Syros Pharmaceuticals Announces Issuance of U.S. Patents Related to Its Gene Control Drug Discovery and Development Platform

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Syros Pharmaceuticals today announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued two patents related to the Company’s proprietary gene control platform for mapping and drugging crucial genes that become dysregulated in disease. The covered inventions include methods for identifying specialized regions of DNA, known as super-enhancers, which are part of the foundation of the Company’s drug discovery and development platform.

“Our gene control platform provides a new lens for understanding and potentially treating diseases that so far have eluded other genomic-based approaches,” said Nancy Simonian, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Syros. “We believe our growing patent portfolio fortifies our leadership position in gene control, and also underscores the pioneering nature of our approach for systematically identifying important genes driving disease and developing medicines with the potential to provide profound and lasting clinical benefit for genomically defined subsets of patients.”

The first patent, U.S. Patent 9,181,580, covers validated methods for identifying and mapping super-enhancers. Discovered by Syros’ scientific founders, super-enhancers are regions of DNA that are associated with genes crucial to determining the type and function of a cell. By mapping and comparing super-enhancers and associated genes in diseased and healthy tissues, Syros can systematically pinpoint disease-causing alterations and novel targets for therapeutic intervention.

The second patent, U.S. Patent 9,155,724, covers combination therapy strategies to inhibit certain transcription factors and transcriptional kinases for the treatment of cancer. Specifically, the patent covers the use of a compound that modulates transcription in combination with a substance that inhibits MYC, a transcription factor known to be important in many cancers. It also covers the use of compounds that inhibit a transcriptional kinase complex known as P-TEFb in combination with a substance that blocks NF-kB, another transcription factor important in cancer. Syros has built significant chemistry expertise to selectively target transcription, which plays a critical role in driving increased expression of disease-causing genes across a broad range of diseases.

These patents are part of a growing intellectual property portfolio of owned and licensed patents and pending patent applications in the United States, Europe, Japan and other countries that cover Syros’ drug development candidates, drug discovery programs and gene control platform. U.S. Patent 9,181,580 on methods for identifying and mapping super enhancers expires in October of 2033.

U.S. Patent 9,155,724 covering combination treatment strategies to inhibit certain transcription factors and transcriptional kinases expires in July 2032. Both patents are assigned to the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and licensed exclusively to Syros.

About Syros Pharmaceuticals

Syros Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company applying a pioneering approach to discover and develop medicines that control the expression of genes for the treatment of cancer and other serious diseases. Syros has built a proprietary gene control platform that provides the Company with a unique lens to identify crucial genes that become dysregulated in diseased cells. Syros has leveraged its platform to create a pipeline of gene control drug candidates that it believes will provide a profound and durable benefit for patients. The Company’s scientific founders are world-class leaders in gene control research and translation. Launched by Flagship Ventures and ARCH Venture Partners, Syros Pharmaceuticals is located in Cambridge, Mass.