Syros Acquires Clinical-Stage Drug Candidate for Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia, Expanding Its Pipeline of Targeted Therapies for Hematologic Malignancies

Syros Pharmaceuticals, a leader in the development of medicines that control the expression of genes, announced that it has acquired from Orsenix, LLC (Orsenix) all of its assets related to SY-2101, formerly known as ORH-2014, a novel oral form of arsenic trioxide (ATO). SY-2101 represents a strategic opportunity to leverage Syros’ expertise and capabilities to advance its growing footprint in hematologic disorders, with a targeted clinical-stage drug candidate that has the potential to dramatically reduce the treatment burden of a standard-of-care regimen for newly diagnosed acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL).

“It’s rare to talk about cures in cancer,” said Nancy Simonian, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Syros. “The IV formulation of ATO is part of a treatment regimen that cures most APL patients, but it is extremely burdensome with lengthy infusions over a nearly yearlong course of treatment. We believe an oral form that offers similar efficacy while dramatically reducing the treatment burden on these patients could quickly become a new standard-of-care. SY-2101 is also highly complementary to our efforts with SY-1425 in AML and MDS, positioning us for potential new drug applications for both programs in 2024. With the strategic financing announced today, we believe we are well-funded to advance our growing portfolio of product candidates across multiple patient populations to accelerate our vision of becoming a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company.”