Controlling Expression to Control Disease

When genes are expressed at the wrong time or in wrong amounts, it alters the function of a cell, leading to disease. By creating medicines to control the expression of genes, we aim to provide a profound and durable benefit for patients with difficult-to-treat diseases.

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Start with Imagination

Some discoveries can change a life... others can change countless lives. Although current drug discovery approaches have been successful in treating certain diseases, many more diseases continue to elude modern medicine.

Imagine being able to treat and even control these diseases. Many answers can be found in our DNA... because buried deep inside it are switches that control the type and function of every cell. What if we could reprogram a cell by controlling the switches that cause or worsen many diseases?

It could lead to remarkable treatments with profound benefits for patients. That is exactly what Syros and its pioneering gene control platform is designed to do.

The Big Picture

To understand Syros' pioneering new technology, let's look at the big picture. For much of the past 50 years, genetic research has focused on the 2% of DNA that codes instructions for producing proteins - the molecules that do the work of keeping us alive.

And gene-driven drug discovery has focused on errors, or mutations, in that code, which result in abnormal proteins and ultimately disease. Despite significant advances in treating certain diseases, many more diseases continue to evade our best efforts.

The Other 98%

Why aren't scientists looking at the other 98% of the genome for new breakthrough medicines? The reason is that the tools to reach the other 98% didn't exist.

But, recent scientific advances show that, in fact, regulatory regions in that other 98% control the expression of genes, turning them on, off, up or down, like dimmer switches. Although the billions of cells in our body all have the same DNA, it is these genomic switches that determine how a particular cell behaves - whether it is a skin cell or a lung cell, or whether it is normal or diseased.

Genomic Switches

These switches control the type and function of every cell by controlling which genes are expressed, when, and in what amounts.

When those genomic switches malfunction, the expression of many genes can be affected and the consequences can be profound, leading to everything from the common cold to cancer and heart disease.

Now, thanks to a confluence of scientific and technological breakthroughs, that 98% of the genome is finally within our reach.

An Expression Can Make a World of Difference

Syros has built the first platform dedicated to regulatory regions of the genome to systematically identify malfunctions in those genomic dimmer switches and develop medicines to control the expression of the genes critical to disease.

In fact, Syros has already harnessed the power of its platform to build a pipeline of programs that control the expression of disease-driving genes with the aim of treating cancer and genetic diseases, including two investigational medicines in clinical studies.

And because gene expression is fundamental to all cells, the Syros platform has the potential to create medicines that provide a profound and lasting benefit for patients.

Partnership Opportunities

We seek partnerships that maximize value for us and our partners by extending the potential of our gene control platform across multiple therapeutic areas and diseases.

View Our Partnership Focus