtypes and novel gene control targets, and hold great promise for improvements in disease classification and advancements in the development of novel therapies for patients.”

About Syros Pharmaceuticals

Syros Pharmaceuticals is a therapeutics company harnessing breakthroughs in gene control to revolutionize the treatment of cancer and other diseases. Syros’ proprietary platform identifies the master switches for disease genes, opening a whole new approach to novel therapeutics and biomarkers. The Company’s founders are pioneers in gene control research and translation. Co-founded by Flagship Ventures and ARCH Venture Partners, Syros Pharmaceuticals is located in Watertown, MA. For more information, visit www.syros.com.

¹ Corces-Zimmerman R, Eaton M, Lopez J, Ke N, Fritz CC, Olson E, Ravi Majeti, Lovén J

² Guenther MG, Orlando DA, Eaton ML, Collins CA, Chen MW, Solanki S, Loven J, Fritz CC, Olson ER