Targeting Regulators of Genes to Treat Cancer

While much of the focus of drug developers looking to act on the genetic mechanisms underlying diseases has focused on the genes that code for proteins, Syros Pharmaceuticals is looking to the regulatory regions of the genome. This is the noncoding part of the genome that controls the expression of genes, turning them on or off, or modulating their level of activity. We spoke to Eric Olson, chief scientific officer of Syros Pharmaceuticals, about the company’s discovery platform, its pursuit of cancer and monogenic diseases, and the lead programs in its pipeline.