CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Syros Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SYRS), a biopharmaceutical company pioneering the development of medicines to control the expression of genes, today outlined its strategic plan and expected milestones for 2018. In a presentation at the 36th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference on Thursday, January 11, 2018, at 10:30 a.m. PST (1:30 p.m. EST), the Company will detail its three strategic priorities for the year:

• Aggressively advancing its two clinical-stage programs with planned data readouts on two combinations with SY-1425, a first-in-class selective retinoic acid receptor alpha (RAR?) agonist, from the ongoing Phase 2 trial in genomically defined acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) patients, and with the first clinical data for SY-1365, a first-in-class selective cyclin-dependent kinase 7 (CDK7) inhibitor, from the Phase 1 trial in advanced solid tumors.
• Leveraging its leading gene control platform to fuel its discovery and preclinical pipeline in oncology, including immuno-oncology, and the recent expansion into monogenic diseases, keeping the Company on track to achieve its goal of delivering one Investigational New Drug (IND) application every other year on average.
• Building on its strong fundamentals to continue its evolution toward a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company with therapies that transform patients’ lives.

Syros also announced today that it has entered into a strategic collaboration and option agreement with Incyte Corporation to identify novel targets for myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), a group of blood cancers in which the body makes too many white or red blood cells or platelets. Under the agreement, Syros will use its proprietary gene control platform for target discovery and validation and Incyte will be responsible for drug discovery, development and commercialization. Syros will receive $10 million upfront and a $10 million equity investment at a premium to the current market price. Syros could receive up to $47 million from Incyte in target validation and option exercise fees. Syros could receive up to $115 million in potential development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments per target for up to seven validated targets, plus low single-digit royalties on sales of products that result from the collaboration.

“We have made great strides over the past year, with data validating the ability of our platform to enrich for patients most likely to respond to SY-1425, the advancement of a second program into clinical development, the initiation of our first program in monogenic diseases and a strategic collaboration around our leading gene control platform,” said Nancy Simonian, M.D., chief executive officer of Syros. “These accomplishments position us for a transformative year in 2018 with the opportunity for multiple clinical data readouts for SY-1425 and SY-1365, a robust and growing discovery and preclinical pipeline and the continued evolution of our team and capabilities. In 2018, we are focused on continuing to execute with excellence as we strive to build a great and sustainable company that translates our leadership in gene control into therapies that provide a profound and durable benefit for patients.”

Expected 2018 Milestones

SY-1425

• Report clinical data in second half of 2018 on SY-1425 in combination with azacitidine in biomarker-positive newly diagnosed AML patients who are not suitable candidates for standard chemotherapy.
• Report clinical data in second half of 2018 on SY-1425 in combination with daratumumab in biomarker-positive relapsed or refractory AML and higher-risk MDS patients. Janssen Research and Development, LLC is providing daratumumab for the clinical trial under a clinical supply agreement.

SY-1365

• Report clinical data in second half of 2018 from dose escalation phase of Phase 1 trial in advanced solid tumor patients.
• Open expansion cohorts in ovarian cancer in mid-2018 exploring SY-1365 as a single agent and in combination with carboplatin. Based on robust anti-tumor activity in multiple relapsed and refractory ovarian cancer patient-derived xenograft models, Syros plans to focus the expansion phase of the ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial on ovarian cancer with cohorts evaluating SY-1365 in multiple ovarian cancer populations as a single agent and in combination with carboplatin.

Platform and Early-Stage Pipeline

• Select a new development candidate.
• Advance discovery programs in cancer and sickle cell disease. Syros’ drug discovery program in sickle cell disease is the first under its monogenic disease strategy to target gene regulatory elements to modulate the expression of a single known gene.
• Execute on target discovery work in MPNs in collaboration with Incyte.

About Syros Pharmaceuticals

Syros is pioneering the understanding of the non-coding region of the genome to advance a new wave of medicines that control expression of genes. Syros has built a proprietary platform that is designed to systematically and efficiently analyze this unexploited region of DNA in human disease tissue to identify and drug novel targets linked to genomically defined patient populations. Because gene expression is fundamental to the function of all cells, Syros’ gene control platform has broad potential to create medicines that achieve profound and durable benefit across a range of diseases. Syros is currently focused on cancer and monogenic diseases and is advancing a growing pipeline of gene control medicines. Syros’ lead drug candidates are SY-1425, a selective RAR? agonist in a Phase 2 clinical trial for genomically defined subsets of patients with acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome, and SY-1365, a selective CDK7 inhibitor in a Phase 1 clinical trial for patients with advanced solid tumors. Led by a team with deep experience in drug discovery, development and commercialization, Syros is located in Cambridge, Mass.