-- Conley Chee, CCO and CBO, to succeed Nancy
Simonian, M.D. as CEO; Dr. Simonian to retire as CEO, effective
December 1, 2023, and will remain on the Board of Directors --
-- Planned workforce reduction of approximately
35% sharpens focus of organization on late-stage development of
tamibarotene in MDS and AML and ongoing pre-launch activities
--
Syros Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SYRS), a biopharmaceutical company
committed to advancing new standards of care for the frontline
treatment of hematologic malignancies, today announced a strategic
realignment to prioritize key development and pre-launch activities
to advance tamibarotene for the frontline treatment of higher-risk
myelodysplastic syndrome (HR-MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
Also today, Syros announced the retirement as Chief Executive
Officer (CEO) of Nancy Simonian, M.D., and the appointment of
Conley Chee, Syros’ Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) and Chief
Business Officer (CBO), as CEO, effective December 2, 2023. Dr.
Simonian will remain a member of the Syros Board of Directors
following the transition.
“We founded Syros with a singular vision: to translate
breakthrough biology into new medicines, with the potential to
deliver profound benefit to people living with serious diseases.
Over the last ten years, we have made tremendous progress toward
this goal, honing our focus on hematologic malignancies and
advancing tamibarotene into late-stage development for the
frontline treatment of HR-MDS and AML,” said Nancy Simonian, M.D.,
Chief Executive Officer of Syros. “Today, Syros is at the threshold
of an important transformation. As we prepare to report initial
data from SELECT-AML-1 later this year and pivotal data from
SELECT-MDS-1 next year, we are increasingly focused on building a
robust commercial business that can establish tamibarotene as the
foundation of care for patients with RARA gene overexpression. It
is the right time for me to transition leadership to Conley, an
expert at building effective commercial organizations and launching
new targeted therapies, as well as a trusted partner who has
informed all aspects of our business since joining Syros two years
ago.”
Dr. Simonian continued, “Today, we are taking hard – but
necessary – steps towards delivering tamibarotene to patients with
HR-MDS and AML. This includes streamlining our team and, due to
capital constraints, stopping further investment in SY-2101 for the
foreseeable future. Together, we expect these decisions will ensure
we are sufficiently funded to advance through critical value
inflection points. I am deeply grateful to the Syros employees
impacted by this reprioritization, who have demonstrated incredible
commitment to our company, as well as the patients and families
whose lives we aim to improve.”
“I am humbled and excited by the opportunity to lead Syros,
building on the strong foundation that Nancy and the team
established,” said Conley Chee. “I believe tamibarotene offers a
unique and highly differentiated product profile, with the
potential to disrupt the treatment paradigm for large populations
in MDS and AML, two blood disorders that have largely eluded
current targeted approaches. As we look toward near-term data
catalysts from SELECT-MDS-1 and SELECT-AML-1, we are planning for
our next phase of growth. I am eager to partner with my colleagues
to execute our clinical plans, prepare our first new drug
application filing, and, ultimately, deliver tamibarotene to the
thousands of MDS and AML patients in need of better options.”
Portfolio Update: Syros is prioritizing the advancement
of tamibarotene, its oral first-in-class selective retinoic acid
receptor alpha (RARα) agonist for the frontline treatment of HR-MDS
and AML. Syros believes tamibarotene – a biologically targeted
agent that has demonstrated high complete response rates, a rapid
time to response and favorable tolerability across multiple
clinical trials to date – has the potential to set a new standard
of care for patients with RARA overexpression, which accounts for
approximately 50 percent of the HR-MDS and 30 percent of the AML
populations.
Tamibarotene is currently being studied in SELECT-MDS-1, a
pivotal Phase 3 trial evaluating the combination of tamibarotene
and azacitidine in newly diagnosed HR-MDS patients with RARA gene
overexpression and in SELECT-AML-1, a Phase 2 trial evaluating the
combination of tamibarotene, venetoclax and azacitidine in newly
diagnosed unfit AML patients with RARA overexpression.
Syros will stop further investment in the clinical development
of SY-2101, its novel, oral form of arsenic trioxide (ATO) for the
treatment of newly diagnosed acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), as
well as in its preclinical and discovery-stage programs. Syros may
pursue further development of SY-2101 subject to additional capital
availability.
Management and Corporate Update: Syros is streamlining
its organization and implementing an approximately 35% workforce
reduction to reflect its focus on the clinical development of
tamibarotene and potential U.S. commercial launch. Mr. Chee,
Syros’s CCO and CBO, will succeed Dr. Simonian as CEO, effective
December 2, 2023. He will also join the Company’s Board of
Directors upon becoming the CEO.
Mr. Chee joined Syros in 2021. He was most recently at Novartis
as Global Head of Oncology Portfolio Management, Global Pipeline
Strategy and Precision Medicine. In this role, Mr. Chee contributed
to shaping Novartis’ overall pipeline, including driving commercial
planning for the company’s early-stage portfolio and diagnostics
strategy for oncology. Earlier in his career at Novartis, Mr. Chee
served as Vice President – Global Head Oncology Lung Franchise, as
well as in multiple US sales and marketing leadership roles. During
this time, his work included the U.S. launch of Afinitor, Zykadia,
Signifor and the global launches of Tafinlar/Mekinist and Tabrecta.
Prior to joining Novartis, Mr. Chee spent five years in roles of
increasing responsibility at Pfizer, ultimately serving as Team
Leader of International Business Development. He holds an M.B.A.
from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of
Western Ontario and a B.Sc. Pharm. from the University of Alberta
and completed his residency in Clinical Pharmacy at the University
of British Columbia.
“The Board’s selection of Conley as Syros’ next CEO is the
result of thoughtful succession planning, designed to position the
company for success in its maturation into a commercial-stage
organization while ensuring continuity and empowering our strong
leadership team,” said Peter Wirth, Chairman of the Board of
Directors of Syros. “On behalf of the Board, I want to thank Nancy
for her impactful leadership as CEO. Under her guidance, Syros
advanced multiple compounds for the treatment of cancer, with the
potential to deliver major advances for thousands of patients
globally. I look forward to continuing our partnership on the Board
and wish Nancy the very best in her next chapter.”
In addition, and consistent with Syros’ strategic decision to
invest its resources solely in advancing tamibarotene through
late-stage clinical development to market, Eric Olson, Ph.D.,
Syros’ Chief Scientific Officer since 2013, will depart Syros
effective October 16, 2023.
Dr. Simonian commented, “Eric joined Syros soon after our
founding and, in the years since, played a pivotal role in building
our gene control platform and advancing our discovery programs from
conception to reality. Perhaps most importantly, he and his team
made a seminal scientific discovery – identifying the role of RARA
overexpression in AML and MDS. As such, he leaves a deep and
lasting impact on our company and the patients globally who we hope
to treat, and I am deeply grateful to him for his partnership and
his many contributions.”
About Syros Pharmaceuticals Syros is committed to
developing new standards of care for the frontline treatment of
patients with hematologic malignancies. Driven by the motivation to
help patients with blood disorders that have largely eluded other
targeted approaches, Syros is developing tamibarotene, an oral
selective RARα agonist in frontline patients with higher-risk
myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia with RARA gene
overexpression. For more information, visit www.syros.com and
follow us on Twitter (@SyrosPharma) and LinkedIn.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This
press release contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995,
including without limitation statements regarding Syros’ leadership
transition, strategic reorganization, clinical development and
growth plans, the progression of its clinical trials of
tamibarotene, the timing and impact of anticipated clinical data,
the ability to obtain regulatory approval for tamibarotene and
deliver benefit to patients, and the potential to pursue further
development of SY-2101. The words “anticipate,” “believe,”
“continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “hope,” “intend,” “may,”
“plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “target,” “should,”
“would,” and similar expressions are intended to identify
forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking
statements contain these identifying words. Actual results or
events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and
expectations disclosed in these forward-looking statements as a
result of various important factors, including Syros’ ability to:
advance the development of its programs under the timelines it
projects in current and future clinical trials; demonstrate in any
current and future clinical trials the requisite safety, efficacy
and combinability of its drug candidates; sustain the response
rates and durability of response seen to date with its drug
candidates; successfully develop a companion diagnostic test to
identify patients with the RARA biomarker; obtain and maintain
patent protection for its drug candidates and the freedom to
operate under third party intellectual property; obtain and
maintain necessary regulatory approvals; identify, enter into and
maintain collaboration agreements with third parties; manage
competition; manage expenses; raise the substantial additional
capital needed to achieve its business objectives; attract and
retain qualified personnel; and successfully execute on its
business strategies; risks described under the caption “Risk
Factors” in Syros’ Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2022 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter
ended June 30, 2023, each which is on file with the Securities and
Exchange Commission; and risks described in other filings that
Syros makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the
future.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231002277424/en/
Syros Karen Hunady Director of Corporate Communications
& Investor Relations 1-857-327-7321 khunady@syros.com
Investor Relations Hannah Deresiewicz Stern Investor
Relations, Inc. 212-362-1200 hannah.deresiewicz@sternir.com
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